Year of the Gentleman

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Year of the Gentleman
Studio album by Ne-Yo
Released September 11, 2008 (2008-09-11)
Recorded 2007–2008
Genre R&B, pop, dance-pop
Length 48:41
Label Def Jam
Producer Ne-Yo (also exec.), Stargate, Chuck Harmony, Polow da Don, Kirven Arrington, Shea Taylor, Stereotypes, Shomari "Sho" Wilson, Reggie "Syience" Perry
Ne-Yo chronology
Because of You
(2007)		 Year of the Gentleman
(2008)		 Libra Scale
(2010)
Singles from Year of the Gentleman
  1. "Closer"
    Released: April 15, 2008
  2. "Miss Independent"
    Released: August 12, 2008
  3. "Mad"
    Released: November 4, 2008
  4. "Part of the List"
    Released: April 7, 2009

Year of the Gentleman is the third studio album by American R&B and pop singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, released September 16, 2008, on Def Jam Recordings in the United States.[1] Ne-Yo worked with several record producers for the album, including Stargate, Chuck Harmony, Polow da Don, Stereotypes, and Reggie "Syience" Perry, among others.

Year of the Gentleman received positive reviews from most music critics upon its release, who complimented its musical aesthetic and Ne-Yo's songwriting, and it earned him seven Grammy Award nominations, including for Album of the Year. It was also met with a considerable amount of commercial success and sales. The album produced four singles, including international hits "Closer", "Miss Independent", and "Mad". Year of the Gentleman has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of one million copies in the United States. It has also been certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, for shipments of 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

Contents

[edit] Background

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 Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. 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] The scene in the background for the cover was shot at the $20 million dollar mansion, known as Pink Palace, in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia.[6]

[edit] 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.[7] The second single was supposed to be "Stop This World", but was replaced by "Miss Independent", which was released on August 11.[8] The physical release will be accompanied by a video which premiered on August 21 on Access Granted.[9] Both of these songs are produced and co-written by Stargate. The album was re-released on December 3, 2008 in Japan, featuring the original Japanese bonus tracks, "What's The Matter" and "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)
"Miss Independent"
"Miss Independent" from Year of the Gentleman
"She Got Her Own (Miss Independent Part 2)"
The remix of "Miss Independent" features Fabolous and Jamie Foxx, and was included the album's US iTunes and Japan editions.
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

The third single is confirmed to be "Mad" and goes for adds on Urban/Rhythmic on October 14, 2008.[10] 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.[11] The fourth single is confirmed to be "Part of the List". The music video is shot in Prague on March 22.[12] Director is TAJ of the Popular Kid. Video produced by Andrew Listermann of Riveting Entertainment.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Commercial performance

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.[13] 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 and in the UK 100,000 copies in its first week.[14][15] The album has since been certified platinum in the UK[16] 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.

[edit] Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[17]
Entertainment Weekly (B+)[18]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[19]
Los Angeles Times 3.5/4 stars[20]
The New York Times (favorable)[21]
PopMatters (7/10)[22]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[23]
Slant Magazine 3/5 stars[24]
USA Today 3.5/4 stars[25]
The Village Voice (favorable)[26]

The album received generally positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 79/100 from Metacritic.[27] Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone magazine gave Year of the Gentleman 4 out of 5 stars and 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."[23] However, Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and called it "musically uneven and ballad-heavy".[24] Robert Christgau gave the album a rating of honorable mention ((2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)),[28] indicating a "likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy".[29] Vibe's Brad Wete wrote that Ne-Yo "is a stronger, more confident man than the one many remember licking his wounds" on his previous work.[30] Newsday writer Glenn Gamboa gave it an A- rating and wrote "for the bulk of the album, Ne-Yo has simply honed his hit-making skills, churning out one memorable melody after another, building an album that finally lives up to the potential he only hinted at on his first two releases, both lyrically and vocally".[31] 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.[32]

[edit] Track listing

No. Title Producer(s) Length
1. "Closer"   StarGate, Ne-Yo * 3:54
2. "Nobody"   Ne-Yo 3:07
3. "Single"   Polow Da Don 4:18
4. "Mad"   StarGate, Ne-Yo * 4:14
5. "Miss Independent"   StarGate, 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, Ne-Yo * 4:10
11. "Lie to Me"   Shea Taylor 4:27
12. "Stop This World"   Chuck Harmony 4:24
  • (*) Co-producer
Bonus tracks
  • "What's the Matter" (produced by Chuck Harmony) (UK iTunes Pre-Order/UK/Australia/Japan) — 3:46
  • "She Got Her Own" (featuring Jamie Foxx and Fabolous) (produced by Butter Beats) (US iTunes/Japan) — 5:32
  • "In the Way" (produced by J. R. Rotem) (US iTunes Pre-Order/Japan re-release) — 4:16
  • "So Sick" (produced by StarGate) (Brazil) — 3:27
  • "Because of You" (produced by StarGate) (Brazil/Australia) — 3:46
  • "Sexy Love" (produced by StarGate) (Brazil) — 3:40

