Over the weekend, music aficionados were gifted producer battles from the best in the business. In addition to The Dream and Sean “The Pen” Garrett’s wild head to head, Ne-Yo and Johntà Austin’s standoff was one for the books.
The gentlemen squared up on Instagram Live Sunday (March 29) after much fanfare. The rules were simple–Show up sober, play 2. 25 songs apiece, no unreleased music, the songs can be from any genre and the time limit would be up to 90 seconds for each song.
Soon, the battle kicked off with sentimental tracks like “Unfaithful” by Rihanna and “I Miss You” by the late Aaliyah. As spectators like Usher, Tyrese, 9th Wonder, Diddy, Tinashe, Snoh Aalegra, Eric Bellinger, Brian Michael-Cox and more entered the chat, the songs got bigger and better.
Rounds 3 and 4 saw the big guns come out. Austin played tracks from Aaliyah and Chris Brown with Ne-Yo playing his own songs and hits from Beyonce. “When all else fails, you got to bet on yourself” he hilariously said before playing his 2008 hit, “Miss Independent.”
The final round left fans in a frenzy as Austin played Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” and Ne-Yo ending with “Irreplaceable” by Beyonce. The entire match was a delight as both men praised each other for their pen game.
Superproducers Swizz Beats and Timbaland helped kicked off the current trend last week when they gave fans part 2 of their 2018 match. We also got to see a match between Boi-1da and HitBoy over the weekend with an unleased track with Roddy Rich and Drake.
But Sunday’s battle was all about R&B, specifically tracks from the aughts that are often sampled today. Most fans and spectators landed at a draw for the battle as it was just too hard to land on a winner.
See the full list of tracks dished out below.
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Round One
Johntà – “Get Gone” by Ideal (1999)
Ne-Yo- “That Girl” by Marques Houston (2003)
Johntà- “I Miss You” by Aaliyah (2002)
Ne-Yo- “Unfaithful” by Rihanna (2006)
Johntà- “Like That” by Mariah Carey, Fatman Scoop and Jermaine Dupri (2005)
Ne-Yo- “Knock You Down” by Keri Hilson featuring Ne-Yo (2009)
Johntà- “Don’t” by Bryson Tiller (2014)
Ne-Yo- “She Got Her Own” by Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo and Fabolous (2009)
Round Two
Johntà- “Stingy” by Ginuwine (2002)
Ne-Yo- “Own It” by Mack Wilds (2013)
Johntà- “Yo! (Excuse Me, Miss) by Chris Brown (2006)
Ne-Yo– “Stay” by Ne-Yo featuring Peedi Peedi (2006)
Johntà- “Don’t Forget About Us” by Mariah Carey (2005)
Ne-Yo- “Spotlight” by Jennifer Hudson (2005)
Johntà- “Just Be A Man About It” by Toni Braxton (2000)
Ne-Yo- “Do You” by Ne-Yo (2007)
Round Three
Johntà- “Shortie Like Mine” by Bow Wow featuring Chris Brown and Johntà Austin (2006)
Ne-Yo- “Bust It Baby Pt. 2)” by Plies featuring Ne-Yo (2008)
Johntà– “Need A Girl” by Trey Songz (2009)
Ne-Yo– “Go On Girl” by Ne-Yo (2007)
Johntà– “Sweet Lady” by Tyrese (1998)
Ne-Yo- “Make Me Better” by Fabolous featuring Ne-Yo (2007)
Johntà- “Like You” by Bow Wow featuring Ciara (2005)
Ne-Yo- “Leave You Alone” Jeezy featuring Ne-Yo (2011)
Round Four
Johntà- “With You” by Chris Brown (2007)
Ne-Yo- “So Sick” by Ne-Yo (2005)
Johntà- “Shake It Off” by Mariah Carey (2005)
Ne-Yo- “Take A Bow” by Rihanna (2008)
Johntà- “Can’t Help But Wait” (2007)
Ne-Yo- “Sexy Love” (2005)
Johntà- “I Don’t Wanna” by Aaliyah (1999)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=e1ms8cdR1ew
Ne-Yo- “Flaws and All” by Beyonce (2006)
Round Five
Johntà- “Come Over” by Aaliyah (2003)
Ne-Yo- “Miss Independent” (2008)
Johntà- “Poppin'” by Chris Brown (2007)
Ne-Yo- “Mirror” by Ne-Yo (2006)
Johntà- “Be Without You” by Mary J. Blige (2005)
Ne-Yo- “Let Me Love You” by Mario (2004)
Johntà- “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey (2004)
Ne-Yo- “Irreplaceable” by Beyonce (2006)