Ne-Yo announces the gender of his fourth child

Ne-Yo has revealed the gender of his fourth child.

The 38-year-old singer is preparing for the arrival of a little one with wife Crystal Smith and shared pair's exciting news with fans yesterday.

'Happy to announce it's a boy!! 👶🏽. Now Princess Maddie has 3 lil' protectors to hold her down for life! You're gonna be a GREAT big sister to your 3 lil' brothers babygirl❤️ Mason, now you got 2 lil' cats that are gonna be stealing your clothes, bugging you to tag along n' whatnot...go easy on em',' he exclaimed.

'They're gonna look up to their big brother. Give them something to look up to!😎 @itscrystalsmith My Queen. I know you had your heart set on a girl. To be honest I did too 😅 But clearly you were born to give the world kings! And I'm more than happy with that. Love you baby. You shine...✨ THANK YOU to everybody that came thru and shared the moment with us. THANK YOU to every single person that helped make the moment possible. 🧒🏾👦🏾👶🏽...👶🏽!!'

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Ne-Yo uploaded a couple of sweet photographs alongside his status. The first shows two of his kids and wife gearing up to launch confetti canons.

In the second, his brood can be gazing up at the royal blue confetti that fills the air.

Thrilled by the announcement, hundreds of the American star's followers congratulated the couple.

'Love these words.. god bless you ❤️ @neyo @itscrystalsmith,' said one.

Another quipped: 'So Sweet the way you speak about @itscrystalsmith Wow! Blessed❤️ Love you guys!!!! Congrats 🍾🎊.'

The duo are already parents to a little boy named Shaffer. The singer's ex-girlfriend Monyette Shaw is the mother of his daughter Madilyn and son Mason.

Ne-Yo's big break came in 2004 when he wrote fellow artist Mario's hit single Let Me Love You. In 2006, Ne-Yo released his own album after being signed to Def Jam by Jay-Z.