South Shields hairdresser gains overnight fame after dancing with Ne-Yo

A woman from South Shields has gained overnight internet fame after dancing with superstar Ne-Yo at his concert in Newcastle. 

47-year-old Leesa Collins was pulled up on the stage at Ne-Yo’s Champagne and Roses Tour which took place at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on Monday, March 11.

Videos of Leesa dancing with Ne-Yo in the ‘pushback challenge’ have since gone viral on social media. 

American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, who is known for his huge hits such as So Sick, Closer and Give Me Everything. 

At each of his concert dates on the Champagne and Roses Tour, Ne-Yo has been plucking a fan from the crowd to dance with him during his song Push Back.

Leesa was the chosen fan at the Newcastle concert, and busted out some incredible moves alongside Ne-Yo.

After the videos of Lisa and Ne-Yo went viral, the South Shields self-employed hairdresser has been branded a “true Northern icon”.

But it turns out that Leesa almost missed out the chance of even attending Ne-Yo’s concert, as at the last minute her daughter - who she bought the tickets with -  couldn’t join her. 

Leesa explained she didn’t want to go on her own so put out a Facebook post to ask if any of her friends were available. 

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Leesa explained: “A girl who I haven’t seen for years messaged and said she’d love to go! If it hadn’t been for Demi I would never have been there.”

Speaking about being picked out to dance on stage Leesa said: “I was just going for it, dancing away in the crowd!

“When they said they wanted someone to go on stage, everyone around me shouted my name and put their flashlights on me. 

“I had a sparkly top on, so with all the flashlights I was like a disco ball!”

When Leesa got on stage with Ne-Yo, he asked her name and she said: “My name is Leesa and I’m from South Shields”, Ne-Yo gave a shout out to our town as he shouted into the crowd: “South Shields represent!”

Leesa spoke about how surreal it was to dance with Ne-Yo, and how her phone hasn’t stopped buzzing with messages since. 

She said: “It was crazy. I still can’t believe that I was there and that I touched him.

“The crowd absolutely loved it and I loved making everybody laugh.”

Leesa has become a bit of a South Shields legend since, and has even had people come up to her during a shopping trip in the town centre. 

Leesa, who was already a huge Ne-Yo fan, has now marked the memory with a tattoo of Ne-Yo’s name and the date of the concert. 

She has also been offered tickets from the Utilita Arena to attend Clubland and has been asked to dance at South Shields festival RosieFest alongside local band Two Metres Apart.

“Watch this space!” Leesa said.