Libra Scale

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Libra Scale
Studio album by Ne-Yo
Released October 27, 2010 (2010-10-27)
(see release history)
Recorded 2009–2010
Genre R&B, pop
Length 43:54
Label Def Jam
Producer Ne-Yo (exec.), Antonio "L.A." Reid (also exec.) Stargate, D. DoRohn Gough, Ryan Leslie, Syience, Rochad Holiday, Sandy Vee
Ne-Yo chronology
Year of the Gentleman
(2008)		 Libra Scale
(2010)		 The Cracks in Mr. Perfect (2012)
Singles from Libra Scale
  1. "Beautiful Monster"
    Released: June 8, 2010
  2. "Champagne Life"
    Released: July 20, 2010
  3. "One in a Million"
    Released: September 14, 2010

Libra Scale is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. It was released on October 27, 2010 in Japan, followed by a release in the United Kingdom on October 29, as well a release in North America on November 22, 2010 by Def Jam. The album is preceded by three singles: its lead Europop-oriented single, and the UK number-one hit "Beautiful Monster", as well the R&B singles "Champagne Life" and "One in a Million". Upon its release, Libra Scale has received favorable reviews from most music critics, the album opened at number 9 on the US Billboard 200, selling 112,000 copies in its first week sales, becoming his fourth consecutive top-ten album in the United States. It currently holds a 73 out of 100 on Metacritic, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on fourteen reviews,[1] and has attained three singles that have achieved moderate Billboard chart success.

Contents

[edit] Background and concept

According to Ne-Yo, the idea for the album emerged from three influences: his desire to do something different instead of a standard compilation; his interest in science fiction, comic books and Japanese animation; and inspiration from the works of Michael Jackson, particularly Thriller, Moonwalker, and Bad.[2][3] Originally a short movie was to accompany the album, but such proved not to be viable given time and monetary constraints, so Ne-Yo chose to develop a series of six extended music videos instead.[3][4] Nevertheless, the film concept continues to influence the work, as he has stated the songs on the album are inspired by the script of the film that he wrote.[5] The album features a number of songs which follow the story of Jerome and Pretti Sinclair.[4]

The album's concept explores a story questioning morality and both sides of the Libra Scale: the decision between money/power/fame versus love.[6] The story follows three garbage men – Jerome, Clyde and Leroy – who are offered everything they have wanted in return for protecting the city against a forthcoming threat. However, there's a catch: they can never fall in love. When Jerome (Ne-Yo) falls for Pretti Sinclair (Galen Hooks) disaster ensues, and he has to choose between his love for her and the fame, power and money that he had been given, as he must choose between her life and his own.[2][7]

[edit] Singles

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"Beautiful Monster" was released as the lead single on June 8, 2010. It peaked at fifty-three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and sixty-one on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It performed the best in the UK, where it became his third number-one hit. It also reached the top ten in Japan and Ireland, and achieved moderate success in other international markets. "Champagne Life"was released as the second North American single on July 20, 2010. It peaked at seventy-five on the Billboard Hot 100, eleven on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and due to gaining strong digital sales, reached the top forty in Japan. "One in a Million" was released as the third North American and second international single on September 7, 2010.[8] It peaked at eighty-seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and has reached a current peak at twenty-one on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It also reached the top twenty in the UK and charted in Australia.[citation needed]

[edit] Reception

[edit] Commercial performance

The album debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 112,000 copies.[9]

[edit] Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3.5/5 stars[10]
The A.V. Club (B+)[11]
BBC Music (favorable)[12]
The Boston Globe (favorable)[13]
The Guardian 3/5 stars[14]
Los Angeles Times 2.5/4 stars[15]
The New York Times (favorable)[16]
PopMatters (7/10)[17]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[18]
Slant Magazine 3.5/5 stars[19]

Upon its release, Libra Scale received generally favorable reviews from most music critics.[1] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 14 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[1] Judy Rosen of Rolling Stone awarded the album with four stars out of five, commenting that "the real concept here is: Michael Jackson tribute album. And a damn good one." Andy Kellman of Allmusic gave the album three and a half out of five stars, stating that "Ne-Yo remains a premier source of R&B that is both traditional and contemporary." Todd Martens of Los Angeles Times gave the album two and a half out of four stars, commenting that "Ultimately it's admirable that Ne-Yo felt the need to take listeners on a out-of-this-world ride, but he's at his best when sticking closer to home."

