Ne Yo Singer

Gliding across the stage, crooning "come closer" over a driving beat, he manhandles the microphone stand like a modern-day James Brown. Only without the polyester jumpsuit. Ne-Yo, the R&B triple-threat singer, performer and songwriter, is rocking a steel gray Tom Ford sharkskin suit, a silver tie cinched with a tie bar -- and his trademark fedora. His retro style -- or "swag" as he calls it -- informs every element of the performance.

IN the celebrity world, rumors are to be expected. Yet rising R&B-pop star Ne-Yo still had a rare experience after entering the spotlight last year, when some magazines accused him of being a straight sex addict and others alleged he's a closeted homosexual. Although these tales -- the former fueled by explicit video swiped from his cellphone -- were upsetting, Ne-Yo heeded the sage advice of Jay-Z and shrugged them off.

THERE ARE plenty of excellent songs on Ne-Yo's new release, "Year of the Gentleman." But one stands out for me -- and apparently for the 25-year-old smooth lover too. When I met with Ne-Yo in the studio last month to sample from his new selections, he was predictably enthusiastic about everything. But the song "Fade Into the Background," a mini-epic about watching your lost love walk down the aisle with some lucky cleanup fella, got him seriously jazzed. " 'Fade Into the Background' is the story of a guy who's dating a young lady; they end up breaking up," Ne-Yo says.