Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)
When I first heard this song, I was disappointed. Disappointed that a song by one of the greatest modern R&B songwriters, with a title with the potential for deep exploration was not a smooth R&B ballad like Ne-Yo of old, but a more uptempo pop/dance song typical of today’s charts. As time passed I noticed my iTunes play count for this song was increasing pretty quickly despite my initial feelings. With the release of this video, I can confirm that I do in fact like this song.
R&B artists making pop is simply a reflection of what sells in the charts these days (a whole topic in itself that I may explore at a later date). Ne-Yo has embraced this and is moving forward with it. His previous album Libra Scale was an example of this acceptance of trend though not entirely successful. This song though takes the composition of contemporary pop but lyrically, this is all Ne-Yo. This isn’t a song about how much fun he’s having in a club, objectifying girls (‘Beautiful Monster’), or a song for empowerment as most songs that chart seem to be about today, but a song with a typical romantic R&B message. Ne-Yo has managed to get a R&B song out over a pop/dance arrangement and I think that is an impressive feat.
