Usher had just wrapped that mega Confessions era and was somewhere recuperating , and wouldn't be seen again til 2008
Ne-yo really jumped in to fill that void, and got his hits and coins while the getting was good.
Croonin, dancin ... giving us that solo male artist experience. Back to back albums/eras in 2006, 2007 and 2008 .
Chris Brown was around but was delivering a less mature version of what Usher and Ne-Yo gave so he wasn't really direct competition
His timing was perfect. So perfect that I think it was planned that way
But he def delivered some gems, and although he was a stand-in for Usher IMO , it never felt like it cuz he was very intentional in branding himself in a way that carved his own lane. His " I write all my own stuff / in my own words" angle was a huge part of that.
King did the damn thing
He did. I loved Neyo when he first came out. Yes, Chris killing it too.
"Stay" is still my shit! And Ne-Yo def came through and had R&B in a chokehold during his run... I know he's breaded up b/c he wrote hits for himself and other major artists
Ne-Yo is so talented, his reign should have lasted longer
Outside of a couple of songs, I was never really a fan. I don't care for his voice.
Closer is perfection so jealous wish that was my single if I was an artist lol
Ne-Yo been around forever. I'm glad he was able to finally catch a break tho.
I loved that song he sang at Angie & Jesse's wedding. I wanna say it's called stop this world. And his duet with Jennifer Hudson should have been a single.