Ne-Yo:’Year of the Gentleman’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, September 15, 2008
R&B
Ne-Yo channels Jackson, Edmonds
“Year of the Gentleman”
Ne-Yo. Def Jam. 12 tracks.
Grade: B
Three albums into his career, the favorable comparisons only continue for Atlanta singer-songwriter Ne-Yo.
Chris Pizzello AP
Musician Ne-Yo arrives at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
There’s the obvious comparison: the one to pop superstar Michael Jackson, who the similarly nasal Ne-Yo still does little to distance himself from on “Closer” — his current top 10 pop single — and “Nobody,” another dance tune with an even grittier stomp. And when he asks “Why?” at the end of the contemplative “Why Does She Stay,” just try not thinking of Jackson posing the same question at the end of his 1982 “Thriller” hit, “Human Nature.”
There’s also the growing comparison: the one to one-time Atlantan Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds — specifically the Grammy-winner’s songwriting prowess. A gift evidenced as much on the current charts (he penned Rihanna’s recent No. 1 ballad “Take a Bow” and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson’s solo hit “Spotlight”) as it is on this album, where he melodically details what it’s like to be at a former love’s wedding on “Fade Into the Background.” And he makes you believe “there’s something about a woman who wants you but don’t need you,” on “Miss Independent.”
And then there’s the whispered comparison: the one to local R&B titan Usher, whom he obviously has in his sights as a performer and with whom he shares a crossover appeal that should only broaden with the prickly beauty of his “Get over it!” song, “So You Can Cry.”
— Sonia Murray
