Year of the Gentleman
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Year of the Gentleman is the third studio album by American pop and R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, released September 16, 2008 on Def Jam Recordings.[1] The album was met with generally favorable reviews from critics upon its release, as well as a considerable amount of commercial success and sales.
Conception
Year of the Gentleman was named in honor of Ne-Yo's artistic influences. Ne-Yo cited the 1960s American group Rat Pack, particularly members Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank Sinatra as influences, whose style inspired his clothes and music.[2][3] Explaining the album's title, he said he was "trying to take it back to where you couldn't walk out of the house unless you looked your best".[4] Commenting on the likes of the Rat Pack and Nat King Cole he commented that "they're suited and everything is right from top to bottom. Not saying it has to be a suit, 'cause clothes don't make the man — it's the attitude and person. The music needs to personify that.".[4] No featurings are present on the album, as previously announced, though "Single" also features as a version with New Kids on the Block on their album, The Block.
Although Ne-Yo has claimed that he wanted to "take a different direction" on the album by not making R&B sounds, however, according to Billboard magazine, "it seems he still has a heavy—yet welcome—case of the (rhythm and) blues on the finished product".[5]
Release and promotion
The first single, "Closer", was released on April 15. The song debuted at number twenty-two on the UK Singles Chart, and later reached number one. On Billboard's Hot 100, the song peaked at number seven, while it has reached number one on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.[6]
The second single was supposed to be "Stop the World", but was replaced by "Miss Independent", which was released on August 11.[7] The physical release will be accompanied by a video which premiered on August 21 on Access Granted.[8] Both these songs are produced and co-written by Stargate. The album was rereleased on December 3, 2008 in Japan, featuring the original Japanese bonus tracks, "What's The Matter" & "She Got Her Own" (featuring Fabolous & Jamie Foxx), as well as two remixes of "Closer" and an exclusive US iTunes track "In The Way" (tracklist on hmv.co.jp)
The third single is confirmed to be "Mad" and goes for adds on Urban/Rhythmic on October 14, 2008.[9] A video has been made for song "She Got Her Own" and is the official international single. On May 21, 2008 -- months before the album's release -- Ne-Yo performed the ballad "Stop This World" on the ABC soap opera All My Children. Appearing as himself, Ne-Yo sang the song during the lavish wedding ceremony of supercouple Jesse and Angie Hubbard.
Reception
Year of the Gentleman debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 250,000 copies sold making his first album not to debut at number one on the chart.[10] The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, giving Ne-Yo his highest-charting album in the UK, beating Because of You, which debuted at number six in 2007. In Japan, the album debuted at number one and has thus far sold over 200,000 copies.[11] Cite error: The <ref>
tag has too many names (see the help page). The album has since been certified platinum in the UK and Japan. The album went on to sell 371,000 copies during 2008 in the UK, and finished at #24 in the year end chart. In the US the album remained in the top 10 for its first five weeks and has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than 1 million copies. Additionally, the album enjoyed strong Top Ten debuts in both Canada and Australia.
