R&B artists who sing well and write their own songs have become a rarity. As such, Ne-Yo's novelty garnered his 2006 debut In My Own Words much attention. The singer and songwriter passed the people's test with a combination of woeful (yet occasionally tasteless) R&B ballads, and his physical charms -- perhaps a shade more of the latter. Ne-Yo attempts to clean up his act on his third album Year of the Gentleman by paying homage to Rat Pack era sophistication –- which evidently means aggressive B&T bangers like "Closer" instead of come hither ballads in the vein of Sammy Davis, Jr.