Chuck Harmony, who produced Russian Roulette from the new Rihanna Album called Rated R, is doing his best to explain how great the song and album are after a poor rating by fans. Harmony says the album will prove Rihanna is the Madonna of her generation.

"I sat through mix sessions and I heard some of the songs on the record. It fits in well," he said of "Russian Roulette."

Just saying it doesn’t make it true. In fact making such comparisons raises expectations, and makes a failure seem that much more like a career killer. There really is no comparison between Rihanna and Madonna, since Madonna created much of her own material, whereas someone else created Rihanna’s material. There is also nothing original about Rihanna. It’s all been done before.

Harmony then tried to explain how the darkness in Russian Roulette doesn’t reflect the entire album, because there are better songs than this one:

"I think Rihanna has captured what her old fans are used to, as well as the growth of an artist. Russian Roulette, to me, is a shining example of her growth and her artistic expression. Russian Roulette is definitely taking her to another level. I think she’s a pop icon, so her music should reflect that."

Here we go again. "Taking her to another level" is another statement that isn’t supported by the lack of spark in Russian Roulette.

Harmony then went on to explain how the half-dressed Rihanna on the cover of the album is "genius."

"It fits in with the song. The way it’s unfolding is so genius. Like, ’The wait is ova’ [message on her site]. I was waiting too. I wanted to see the cover, I wanted to hear the song. It’s one of those records where you just don’t know. It’s not a faith record. It’s one of those thought-provoking records."

We think the idea with the cover art was the old s*x sells. Maybe for the impulse buy, but there are better pictures of Rihanna wearing nothing at all on the Internet.

If you have "explain" how great a performer is, and how great the album is, you’ve already failed.

Rihanna has released her new single Russian Roulette, which was written and produced by Ne-Yo, whose long track record with Rihanna includes the #1 hit “Unfaithful”, their Top 10 duet “Hate That I Love You”, and #1 pop/ #1 R&B “Take A Bow”. In addition to Ne-Yo, other producers and writers on Rihanna’s new album include the team of The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, Chase & Status, Stargate, Justin Timberlake and more.

Nothing Rihanna does, it seems, is written by her. She just performs what everyone tells her to do.

Click here to listen.

The lyrics to Russian Roulette are below:

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Ne-Yo broke into tears onstage on Wednesday in Manchester, and cried so hard the show had to be stopped. An announcer said the show was not cancelled, but rather postponed.

There have been a lot of rumors that Ne-Yo is gay, despite pictures we obtained showing Ne-Yo getting hetero with a female, so may he’s bi.

Ne-Yo blamed his sudden and uncontrollable crying on a sinus infection that he says made his voice fade so much he couldn’t continue his performance. In the statement Ne-Yo released due to criticism from bloggers he is vague about the reason he stopped the show, and gets all emotional and philisophical about it. At 29 years-old, and having been in the music business for years now, one might think Ne-Yo would act like a big boy now, but his feminine side is showing, which stokes those gay rumors even further. Ne-Yo said in his statement:

I’m currently on tour in the UK. This tour began right after a 4 month stint in Prague shooting a world war 2 movie. We’re in a different city in a different part of the UK every night, moving non stop. Since my first album, roughly 5 years ago, I’ve taken 1 vacation, and even that was about 2 years ago.

Basically, I have an issue with not knowing when to say enough is enough, so last night in Manchester, my body said it for me.

I got on stage energized and ready to go, even tho for the last 5 days I’ve been dealing with a sinus infection. I paid it no real mind, and kept on going, like I always do. My voice couldn’t take it. From the first song I knew something was wrong. I shoulda stopped there, but I come from a school where no matter what, the show must go on. It wasn’t until about 4 songs in that I came to the painful realization that my voice was done, literally nothing left, and that I would have to stop the show.

Now let me explain something to you:

When I say this music, that stage, my fans, THIS is my life, I’m not saying it cause it sounds good in a sound bite. THIS IS MY LIFE!! Not much else matters to me, honestly.

My music, my family and the people that appreciate my music…..the fans. THAT’S ABOUT IT!!

I’ve never had to stop a show, never dreamed I’d ever have to. So when I had to walk out on that stage and tell 12,000 of the people responsible for making me who I am that I could not perform for them, it literally broke my heart.

I cried harder than I have in a very long time with no shame whatsoever.

To anyone out there that would like to question my manhood because of this I’ll say this to you:

If the one thing you cared about more than anything else in the world was threatened or even taken from you, if you knew that the people you cared for the most you had to disappoint and it was your fault… and this didn’t spark some kind of emotional outbreak within you…then with no shame I’ll say you are truly a stronger man than I.

To the people of Manchester, know that I love you and I thank you for being so understanding and supportive. And I promise you that you will receive the show deserved.

Thanks to the fans for the love and concern.

And to the bloggers….go to hell.

Sincerely, Ne*Yo!!

Ne-Yo shouldn’t feel so bad about crying his eyes out in front of thousands of people because he felt sorry for himself, Perez Hilton did the same thing weeks ago. We would think Ne-Yo was more manly if he were crying because he felt sorry for someone else, but crying because he feels sorry for himself makes him look self absorbed and childish to us. Grow up, and grow a pair, Ne-Yo. Isn’t being rich and successful enough to make you feel like a real man?

Ne-Yo, and promoters, allegedly stiffed New Year’s Eve fans who paid up to $1,200 to see him perform in Bellevue, Washington. King 5 news reports:

It was billed as the biggest New Year’s Eve bash, featuring pop and R&B superstar Ne-Yo at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington.

The only problem is, Ne-Yo was a no-show. And that has some customers steamed.

"Everything from the tickets to the Web site indicated that Ne-Yo would be there," party-goer Michael Brandt said.

Ticket prices started at $75 and ran up to $1,200 for a VIP table. Brandt spent $700 for 14 tickets.

But, gathered at Meydenbauer on New Year’s Eve, just before midnight, the no-show announcement came.

"At 11:30 they had a pre-recorded message from Ne-Yo," Brandt said. "He was on a plane from Nigeria and not able to come. They probably knew a day in advance. They could have cancelled or given a refund."

On New Year’s Eve, Ne-Yo performed on Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve TV show. The segment may have been pre-recorded.

The Meydenbauer concert was promoted for weeks on KUBE 93. The program director says the station thought the event was legit.

"We were told by the record label and the promoter that it was a done deal, so we were taken aback just like our listeners," KUBE program director Eric Powers said.

Nearly 300 tickets were sold through the sponsor Wet Entertainment, whose owner tells KING 5 he’ll consult his legal team.

If you want your party money back, join the party. The sponsor Wet Entertainment can’t be found on the web. And the local marketing manager’s phone no longer works.

The best thing is to call the state attorney general’s office and file a complaint.

Shady.

R&B singer Ne-Yo, aka Shaffer Smith, was arrested on February 19 while driving through Cobb County, Georgia.

Cops pulled Ne-Yo after they observed him driving well over 100 mph in his 2006 Range Rover. He was arrested for reckless driving, and for not having a valid license.

The arrest report did not mention a rumor of a male passenger in the car, who may have been getting busy with Ne-Yo’s stick shift, which could have caused him to drive at excessive speeds.