7 Things I Like About Ne-Yo

Now I know why he wears hats

Indian philosopher Sri Chinmoy observed: 'You hate someone who you really wish to love, but whom you cannot love.'

I can immediately name just about everything that I hate about Ne-Yo (his limited vocal range, his name, his dodgy dance steps, his air of averageness, his stupid fedoras, and his general cheeseball demeanor). Yet, every time I hear a new Ne-Yo single it sounds pretty right. So, for Chinmoy's sake (and so that I have a reminder whenever I start Ne-Yo bashing), here are seven things I like about Ne-Yo.

1. He's the mind behind one of the best pop songs (and one of the better shower songs) in recent memory, "Irreplaceable." As far as songs go, they don't get much catchier than "Irreplaceable." But when you throw in the way that the music and lyrics embody the anger & resignation required to leave some cad you love, it becomes fairly apparent that this is not an average pop song.

2. The way that his voice strains at the upper end of the register makes me think that if i get fired tomorrow, I could always fall back on being an R&B singer. See: "Go On Girl."

3. His debut album In My Own Words was treacly as hell and had the pacing of a Wes Anderson flick without any of the self-awareness. But, if I signed an unproven artist and he delivered "So Sick" and "Sexy Love," I'd go buy a bigger house.

4. Seriously, "So Sick" is major. Ne-Yo is the only person that I've ever heard lend any substance to a dancehall track.

5. Ghostface ft. Ne-Yo: "Back Like That" (and the remix featuring Kanye West here).

6. He picks good video hos.

7. "Miss Independent" is the best song on the radio (as of 1:29p on August 26, 2008). And that's mostly because Ne-Yo is very adept at capturing zeitgeist. From the dancehall beat on "So Sick" to the Michael Jackson-revivalism on "Because of You," every major Ne-Yo single fits perfectly into the open space on the radio.
Urban radio for the last 6 months has been going synth-crazy. But, all the producers are just twiddling with the same pro tools setting. All of them (and this is similar to the vocoder addiction sweeping singers and rappers) are just so excited to have found this new thing that they can't control themselves. All the synths on the radio - from "Love in This Club" to anything by T-Pain - drive those songs towards the insanity, but the synths that appear on "Miss Independent" end up creating a hypnotic calm. Ne-Yo knows.

And one more reason: At least two of his singles share titles with Kelly Clarkson singles ("Because of You" and "Miss Independent")

Next Up: Akon.

Psych. Some hate is too deep to rationalize.