[edit] Personnel

Credits for Year of a Gentleman adapted from Allmusic.[33]

  • Davis A. Barnett – Viola
  • Jesse Bond – Guitar
  • Jay Brown – A&R
  • Chavez – Audio Engineer
  • Jeff Chestek – String Engineer
  • Carol Corless – Package Production
  • Ryan D – Assistant Engineer, Audio Engineer
  • Kevin "KD" Davis – Mixing
  • Mikkel Storleer Eriksen – Engineer, Instrumentation, Various
  • Larry Gold – Arranger, Conductor, String Arrangements, String Conductor
  • Jaymz Hardy-Martin III – Engineer, Mixing, Vocal Mixing, Vocal Recording
  • Chuck Harmony – Arranger, Audio Production, Producer, String Arrangements
  • Reynell "Tango" Hay – A&R
  • Tor Erik Hermanson – Instrumentation, Various
  • Josh Houghkirk – Audio Engineer, Engineer, Mixing Assistant
  • Nicole Jackson – A&R
  • Terese Joseph – A&R
  • Olga Konopelsky – Violin
  • Emma Kummrow – Violin
  • Alexandra Leem – Viola
  • Jennie Lorenzo – Cello
  • Rob Martin – Violin
  • Micayle McKinney – Keyboards
  • Ne-Yo – Audio Production, Executive Producer, Producer, Vocals
  • Charles Parker – Violin
  • Polow da Don – Audio Production, Producer
  • Herb Powers – Mastering
  • Geno Regist – Engineer, Vocal Recording
  • L.A. Reid – Executive Producer
  • Montez Roberts – Assistant Engineer, Audio Engineer
  • J. Peter Robinson – Art Direction, Design
  • John Stahl – Assistant Engineer, Audio Engineer
  • Chris Stanford – Photography
  • Stargate – Audio Production
  • The Stereotypes – Producer
  • Bernt Rune – Stray Guitar
  • Syience – Audio Production, Various
  • Igor Szwec – Violin
  • Phil Tan – Mixing
  • Robert Taylor "R.T." – Guitar
  • Shea Taylor – Audio Production, Drum Programming, Piano, Strings, Synthesizer
  • Gregory Teperman – Violin
  • Tony Terrebonne – Engineer
  • Brandon Thomas – Guitar
  • Shomari "Sho" Wilson – Audio Production, Instrumentation, Producer, Various

[edit] Charts and certifications

[edit] Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[34] 7
Greek Albums Chart[34] 11
Austrian Albums Chart[34] 41
Belgium Albums Chart[34] 35
Canadian Albums Chart[35] 4
Dutch Albums Chart[34] 26
French Albums Chart[34] 24
German Albums Chart[34] 22
Irish Albums Chart[34] 13
Italian Albums Chart[34] 22
Japanese Oricon Album Chart[14] 15
New Zealand Albums Chart[34] 6
Swiss Albums Charts[34] 9
UK Albums Chart[36] 2
U.S. Billboard 200[13] 2
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[13] 1

[edit] Certifications

Territory Certifier Certification
Japan RIAJ Platinum[37]
United Kingdom BPI 2x Platinum[16]
United States RIAA Platinum[38]

[edit] Chart precession and succession

Preceded by
The Recession by Young Jeezy		 Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums number-one album
October 4, 2008 - October 11, 2008		 Succeeded by
Fearless by Jazmine Sullivan

[edit] Release history

Region Country Date Label
Asia Japan[39] September 11, 2008 Universal International
Europe Germany[40] September 12, 2008 Def Jam
Italy[41]
United Kingdom[42] September 15, 2008 Mercury
Americas United States[43] September 16, 2008 Def Jam
Brazil[44] October 21, 2008 Universal Music

