New Ne-Yo album pushed back to August

By Gail Mitchell

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Originally due June 24, Ne-Yo's third Def Jam album, "Year of the Gentleman," has been pushed back to August 5 while the artist completes additional songs for the project.

The album features production by longtime Ne-Yo colleagues Stargate, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, J.R. Rotem and members of Ne-Yo's Atlanta-based Compound Entertainment crew.

The set's lead single, the Stargate-produced club track "Closer," is No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 41 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

"I wanted the third album to be something a little different from the first and second as far as the essence and the sound of what I was doing," Ne-Yo told Billboard in April, emphasizing that he'd become a bit bored by the R&B-heavy sound of his earlier work.

Reuters/Billboard