Ne-Yo is known for two things – being a great songwriter and an awesome R&B artiste. So awesome that he was made VP for A&R at Motown Records. So awesome, we still haven’t quite gotten “So Sick” or “Sexy Love” out of our heads. Imagine that!
Recently, he released “R.E.D”, which stands for “Realizing Every Dream”. And if Ne-Yo’s reputation for creating the best smooth R&B songs is anything to go by, then we can already more or less gauge what “R.E.D” is going to be like. We picked up a copy anyway because, oh you know, that’s just how much we love him.
We were fooled. “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)”, in terms of title alone, sounds like it could be another one of those bittersweet Ne-Yo ballads. But it ain’t, yo. First and foremost, it was co-written by Sia. Yes, the same Sia who’s responsible for David Guetta’s “Titanium” and Flo Rida’s “Wild Ones”:
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We honestly tried to resist but by the time the chorus came, we couldn’t help bopping our heads and clapping our hands to the beat (albeit inconspicuously). “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)” might be mainstream/radio ready, but essentially it’s Ne-Yo who injected so much soul into a dancefloor track.
Then, Ne-Yo gets a little bit “adult” with “Lazy Love”. It’s not the most upbeat of songs in “R.E.D” but it’s sexy. Sexier than “Sexy Love”, even. With a sexy music video to boot:
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Finally, “The Cracks In Mr. Perfect”
We wondered why this song never made it to being the title track. The song focuses on, well, love. And imperfections. Ne-Yo’s imperfections, to be precise. As a matter of fact, “The Cracks In Mr. Perfect” starts out with him singing, “After this song, you gon’ love me for my honesty, or you gon’ hate me for being me..”:
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Ne-Yo signs off with:
And in the end they all learned a valuable lesson,
Perfection, it’s just glorified opinion.
When in the grand scheme of things it’s our imperfections that truly make us perfect,
So do yourself a favour, find the beauty in your cracks.
Enjoy the album.
We sure did, Ne-Yo. And so will you! Ne-Yo’s “R.E.D” is available at a music store near you. Alternatively, you could also purchase the album off iTunes here.
For more information, hit up his official website.
