The Best Moments from Ne-Yo & Johntá Austin’s Instagram Live Battle
(Photo by Leon Bennett/Prince Williams/WireImage)
The well-orchestrated social media battle had fans and celebrities alike plugged into both Instagram Live and Twitter.
After The Dream and Sean Garrett battled on Instagram Live recently, the latest music titans to hash it out were Ne-Yo and acclaimed songwriter Johntá Austin. If you’re an R&B head you peeped when Ne-Yo took to Instagram to ask his fans if they’d tune into a songwriter battle between him and Austin.
Y’all requested. My brother & I will oblige. Great night ahead!
— Johnta Austin (@johntalsr) March 29, 2020
Following this, Johntá tweeted, “Y’all requested. My brother and I will oblige. Great night ahead!” What was great about this moment confirming the forthcoming battle was the fact that Austin then shared a few ground rules. He also tweeted that he’d always had an affinity for Ne-yo’s songwriting skills.
I’ve been getting hit up about the ground rules. More details to follow but what we have so far…
1. Show up sober
2. 25 songs a piece
3. Songs must already be released
4. Any genre counts
5. 1m 30secs max play for each song#neyovjohnta— Johnta Austin (@johntalsr) March 29, 2020
I don’t know if he remembers this but I told @NeYoCompound at the Def Jam Grammy party in ‘07 that LA Reid asked me which new writers I love. I said “a lot are great, but that guy Neyo keeps me up & night & focused with what he does”. Neyo’s pen is truly #sosick
— Johnta Austin (@johntalsr) March 29, 2020
Before we share a few highlights from the live competition, we figured it wouldn’t hurt to share that Austin has built his career by working with iconic artists such as Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, and Aaliyah. While Ne-Yo, alongside launching his solo career was known for penning tracks on behalf of Beyoncé, Rihanna, and countless others.
A bit after 8 p.m., both artists tuned into their respective Instagram account to begin the battle. Johntá started the battle with the Billboard chart-topping single “Get Gone” by the group Ideal, Ne-Yo followed suit by playing Marques Houston’s “That Girl.” Both tracks were great selections to lead with.
Austin was up next and he decided to fire off with Aaliyah’s beloved song “I Miss You” which led to an animated reaction from Ne-Yo. This single is undeniably still in the hearts of many fans that grew up loving the late Detroit singer. Ne-Yo then served up Rihanna’s “Unfaithful” which upon its release was an outright hit.
At that point, each songwriter went hard with their counter songs. Austin fired off Carey’s “It’s Like That,” Ne-Yo responded with Keri Hilson’s “Knock You Down” with him and Kanye West. Directly following this Johntá said, “You know you a legend with young hit makers sample your shit to make their shit” and then proceeded to play Bryson Tiller’s “Don’t” which features a sample of Carey’s “Shake It Off” which he wrote.
“You know you a legend with young hit makers sample your shit to make their shit.” – Johnta Austin before releasing Bryson Tiller’s “Don’t” against Neyo. Does he have writing credit on this or can he use this because it’s a sample?
— Chay 🏁 Interviewer & Content Creator (@LetCHAYLive) March 30, 2020
But I had no idea Johnta Austin had anything to do with Bryson Tiller Don’t. I always followed him from YouTube and thought he genuinely blew up on the internet 🤨
— Dolo (@drycleandolo) March 30, 2020
When Johnta Austin played Don’t by Bryson Tiller 😭😭
— Nu Fvnk (@NuFvnk) March 30, 2020
Johnta Austin hit Ne-Yo with that Bryson Tiller ‘Dont’ just now for the city. Ne-Yo said that one hurt. this is actually a good battle.
— 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚜. (@MARCUSMCFLY) March 30, 2020
“Stingy” by Ginuwine was Ne-Yo’s next choice which was then countered by one of Chris Brown’s breakout singles, “Yo (Excuse Me Miss).” More deep cuts within Austin’s catalog that he would go on to play included “Don’t Forget About Us” (Carey), “Shortie Like Mine” (Chris Brown), “I Need A Girl” (Trey Songz), “Sweet Lady” (Tyrese), “I Don’t Wanna” (Aaliyah) and “Poppin” (Brown).
The mutual love shown during #neyovsjohnta >
— Dàmọ́lá 🥭 (@damoladurosomo) March 30, 2020
Neyo says “Im sweating a little bit” after Johnta played Sweet Lady. He goes into Fab’s “Make Me Better.” I like this selection cause now we’re picking the pace back up
— Low (@LowKeyUHTN) March 30, 2020
“i need a girl” is a good one!! yes johnta 🙌🏾
— mamba 💛 (@NerishaPenrose) March 30, 2020
Ne-Yo filled up most of the battle with a few of his hit singles “So Sick,” “Do You,” “Mirror,” and “Sexy Love,” “Miss Independent.” He also played buzzy tracks he’d built his successful career upon including “Take A Bow,” (Rihanna), “Flaws and All” (Beyoncé), and “Let Me Love You” (Mario).
MIRROR! NEYO IS SHOWING OUT OMG
— Taryn Finley (@_TARYNitUP) March 30, 2020
Say It> Mirror
— Chattam (@luvchattam) March 30, 2020
“Mirror” is a RECORD.
— Kirk Moore (@KirkWrites79) March 30, 2020
The last songs played by both artists were wildly popular when they dropped. By the time Austin played Carey’s “We Belong Together,” fans and celebrities had already predicted Ne-Yo would end the battle with “Irreplaceable” by Beyoncé which he did. This is perhaps one of his most successful songs of all time.
WE BELONG TOGETHER. EMANCIPATION OF MIMI IS A CLASSIC BTW.
— Larry’s Son (@ChrisThomas266) March 30, 2020
“Irreplaceable” is perfect to end the battle. Ne-Yo was smart to save it for last.
— Natelegé Whaley (@natelege_) March 30, 2020
Once the battle wrapped, Johntá and Ne-Yo shared that it was a tie between them and ended everything on good terms. In total, the battle proved that both artists are responsible for shaping the sound of R&B over the past twenty years which is no small feat. About an hour later Tidal shared an official playlist of the competition.
A battle of the best R&B pens in the game✍🏽: @NeYoCompound VS. @johntalsr 👑
Brought to us by @THEREALSWIZZZ and @Timbaland 🤝
Listen on TIDAL now ▶️: https://t.co/UENmsl6KWN pic.twitter.com/6aghxjewtX
— TIDAL (@TIDAL) March 30, 2020