[edit] Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Champagne Life"   Shaffer Smith, David Gough D. DoRohn Gough 5:23
2. "Makin' a Movie"   Smith, Derrick White D. White 3:52
3. "Know Your Name"   Rochad Holiday, Sixx Johnson, Smith, Curtis Wilson The NeXmen, Hollywood Hot Sauce 4:07
4. "Telekinesis"   Anthony Reyes, Jesse Wilson, Smith Jesse "Corparal" Wilson 4:22
5. "Crazy Love" (featuring Fabolous) Ryan Leslie, Smith, John Jackson Ryan Leslie 3:50
6. "One in a Million"   Charles Harmon, Smith Chuck Harmony 4:03
7. "Genuine Only"   Reginald Perry, Samuel Jean, Smith Syience 3:56
8. "Cause I Said So"   Joel Augustin, Smith, Alain Biamby JackPot 3:49
9. "Beautiful Monster"   Smith, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Sandy Wilhelm StarGate, Sandy Vee 4:11
10. "What Have I Done?"   David Gough, Smith D. DoRohn Gough 3:51

[edit] Personnel

Credits for Libra Scale adapted from Allmusic.[22]

  • Hollywood Hot Sauce – Additional Production, Keyboards
  • Kristen Yiengst – Art Coordinator, Photo Coordination
  • Will Ragland – Art Direction, Design
  • Leesa D. Brunson – A&R
  • Q. Nicole Jackson – A&R
  • Reynell "Tango" Hay – A&R
  • Terese Joseph – A&R
  • Dwayne Thomas, Jr. – Bass
  • Erik "Baby Jesus" Coomes – Bass
  • Anthony Reyes – Bass, Composer, Guitar
  • Chuck Harmony – Composer, Producer
  • Jesse Wilson – Composer, Musician, Producer, Programming
  • Mikkel Storleer Eriksen – Composer, Engineer, Instrumentation, Production
  • Tor Erik Hermansen – Composer, Instrumentation, Production
  • Tyler Coomes – Drums
  • Carlos Oyanedel – Engineer
  • Damien Lewis – Engineer
  • Jaymz Hardy-Martin III – Engineer, Mixing, Vocal Engineer
  • Antonio "L.A." Reid – Executive Producer
  • Ne-Yo – Executive Producer, Vocals
  • Brent Paschke – Guitar
  • Sandy Vee – Instrumentation, Mixing, Producer
  • Chris Atlas – Marketing
  • Tom Coyne – Mastering
  • Kevin "KD" Davis – Mixing
  • Phil Tan – Mixing
  • Jerel Lake – Mixing Assistant
  • Josh Houghkirk – Mixing Assistant
  • Doug Joswick – Package Production
  • Sacha Waldman – Photography
  • Jackpot – Producer
  • Rochad Holiday – Producer
  • Ryan Leslie – Producer
  • Syience – Producer
  • Sixx Johnson – Producer, Programming
  • Rachel Johnson – Stylist
  • Mike "TrakGuru" Johnson – Vocal Engineer

[edit] Charts and certifications

[edit] Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[23] 36
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[24] 28
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[25] 60
Dutch Albums Chart[26] 48
European Top 100 Albums [27][not in citation given] 20
French Albums Chart[28] 45
German Albums Chart[29] 53
Irish Albums Chart[30] 24
Italian Album Chart[31][not in citation given] 15
South African Albums Chart[32] 10
Swiss Albums Chart[33] 15
UK Albums Chart[34] 11
UK R&B Chart[35] 1
US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[36] 4
US Billboard 200[37] 9

[edit] Certifications

Country Certifications
Japan Gold[38]

[edit] Release history

Region Date Format Label
Japan October 27, 2010 Standard edition (CD, digital download)[39]
Deluxe edition (CD + DVD)[40]		 Universal Music Japan
Germany[41] October 29, 2010 Universal Music
United Kingdom[42] Standard edition (CD, digital download) Mercury Records
Hong Kong November 1, 2010 Def Jam Records
Australia November 5, 2010 Universal Music
Brazil[43] November 9, 2010
United States[44] November 22, 2010 Def Jam Records

