Ne-Yo, the award winning singer, songwriter and producer released his fourth album”Libra Scale,” Sept. 21. The moment I heard the first single, “Beautiful Monster,” I knew that he must have been heading for a very Michael Jackson feel to his music. Although ‘Beautiful Monster’ could easily be classified as a synthetic, techno club track, the tempo, vocals and choice of bass instruments definitely reveal an influence from the King of Pop. After listening to the album and hearing the incredibly similar vocals of “oh no’s,” high pitched hicks and simple beat boxing, a listener could easily consider a song or two to be a cover of original Michael Jackson works.

However, Ne-Yo has done an incredible job of maintaining his individuality by composing soothing vocal melodies and producing leisure instrumentals and tempos that grasp the listener’s full attention.  One eye-catching aspect of the album is a track listing that tells a story of falling in and out of a loving yet troubled relationship. The initial track, “Champagne Life,” develops not only the mood of the entire album but the setting of the “Libra Scale” story. “Libra Scale” fluidly takes the listener through a journey of sparking interest, falling in love, having problems, and eventually losing the one you love due to self ignorance pointed out by the final track, “What Have I Done.”

All in all, I rate Ne-Yo’s Libra Scale a four out of five stars for a contemporary Rhythm & Blues album. Ne-Yo made an album that not only captures the essence of an emotional rollercoaster, but also features unique and stunning individual tracks.