In My Own Words

Because Of You Kelly Clarkson, kindly step aside: the title "Because of You" now belongs to Ne-Yo, who has done things with it no one with a pair of hands to clap will soon forget. And not just on the phenomenally appealing first single. Throughout Because of You, the sophomore disc by the song...	Year of the Gentleman If the mark of the skilful Lothario is the one who knows to always tell his lover what she wants to hear, surely Def Jam’s R&B sensation Ne-Yo--aka Los Angeles singer-songwriter Shaffer Chimere Smith--is one of the greatest of them all. On his third album, Year of the Gentl...	Chris Brown He's a lot like the 16-year-old boy living in the house next door to you: one minute he's five-foot-seven, the next he's 6'1. One minute he's a cute little boy trying to dribble a basketball, the next a superstar point guard. One minute he's ducking under the covers pleading for ...	As I Am By the time this long-awaited album saw its release date, most fans had probably read at least a couple of interviews with Alicia Keys in which she explained that first single, "No One"--a firestorm of a song clearly born of a sore heart and steeped in serious soul-searching, was...	Exclusive It's not because of the irresistible banger that is "Kiss Kiss," and it's not because he's rounded up a guest roster that reaches across the hip-hop universe and pulls T-Pain, Big Boi, and Kanye into orbit: Exclusive solidifies Chris Brown's rise in modern R&B circles because it'...
Just Like You On Just Like You, her sophomore disc, Keyshia Cole proves for a second time--for sure and way beyond the shadow of a doubt--that she's headed for Mary J. Blige-style hugeness. If 2005's The Way It Is won fans for its bottomless vocal appeal and mild grit, Just Like You scores wit...	Here I Stand 2008 album from the R&B superstar. Here I Stand is Usher's follow-up to his history-making, nine-times platinum-selling Confessions. The album tells the story of growth: triumphant, reflective, somewhat defiant and it marks a new period in Usher's life and creative expression. He...	Good Girl Gone Bad There's a cool new development in summer singles: they no longer need to be sunny. In fact, the wetter the better. "Umbrella," the first single off Rihanna's ragingly good third album, may be her strongest ditty yet, and that's saying something considering her run of past summer ...	Graduation Kanye West's third in a whimsical trilogy of "scholarly" albums, Graduation wears its predecessors' badges of success on its sleeve. Matriculation has its rewards, apparently, and it's time to take stock. Lyrically, there's plenty of self-congratulation to attend to, but the real...	The Way It Is KEYSHIA COLE is the real deal. Like many young people raised in tough neighborhoods, the 21-year-old songstress endured a tumultuous childhood in Oakland, California, and has fought all her life to keep her dream of a music career alive. Now she's realizing that dream on her own ...

In My Own Words.... Ahhhh, Ne-Yo
I am a BIG fan of Ne-Yo's, and I LOVE this CD! He has such a SEXY voice, style, swagger, etc...

The Ne-Yo captured my feelings in his songs.
I thoroughly enjoyed this CD because it just captured some of the emotions that I am going through at the moment. Although I am twice the age of the artist, the expressive emotional vibe that is given with each of the songs brings it all into perspective.

RANKS A STRONG 10 AMONG TEENAGERS....
This was just a simple 'I have to have it A.S.A.P.!'. This was bought for a friend's Daughter...And she's been playing it to death! Not my cup of tea (I lean more towards 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's & 2000 Deep Soul, Soul, Blues, Jazz & Gospel Music). Expect several more Top Selling Albums/Singles from this artist....So how easy that was!

Sexy songwriter. 4.5 stars.
This Boy Possesses ILL skills - Like *Magic*. He Won't Be Denied in the Near Future, I'm just So sure of it! I like His smooth vocal ability, His decent range, and His songwriting skills are up there with the rest of the non-refundable R&B/Pop stars. I love Ne-Yo. He's kinda cute and He's so fly. I can't speak enough about Him!!! I now own this and have played it enough to know how it works. There are songs that are close enough to R&B to actually be called so - So Sick, When You're Mad, and Time - as well as those with a more Pop and catchy feel - Stay, Let Me Get This Right, Sign Me Up (one of my favorites), and the mid-tempo Let Go. He has a way with words and although this CD is about music - Stay - relationships, love and, well, relationships and love. Although the subject matter at hand it quite limited, that doesn't make this a bad run through nor does it take away from this man's talent. It's very fresh-feeling, youthful, catchy, filled with good, good beats, a few samples and something that a lot of the monotone rap could take a few tips from; talent. This album as of February 2006, has sold over 1,400,000 copies (1.4 million) in the U.S. alone, certified platinum once over. His sophomore release, which wasn't up to par but way more varied musically, Because Of You is doing well also. It has been certified Platinum also. There is not one song here I don't appreciate at least a little. He's got *It*, I'm telling You. Buy a copy, and just zone the "F" out. :P Cover Art: A+ Inside Art: B- -I like all the drawn stars in it. They're simple, but they're there. I've always been into stars. (:- Songwriting: B- Vocals: B- Vocal Emotion: C+ Production: A+ Overall: A- 4.5 stars. end note: It Just Ain't Right is pretty much my favorite track from the album. It's a bit more poppy than R&B, but the lyrics and the way he sings it gives it R&B undertones. Come to think about it, I may like this CD more than some others cause it is pretty poppy in parts...

In My Own Words - actually 3.5 stars
I, like a lot of people began to hear about Ne-Yo when his single, SO SICK "blew him up". I honestly don't listen to the radio anymore but do occasionally watch videos so the fact that every channel I turned to seemed to have his video on constant repeat informed me that he had a huge hit on his hands. As the summer and fall of 2006 progressed, I got to see Ne-Yo perform on awards shows and was intrigued enough to get his debut disc. After listening to it off and on for the past few months I can honestly say that in addition to his songwriting skills, he's got a pleasant smooth voice that works extremely well with his songs. In the tradition of the other so-called 'young guns of r&b', he mixes elements of hip hop and r&b to make an album of catchy mid to up-tempo tracks. I was prepared to only like 2 or 3 tracks and had initially wrote him off as a one hit wonder but was pleasantly surprised - this is a solid debut. My stand-out tracks: SEXY LOVE - now this track I love more than SO SICK TIME - interesting ballad LET GO - I like the interesting beats used on this track LET ME GET THIS RIGHT - catchy lyrics & exceptional musical arrangement IT JUST AIN'T RIGHT - loved how the DeBarge sample was incorporated