The last quarter of 2008 started off well for American R&B crooner Ne-Yo — and it's only got better.
In early September he was awarded $700,000 in a lawsuit against Rowe Entertainment. That was after he sued the concert promoter after being fired as an opener for troubled soul singer R. Kelly's late-2007 U.S. tour, just two gigs into a scheduled 25 live dates. An undisputed rising star, Ne-Yo claimed that favorable show reviews for him as opposed to the headlining Kelly played a factor in his dismissal.
Ne-Yo's wallet got even fatter later in the month with the release of his third full-length, "Year of the Gentleman." The disc debuted high on sales charts around the globe, including Japan, where it captured the No. 2 spot on the Oricon chart and has sold more than 300,000 copies to date. Riding the strength of hit singles "Closer" and "Miss Independent," "Year of the Gentleman" received six Grammy nods, including Album of the Year, when the awards ceremony announced its nominations in early December.