R&B hitmaker NE-YO has teamed up with Michael Bolton to record a new song for the crooner's forthcoming album.

The So Sick singer, real name Shaffer Smith, spent some time with Bolton in a Los Angeles studio this summer, and expected the session to be all business. But he was stunned to discover the 55-year-old's laid back attitude towards their work.

Ne-Yo tells People.com, "I really gotta stop judging books by their cover. I was expecting him to be really up tight. But he wasn't! He was so relaxed, cool and down to earth."

The result of their studio session was a track entitled Call My Name, which Ne-Yo says is "about a mistake that a woman has made in choosing between two guys, and he's letting her know, 'I'm here regardless; call my name and I'm there'."

And Ne-Yo reveals Bolton based the lyrics on his own lovelife, after splitting from actress fiancee Nicollette Sheridan last month (Aug08).

Asked whether the song had any personal meaning for Bolton, Ne-Yo replies: "Kinda sort of. But we both agreed that we had been in that boat before."

He adds, "We sat and talked about all kinds of stuff - how he's newly single, marriage, the road - he was honestly one of the cooler sessions I've been in this year." (MT/WNWCPL/ZN)