R&B music in 2006 was experiencing a golden period of kinds. Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke had been giving a brand new look to blue-eyed soul, Ciara and Cassie had been carrying on the legacy of Aaliyah, Janet Jackson and Monica had been going back-to-back on high of the album chart and even LeToya from the unique Future’s Youngster lineup had an opportunity to lastly obtain solo fame. Nevertheless, two main occasions occurred that yr which we might all agree modified the sport without end: Beyoncé dropping B’Day and the debut of singer/songwriter Ne-Yo.
That’s why it felt like two worlds colliding when “Irreplaceable” dropped as a single, which the “So Sick” singer wrote for Bey simply two months after the discharge of his personal debut album, In My Personal Phrases. 10 weeks atop the Scorching 100, “Video Of The 12 months” on the ’07 BET Awards and fairly the catchy refrain — to the left! to the left! — it’s a collab that’s gone down in soul music historical past as a traditional.
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Nearly 20 years later, Ne-Yo joins us for “My First Time” to revisit that golden second of assembly Beyoncé and dealing collectively to make magic within the studio. Given her resume on the time because the lead voice behind the multiplatinum hits of the aforementioned Future’s Youngster, along with a then-budding profession in Hollywood and the apparent successful streak following her era-defining debut solo single, “Loopy In Love,” one might perceive why Ne-Yo would assume he can be working with a licensed diva. Nevertheless, from her dressed-down demeanor to the way in which she spearheaded the session, he quickly realized that he wasn’t coping with your common soul singer.
