2005 saw R&B crooner Ne-Yo burst onto the music scene – as an artist. Previously known as a songwriter (having co-penned Mario‘s ‘Let Me Love You’, which stayed at the top of the Billboard for 9 weeks), he released his first album, ‘In My Own Words’, to wide critical and commercial acclaim. As such,  the LP’s final single, ‘Sexy Love’, will make the object of this week’s From The Vault.

A global summer hit, ‘Love’ established Ne-Yo as a prolific and viable act after the touchdown that was ‘So Sick’, his breakthrough single. Indeed, as history has proven with acts such as Lil Mama, Mims and the underrated Amerie; it seems to be quite the task to sustain as much as half the momentum after a smash a la ‘So Sick’.

On the song and its accompanying visual, Ne-Yo is addicted to his lady that he doesn’t care about anything that doesn’t revolve around the two of them.

Mr. Smith delivers, with the song, smooth high-pitched vocals (a nod to his idol Michael Jackson) over a then-fresh sounding production courtesy of Stargate (who in 2006 were still seen as up-and-comers in the U.S. Fast forward 4 years and they are Stateside Pop royalty – a title they’ve long held everywhere else.)

With new material on the way and after the disappointment that was ‘Libra Scale’, his fourth LP, we seriously hope the Grammy winning singer-songwriter has retrieved his mojo. For, he is among the better talents, alongside Chris Brown and Ciara, to have emerged from the music and entertainment scene since the mid 00′s.

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