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Libra Scale Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2011-03-05.
  2. ^ a b Wilbekin, Emil (July 20, 2010). "Ne-Yo Describes the Story Behind 'Libra Scale'". Essence.com. http://www.essence.com/entertainment/hot_topics/ne-yo_interview.php. Retrieved July 31, 2010. 
  3. ^ a b Fennessey, Sean (July 14, 2010). "Ne-Yo Records Concept Album About Superheroes". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/180872. Retrieved July 31, 2010. 
  4. ^ a b DJ Bigger. "Ne-Yo – Libra Scale Album Review". Contactmusic.com. http://www.contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/albumreview/ne-yo-libra-scalex09x07x10. Retrieved July 31, 2010. 
  5. ^ "Ne-Yo Has Written A Movie Script". OMG,Music!. http://www.omgmusic.com/news/ne-yo-has-written-a-movie-script. Retrieved 2010-06-09. 
  6. ^ Ne-Yo interview by Pete Lewis, Blues & Soul' August 2010
  7. ^ "Ne-Yo bringing back the concept album". The Courier-Mail. July 22, 2010. http://www.couriermail.com.au/entertainment/music/ne-yo-bringing-back-the-concept-album/story-e6freqgx-1225895455243. Retrieved July 31, 2010. 
  8. ^ iTunes Store
  9. ^ Jacobs, Allen (2010-12-01). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 11/28/2010". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group.
  10. ^ Kellman, Andy. Review: Libra Scale. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  11. ^ A.V. Club review
  12. ^ "Music - Review of Ne-Yo - Libra Scale". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/gd8r. Retrieved 2010-12-24. 
  13. ^ Boston Globe review
  14. ^ The Guardian review
  15. ^ Martens, Todd. LA Times Review, Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  16. ^ New York Times review
  17. ^ PopMatters review
  18. ^ Rosen, Judy. Rolling Stone Review, Retrieved on 2010-11-22.
  19. ^ Slant Magazine review
  20. ^ Libra Scale(Limited (Price))【CD】-Ne-Yo｜R&B / Dance｜Dance & Soul｜Music｜HMV ONLINE Online Shopping & Information Site
  21. ^ Ne-yo: Libra Scale: Includes Dvd (2010): CD: hmv.com
  22. ^ Credits: Libra Scale. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2011-03-05.
  23. ^ "australian-charts.com - Ne-Yo - Libra Scale". ARIA Charts. Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Ne%2DYo&titel=LibraScale&cat=a. Retrieved 15 November 2010. 
  24. ^ "ultratop.be - Ne-Yo - Libra Scale" (in Dutch). Ultratop. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Ne%2DYo&titel=LibraScale&cat=a. Retrieved 6 November 2010. 
  25. ^ "ultratop.be - Ne-Yo - Libra Scale" (in French). Ultratop. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=Ne%2DYo&titel=LibraScale&cat=a. Retrieved 6 November 2010. 
  26. ^ "dutchcharts.nl - Ne-Yo - Libra Scale" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Ne%2DYo&titel=LibraScale&cat=a. Retrieved 6 November 2010. 
  27. ^ European Albums, billboard.com
  28. ^ "Tops : Shakira et la taupe dominent toujours" (in French). Chartsinfrance.net. http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Shakira/news-71413.html. Retrieved 2010-11-10. 
  29. ^ Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de
  30. ^ "Irish Charts - Singles, Albums & Compilations: Top 100 Individual Artist Albums". Irish Albums Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association. http://www.irma.ie/aucharts.asp#albums. Retrieved November 4, 2010. 
  31. ^ FIMI - Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana - Classifiche
  32. ^ :: Radio Sonder Grense ::
  33. ^ "swisscharts.com - Ne-Yo - Libra Scale" (in German). MegaCharts. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Ne%2DYo&titel=LibraScale&cat=a. Retrieved 14 November 2010. 
  34. ^ Album Top 40 from the Official UK Charts Company
  35. ^ R&B Albums Chart
  36. ^ Ne-Yo Album & Song Chart History – R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Billboard. Retrieved on 2011-03-05.
  37. ^ Latest Music News, Band, Artist, Musician & Music Video News | Billboard.com
  38. ^ "一般社団法人 日本レコード協会｜各種統計". Riaj.or.jp. http://www.riaj.or.jp/data/others/gold/201010.html. Retrieved 2012-02-28. 
  39. ^ Libra Scale(Limited (Price))【CD】-Ne-Yo｜R&B / Dance｜Dance & Soul｜Music｜HMV ONLINE Online Shopping & Information Site
  40. ^ Libra Scale (+DVD)-Deluxe Edition -(+DVD, Special Edition (Deluxe))【CD】-Ne-Yo｜R&B / Dance｜Dance & Soul｜Music｜HMV ONLINE Online Shopping & Information Site
  41. ^ Libra Scale, Amazon.de.
  42. ^ [1], iTunes.
  43. ^ Cd: Libra Scale - Ne-Yo - Rap & Hip Hop
  44. ^ Amazon.com: Libra Scale: Ne-Yo: Music
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