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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Ne-Yo

  • Sound Dialogue – R&B In 2008

    Before these last two months, I had only purchased two albums that would qualify as R&B music, which is my favorite genre. Those albums were the up and down Day26 release and Usher’s latest, which is good, though a bit underwhelming. However, with the release of Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke, Raphael Saadiq, and the newly released Evolver from John Legend, R&B is on fire right now. Money Mike and I discussed R&B music in the year 2008 in our latest Sound Dialogue.

    GG: What was going on in the early parts of 2008 with R&B music? I’m sure there were a few releases that I missed, but nothing even tempted me to make a purchase. Are there any underdog R&B stories of 2008 that I missed, or was it just a weak first 7 months for R&B?

    MM: You and I have sort of different tastes when it comes to R&B. There’s a very specific sound you like, which is the male groups and the male solo artists with a less alternative kind of sound. I like that stuff too, so maybe I should just say that we have similar tastes, but there are some artists I dig that you probably wouldn’t go for. There were a couple of sleepers in the early part of the year. Raheem Devaughn’s album was good, as was Van Hunt’s. But as far as contemporary R&B, things were looking bad until last month.

    GG: I guess that’s how I should’ve stated it. Contemporary R&B. Conventional R&B. Whatever you want to call it. But I want to ask you something related. Why hasn’t there been much in the world of female R&B? Or is that another genre that I’m missing out on?

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  • Chart Chat: Singles Version: 10/30/08

    01-Whatever You Like (T.I.)
    02-Live Your Life (T.I. feat. Rihanna)
    T.I. continues to commandeer the top spots of the singles chart, fending off a serious challenge from Beyonce (see below). “Whatever You Like” is the first song to return to #1 on three separate occasions since Chic’s “Le Freak” 30 years ago. Induct Chic into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, y’all!!

    03-If I Were a Boy (Beyonce)
    Beyonce jumps 66-3 with “If I Were a Boy”, the first single from her upcoming “I Am…Sasha Fierce” (God, it kills me to type that out). By reaching this position, Beyonce has already outperformed the first single from her last album, “B-Day”. “Deja Vu” (remember that?) peaked at #10.

    04-So What (Pink)
    05-Womanizer (Britney Spears)
    06-Hot N Cold (Katy Perry)
    07-Let it Rock (Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil’ Wayne)
    08-Miss Independent (Ne-Yo)
    “Miss Independent” is Ne-Yo’s first EVER #1 single on the R&B charts, coming after he scored three #2 singles. Hard to believe, given Ne-Yo’s dominance over the R&B scene these past three years, but true!

    09-Disturbia (Rihanna)
    I’m still trying to get over the fact that Ne-Yo said Rihanna has a big head. Isn’t that a little like Michael Jackson saying “Damn, you’re pale!!”

    10-I’m Yours (Jason Mraz)
    Mr. A-Z returns to the Top Ten with what is now by far the biggest hit of his career. Guess now that cold weather’s approaching, people need to feel a little more of that summer magic.

    11-Can’t Believe It (T-Pain feat. Lil’ Wayne)
    12-Love Lockdown (Kanye West)
    13-Better in Time (Leona Lewis)
    14-Right Now (Na Na Na) (Akon)
    15-Love Story (Taylor Swift)
    16-Mrs. Officer (Lil’ Wayne)
    17-Paper Planes (M.I.A.)
    Is it me, or is “Paper Planes” one of the ODDEST songs to ever hit the Top 20? Also, doesn’t M.I.A. remind you a little bit of Neneh Cherry? Do you even REMEMBER Neneh Cherry?

    18-Closer (Ne-Yo)
    19-Gotta Be Somebody (Nickelback)
    20-Crush (David Archuleta)
    OK-I give, I give. I liked David Cook more this past season, but Archuleta’s new song has grown on me to the point where it now blows everything Cook’s put out so far out of the water. Damn generic pop songs, why do you torture me so??

  • John Legend’s Evolver: Can the Crooner Get Down?

    Photography by sry85.
    Photography by sry85.

    When it comes to smooth, mature soul music, John Legend is the man to beat. The protege of Kanye West, Legend (born John Stephens) has amassed strong sales, five Grammy Awards and critical kudos for his first couple of albums, Get Lifted and Once Again. He’s become known as the R&B singer you can take home to mom, a piano man in the mold of Lionel Richie and Brian McKnight. However, he’s also got a more pronounced hip-hop vibe and a wink-nudge, sly sexuality that’s a refreshing change from the crassness found in most R&B and hip-hop lyrics these days..

    Legend’s third album, Evolver, has been talked about as a departure. The spacy 80s synths of the bouncy first single Green Light certainly isn’t what you’d normally expect for the buttoned-up crooner, but a rap from the irrepressible Andre 3000 and the fun groove makes the song swing.. With Evolver finally in stores and online, two questions need to be asked. 1) Is the entire album a departure for John Legend, and 2) Can he make it work?

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