Critical response to Year of the Gentleman was generally positive.[12] Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone magazine stated "The 28-year-old singer-songwriter says his latest collection of heartfelt love songs is a tribute to the Rat Pack's pressed-suit style, but it's actually a superb concept album about what a great boyfriend he can be."[13] The album was nominated for six Grammys Awards, including Album of the Year at the 51st Grammy Awards. According to Rolling Stone, the album is also rated number 33 among the 50 Best albums of 2008.[14]
Track listing
# | Title | Producer(s) | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Closer" | StarGate (Co-produced by Ne-Yo) | 3:54 |
2 | "Nobody" | Ne-Yo | 3:07 |
3 | "Single" (Ne-Yo solo) | Polow da Don | 4:18 |
4 | "Mad" | StarGate (Co-produced by Ne-Yo) | 4:15 |
5 | "Miss Independent" | StarGate (Co-produced by Ne-Yo) | 3:52 |
6 | "Why Does She Stay" | Stereotypes | 4:33 |
7 | "Fade into the Background" | Shomari "Sho" Wilson | 3:18 |
8 | "So You Can Cry" | Syience | 4:18 |
9 | "Part of the List" | Chuck Harmony | 4:10 |
10 | "Back to What You Know" | StarGate (Co-produced by Ne-Yo) | 4:10 |
11 | "Lie to Me" | Shea Taylor | 4:27 |
12 | "Stop This World" | Chuck Harmony | 4:24 |
- Bonus tracks
Title | Producer(s) | Time |
---|---|---|
"In the Way" (U.S. iTunes Pre-Order / Japanese re-release bonus track) | J. R. Rotem | 4:16 |
"What's the Matter" (U.K. iTunes Pre-Order; UK, Australia & Japan bonus track) | Chuck Harmony | 3:46 |
"She Got Her Own" (featuring Jamie Foxx & Fabolous) (US iTunes; Japan bonus track) |
Butter Beats | 5:32 |
"So Sick" (Brazilian bonus track) | Stargate | 3:27 |
"Because of You" (Brazilian and Australian bonus track) | Stargate | 3:46 |
"Sexy Love" (Brazilian bonus track) | Stargate | 3:40 |
Charts
Chart (2008) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums Chart[15] | 7 |
Greek Albums Chart[15] | 11 |
Austrian Albums Chart[15] | 41 |
Belgium Albums Chart[15] | 35 |
Canadian Albums Chart[16] | 4 |
Dutch Albums Chart[15] | 26 |
French Albums Chart[15] | 24 |
German Albums Chart[15] | 22 |
Irish Albums Chart[15] | 13 |
Italian Albums Chart[15] | 22 |
Japanese Oricon Album Chart[11] | 2 |
New Zealand Albums Chart[15] | 6 |
Swiss Albums Charts[15] | 9 |
UK Albums Chart[17] | 2 |
U.S. Billboard 200[10] | 2 |
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[10] | 1 |
Release history
Region | Country | Date | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Asia | Japan[18] | September 11, 2008 | Universal International |
Europe | Germany[19] | September 12, 2008 | Def Jam |
Italy[20] | |||
United Kingdom[21] | September 15, 2008 | Mercury | |
Americas | United States[22] | September 16, 2008 | Def Jam |
Brazil[23] | October 21, 2008 | Universal Music |
References
- ^ "Neyo: Year of the Gentleman". Def Jam. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ "Ne-Yo: Year of the Gentleman". Island Def Jam. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ Concepcion, Mariel (2008-03-27). "Ne-Yo's 'Gentleman' Inspired By Davis, Sinatra". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ^ a b Reid, Shaheem (2008-03-18). "Ne-Yo, Hard At Work On Third LP, Makes Time For Lindsay Lohan 'Challenge'". MTV News. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ Concepcion, Mariel (2008). "Year of the Gentleman: Ne-Yo". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (help) - ^ The Billboard Hot 100 - Closer - Ne-Yo Billboard. Accessed September 14, 2008.
- ^ New Ne-Yo Music - "Miss Independent"The album released September 1 in UK according to Amazon.co.uk and September 16 for the USA!
- ^ My "Miss Independent" Video Is Gonna Be Hot!
- ^ FMQB - Article
- ^ a b c Katie Hasty (September 24, 2008). Metallica Edges Ne-Yo, Nelly To Remain No. 1 Billboard. Accessed September 24, 2008.
- ^ a b [1]
- ^ Metacritic - Year of the Gentleman
- ^ Caryn Ganz (September 18, 2008). Year of the Gentleman : Ne-Yo : Review Rolling Stone. Accessed September 24, 2008.
- ^ Rolling Stone's 50 Best albums of 2008
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ne-Yo - Year Of The Gentleman - Music Charts αCharts. Accessed September 25, 2008.
- ^ Canoe -- Jam! Music SoundScan Charts
- ^ BBC - Radio 1 - Chart Show - The UK Top 40 Albums
- ^ "Ne-Yo:Year of the Gentleman". universal-music.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman - CD
- ^ Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman - disco di Ne-Yo
- ^ Ne-yo - Year Of The Gentleman
- ^ Year of the Gentleman: Ne-Yo: Music
- ^ [2]