Seems like the folks at Def Jam are having a little trouble with Ne-Yo’s fourth album, “Libra Scale”. I would imagine it’s a little difficult to market what’s being termed a sci-fi novel/comic book story on disc (or download?). There’s a whole story attached to it-pretty frickin’ ambitious. Like Ne-Yo meets Pink Floyd? Thankfully, he hasn’t decided to go prog on us, music-wise. Anyhow, the album has gotten bumped several times and now has a November 22nd release date (which I think is a bad move). Also, the album is on it’s third single. The first single, “Beautiful Monster”, was a little too Euro-pop for me (and for music listeners, apparently…it underperformed here in the U.S.), while second single “Champagne Life” had moderate R&B success but wasn’t a blockbuster. So now, we’re on single three: “One in a Million”.
Ne-Yo’s been very vocal about being influenced by Michael Jackson, and he’d been working with the superstar before his untimely death. “Million” is one of his most Jacksonesque songs yet. It’s decent-he’s an extremely talented writer and a resourceful singer, but nothing I’ve heard from “Libra Scale” has moved me the way that songs from his previous album, “Year of the Gentleman”, did.
The video has MJ written all over it, too. It’s a fun clip to watch.