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Neyo: Year of the Gentleman". Def Jam. http://www.defjam.com/site/artist_home.php?artist_id=593. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
  2. ^ "Ne-Yo: Year of the Gentleman". Island Def Jam. http://www.defjam.com/site/artist_bio.php?artist_id=593. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
  3. ^ Concepcion, Mariel (2008-03-27). "Ne-Yo's 'Gentleman' Inspired By Davis, Sinatra". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i2878075a82ab00a5bfdc752d77544b30. Retrieved 2008-03-28. 
  4. ^ a b Reid, Shaheem (2008-03-18). "Ne-Yo, Hard At Work On Third LP, Makes Time For Lindsay Lohan 'Challenge'". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1583619/20080318/ne_yo.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
  5. ^ Concepcion, Mariel (September 2008). "Year of the Gentleman: Ne-Yo". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3i4bd22674ba7598a8c118a73c5f21e250. Retrieved 2008-09-23. [dead link]
  6. ^ Tobin, Rachel (2008-10-24). "Pink Palace re-priced to sell". ajc.com. http://www.ajc.com/homefinder/content/homefinder/stories/2008/10/24/pink_palace_buckhead.html. Retrieved 2011-02-20. 
  7. ^ The Billboard Hot 100 - Closer - Ne-Yo Billboard. Accessed September 14, 2008.
  8. ^ New Ne-Yo Music - "Miss Independent" The album released September 1 in UK according to Amazon.co.uk and September 16 for the USA!
  9. ^ My "Miss Independent" Video Is Gonna Be Hot!
  10. ^ FMQB - Article
  11. ^ Lang, Derrik J. (2008-04-25). "Ne-Yo to appear on 'All My Children'". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-04-24-neyo-soap_N.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-08. 
  12. ^ "Music Video News". Video Static. http://www.videostatic.com/. Retrieved 2011-02-20. 
  13. ^ a b c Katie Hasty (September 24, 2008). Metallica Edges Ne-Yo, Nelly To Remain No. 1 Billboard. Accessed September 24, 2008.
  14. ^ a b http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ea/w/
  15. ^ [1]
  16. ^ a b "Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman", BPI, http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx, retrieved 2010-09-16 
  17. ^ Kellman, Andy. Review: Year of the Gentleman. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  18. ^ Greenblatt, Leah. Review: Year of the Gentleman. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  19. ^ Macpherson, Alex. Review: Year of the Gentleman. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  20. ^ Wood, Mikael. Review: Year of the Gentleman. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  21. ^ Pareles, Jon. Review: Year of the Gentleman. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  22. ^ Joseph, Mike. Review: Year of the Gentleman. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  23. ^ a b Ganz, Caryn. Review: Year of the Gentleman. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  24. ^ a b Henderson, Eric. Review: Year of the Gentleman. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  25. ^ Jones, Steve. Review: Year of the Gentleman. USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  26. ^ Linden, Amy. Review: Year of the Gentleman. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  27. ^ Year of the Gentleman. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  28. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Year of the Gentleman". MSN Music: January 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-11-19.
  29. ^ Christgau, Robert. CG 90s: Key to Icons. Robert Christgau. Retrieved on 2009-06-15.
  30. ^ Wete, Brad. Review: Year of the Gentleman. Vibe. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  31. ^ Gamboa, Glenn. Review: Year of the Gentleman. Newsday. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
  32. ^ Rolling Stone's 50 Best albums of 2008
  33. ^ Year of the Gentleman - Ne-Yo | AllMusic: Credits. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2011-05-04.
  34. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ne-Yo - Year Of The Gentleman - Music Charts αCharts. Accessed September 25, 2008.
  35. ^ Canoe -- Jam! Music SoundScan Charts
  36. ^ BBC - Radio 1 - Chart Show - The UK Top 40 Albums
  37. ^ "RIAJ - December 2008". RIAJ. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.riaj.or.jp%2Fdata%2Fothers%2Fgold%2F200812.html. Retrieved 2010-09-16. 
  38. ^ Year of the Gentleman – Album Certification, RIAA, http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=year%20of%20the%20gentleman&artist=&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2010&sort=Artist&perPage=25, retrieved 2010-09-16 
  39. ^ "Ne-Yo:Year of the Gentleman" (in Japanese). universal-music.co.jp. http://www.universal-music.co.jp/u-pop/artist/ne-yo/disco/uicd6153.html. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
  40. ^ Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman - CD
  41. ^ Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman - disco di Ne-Yo
  42. ^ Ne-yo - Year Of The Gentleman
  43. ^ Year of the Gentleman: Ne-Yo: Music
  44. ^ "Year of the Gentleman - Brazilian Edition - Saraiva.com.br". Livrariasaraiva.com.br. http://www.livrariasaraiva.com.br/produto/produto.dll/detalhe?pro_id=2604957&ID=BD6AB8CC7D80A080B031D0558. Retrieved 2011-02-20. 

[edit] External links

Ne-Yo
Studio albums
In My Own Words · Because of You · Year of the Gentleman · Libra Scale · The Cracks In Mr. Perfect
Compilation albums
Singles
Featured singles
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