Ne-Yo: A CD Review

I recently bought Ne-Yo’s new cd “Year of the Gentleman” and I wanted to write a review about it. In case you’re not familiar with Ne-Yo, he has written songs for other artists such as: Janet Jackson, Rihanna, Leona Lewis, Beyonce, Chris Brown as well as others. I enjoyed the cd and wanted to share my thoughts on the cd with you. The cd contains uptempo, midtempo songs as well as ballads. He sounds like Michael Jackson on a lot of the songs. It’s very obvious that Michael Jackson is one of his musical influences. Without further delay, here’s the review:

Closer

This is an uptempo song. This is the lead single off the cd. He seems to be talking about getting closer to a woman. It’s a great song to dance to.

Nobody

This is another uptempo song. This song is about no one being better than the woman he wants. He is really channeling Michael Jackson in this song. This is also a great song to dance to.

Single

This is a cross between ballad and midtempo song. He is singing about being a single woman’s boyfriend for a night and until the song goes off. Guess that’s not really a long time to be someone’s boyfriend.

Mad

This is a ballad. This song is about reaching out to his woman to make up since they are constantly fighting. I can see this song being the third single released. It is really good in my opinion.

Miss Independent

This is another uptempo song. It’s the second single released off the cd. This song is about a woman taking care of herself. This can be a woman’s anthem from a man’s point of view.

Why Does She Stay

This song is a ballad. It’s about a woman who puts up with his schedule and their lack of time together as well as his attitude. He really sounds like Michael Jackson in this song too. I think it’s a really pretty song.

Fade Into the Background

This is an uptempo song. It’s about watching his woman moving on with someone else. This reminds me of the 80s or early 90s song called “Congratulations” by Vesta.

So You Can Cry

This is a mid to uptempo song. It’s a song about him being there for a woman going through a breakup.

Part Of The List

This is a ballad. He makes a list of things he misses about the girl he lost. This is another song where he sounds like Michael Jackson. This is one of my favorite songs on the cd.

Back To What You Know

This is an uptempo song. This is a song about a woman going back to the other man she really loves. I thought this song was going to be about something else. I thought it would have been about things he missed as a kid.

Lie To Me

This is a ballad. He suspects his woman is cheating on him and he doesn’t want it to be true. He wants her to lie to him instead. He really sounds like Michael Jackson in this song. This is another one of my favorite songs.

Stop This World

This is a ballad. This is a love song. He doesn’t want anyone to stop his love with his woman. He feels like he’s in heaven and doesn’t deserve the woman he loves. I thought this song would have been about saving the world or something. I didn’t expect it to be a love song.

Overall

I enjoyed every song on the cd. In my opinion, there are no filler songs. There are no interludes or guest appearances with the exception of the beginning of “Single”. If you’re a fan of Ne-Yo or a new listener to his music, I think you’ll enjoy the cd.