When too much Juicy J is never enough…

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Thomas Inskeep: Ne-Yo, don’t try to out-Usher Usher. You can’t, and you shouldn’t, and his material isn’t the best fit for you. Now that said, the same way I dislike the verses on this song, featuring Dr. Luke trying and failing to ape “Are You That Somebody?,” the chorus is kinda plush and fits. This isn’t bad, it’s just oddly-fitting, and would frankly work much better were it an Usher single. 
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Alfred Soto: “Jealous” aside, Ne-Yo’s been irrelevant since the triumph of 2008’s Year of the Gentleman, one of the most consistent and rewarding male R&B albums of the new millennium. But it’s as if he allowed Pitbull to steal the party starters and Chris Brown the hooks. What with Dr. Luke’s canned horn hook blaring like Alice Deejay’s hit and Juicy J interjecting sub-Luda lasciviousness, everyone involved must know how desperate this sounds — and if not, I’ll tell them.
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Micha Cavaseno: Ne-Yo, AKA the dominating monster of the ’06-’09 era responsible for half my “I don’t f*** with this artist, but this song is hot” obsessions for my teen years, has returned bearing gifts from his time as an EDM hired-gun. Namely, obnoxious honks that’d be more fitting in a Flo Rida track. But w/e, here we find Ne-Yo attempting boisterousness in a way that’s suitable and appropriate, but not all that exciting. Juicy J does his stock cameo in a more B+ display. We clap, cheer, and keep it moving.
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Crystal Leww: If we’re going to talk about people capitalizing and profiting off of black culture in 2014, we have to talk about Dr. Luke. After producing the trap-lite “Dark Horse,” Dr. Luke signed Juicy J and spent a large part of the year producing a shitton of music for urban radio: Juicy J’s “Low,” Usher’s “I Don’t Mind,” Nicki Minaj’s “Only,” and this, which is finally picking up steam now. This is, sorry Ne-Yo, basically the same song as “Dark Horse,” almost down to the miniscule details. Fortunately, “Dark Horse” was the only song last album cycle even remotely listenable, and Ne-Yo is a hell of a lot more talented and charismatic than Katy Perry. I don’t know if Ne-Yo is ever going to get production that sounds as timeless as he does (remember the EDM-pop?), but I’m still excited to hear his foray into whatever the trends of 2014 are this album cycle.
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Katherine St Asaph: The horn patches already sound dated, a cheap knockoff of “Talk Dirty” or “Problem” or whichever predecessor I’m forgetting, but then so did Ne-Yo’s Stargate stuff. Ne-Yo’s still the most dynamic performer in his niche (less so Juicy J, whose Luke tenure is mostly him turning in endless permutations of his “Dark Horse” verse), and as thinkpiece-brained as it makes me sound, it’s refreshing to hear a track like this without the putdowns or half-assed conquest.
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Will Adams: The opening riff promised some awesomely obnoxious hi-NRG à la “I Like to Move It,” but I’ll gladly settle for “Dark Horse” with a better singer, lyrics, guest verse, everything.
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Brad Shoup: I’m betting that silly horn approximant will start to sound vital eventually. Or at least it’ll continue to fold well into the swooping gesture of Ne-Yo landing that chorus.
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