It was probably too much to ask that Ne-Yo could pull another hit the size of So Sick out of his musical bag, but despite Sexy Love being a super-sappy ballad, there's still a quality of songwriting which glimmers through the mush. Liberal use of reverb and some old-skool drum machine beats lend this an Eighties vibe that brings to mind Michael Jackson (before things went pear-shaped). The indulgent use of syrupy synths set to presets like "plucked harp" and "space glide" leave you struggling to decide where this sits on the sliding scale between pure cheese and naive homage, though. At any rate, commercial R&B balladry is something you either love or hate - if you're in the former camp, then you'll find Ne-Yo is amongst the leaders of the pack.