Instagram Live has been a blessing for music lovers. Last week Timbaland and Swizz Beatz kicked things off with a battle. On Saturday Sean Garrett and The-Dream went head to head for an epic battle. And then on Sunday, after it seemed like it couldn’t get any better, Johnta Austin and Ne-Yo went head to head in the battle of the songwriters. It was so good we had to document it. Here’s our round by round breakdown of the Ne-Yo vs Johnta Austin battle on Instagram.
Other Verzuz Battles:
| Mannie Fresh vs. Scott Storch | T-Pain vs. Lil Jon | Dj Premier vs. RZA | Babyface vs. Teddy Riley | Jill Scott vs. Erykah Badu | Nelly vs. Ludacris
| Beenie Man vs. Bounty Killer | 112 vs. Jagged Edge |
Kirk Franklin vs. Fred Hammond
| Alicia Keys vs. John Legend | Fabolous vs. Jadakiss |
DMX vs. Snoop Dogg | Rick Ross vs. 2 Chainz | Brandy vs. Monica
If you missed it, here’s a break down of every song that was played in each round and how we judged it.
Round 1: Johnta Austin: “Get Gone” – Ideal vs. Ne-Yo: “That Girl” – Marques Houston
Winner: Ne-Yo
Marques Houston – “That Girl”
Round 2: Aaliyah – “I Miss You” vs. Rihanna “Unfaithful”
Winner: Johnta Austin
Aaliyah – “I Miss You”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4CmyiG0HUw
Round 3: Mariah Carey – “Like That” vs. Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West “Knock You Down”
Winner: Johnta Austin
Mariah Carey – “Like That” featuring Fatman Scoop & Jermaine Dupri
Round 4: Bryson Tiller – “Don’t” vs. “She Got Her Own” Ne-yo featuring Jamie Foxx & Fabolous
I thought for sure Johnta was going to get the win with that Bryson record, especially since I didn’t know he did that one. But then that Ne-Yo joint dropped.
Winner: Ne-Yo
“She Got Her Own” Ne-yo featuring Jamie Foxx & Fabolous
Round 5: Ginuwine – “Stingy” vs. Mack Wilds – “Own It”
Winner: Johnta Austin
Ginuwine – “Stingy”
Round 6: Chris Brown – “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” vs. Ne-Yo – “Stay With Me”
Winner: Johnta Austin
Chris Brown – “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)”
Round 7: Mariah Carey – “Don’t Forget About Us” vs. Jennifer Hudson – “Spotlight”
Winner: Johnta Austin
Mariah Carey – “Don’t Forget About Us”
Round 8: Toni Braxton featuring Dr. Dre – “Just Be A Man About It” vs. Ne-Yo – “Do You”
Winner: Johnta Austin
Toni Braxton featuring Dr. Dre – “Just Be A Man About It”
Round 9: Bow Wow featuring Omarion “Like Mine” vs. Plies featuring Ne-Yo – “Bust It Baby Pt. 2”
Winner: Ne-Yo
“Bust It Baby Pt. 2”
Round 10: Trey Songz – “I Need A Girl” vs. Ne-Yo “Go On Girl”
Winner: Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo “Go On Girl”