Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''
Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful
R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contemporaries as the "
King of R&B". His musical style has been defined as polyhedric, with his R&B being characterized by several influences from other genres, mainly
hip hop and
pop music. His lyrics develop predominantly over themes of
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
,
romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
,
fast life,
desire,
regret
Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past, because the consequences of the decision were unfavorable.
Regret is related to perceived opportunity. Its intensity varies over time after the decision, in regard ...
, and
emotional conflict
Emotional conflict is the presence of different and opposing emotions relating to a situation that has recently taken place or is in the process of being unfolded. They may be accompanied at times by a physical discomfort, especially when a functio ...
. Brown has gained a
cult following and wide comparisons to
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
for his stage presence.
In 2004, Brown signed with
Jive Records, and released his
self-titled debut studio album the following year, which was later certified
triple platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
With his debut single "
Run It!
"Run It!" is the debut single by American recording artist Chris Brown. It was produced by Scott Storch and written by Sean Garrett alongside guest artist Juelz Santana. The song appeared on his debut studio album, '' Chris Brown'', and was r ...
" peaking atop the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, Brown became the first male artist since 1995 to have his debut single top the chart. His second album, ''
Exclusive'' (2007), was met with even bigger commercial success worldwide, and it spawned his second ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number one "
Kiss Kiss". In 2009, Brown pled guilty to felony assault of his then girlfriend, singer
Rihanna.
[Settlement reached in Chris Brown's alleged beating of Rihanna](_blank)
''Los Angeles Times'', June 22, 2009 In the same, year he released his third album, ''
Graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
'', which was considered to be a commercial failure compared to his previous works. Following ''Graffiti'', Brown released his fourth album ''
F.A.M.E.'' (2011), which became his first album to top the
''Billboard'' 200. The album contained the commercially successful singles: "
Yeah 3x
"Yeah 3x" (pronounced "Yeah three times", "Yeah Yeah Yeah", or “Yeah three-x”); sometimes stylized as "Yeah 3X") is a song by American singer Chris Brown, which features American producer DJ Frank E as an uncredited featured artist, and wa ...
", "
Look at Me Now" and "
Beautiful People", and earned him the
Grammy Award for Best R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...
.
His fifth album, ''
Fortune'', released in 2012, also topped the ''Billboard'' 200.
Following the releases of ''
X'' (2014) and ''
Royalty'' (2015), his 2017
double-disc
A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
album, ''
Heartbreak on a Full Moon
''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Chris Brown. The album is a double-disc, consisting of 45 tracks, and was released digitally on October 31, 2017, and onto CD three days later by RCA Records. Brown for t ...
'', consisting of 45 tracks, was certified
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America for combined sales and
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditio ...
s of over 500,000 units after one week, and was later certified
Double Platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America. Brown's ninth studio album ''
Indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
'' was released in 2019, also debuted atop on the ''Billboard'' 200.
It included the
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
featured track "
No Guidance
"No Guidance" is a song by American singer Chris Brown featuring vocals from Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 8, 2019, as the fourth single from Brown's ninth studio album, ''Indigo'' (2019). The song was written by Brown, Drake, Vel ...
" which reached the top five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and broke the record for the longest-running number one on ''Billboard''
's R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
Its chart success was outdone with the single "
Go Crazy" released the following year, alongside
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
as part of their collaborative mixtape ''
Slime & B'' (2020).
Brown has sold over 197 million records worldwide, making him one of the
world's best-selling music artists. He is also one of the highest-grossing
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
touring artists of all time.
Brown has the most ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries of any male singer in history; as well as the most top 40 hits of any R&B singer in history. Brown was also ranked third on ''Billboard''
's top R&B/Hip-Hop artists of the 2010s chart.
Throughout his career,
Brown has won several awards, including a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
, eighteen
BET Awards
The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...
, four
Billboard Music Awards, and fourteen
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of '' Soul Train'', the p ...
. Brown has also pursued an acting career. In 2007, he made his on-screen feature film debut in ''
Stomp the Yard
''Stomp the Yard'' is a 2007 American dance drama film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, ''Stomp the Yard'' centers on DJ Williams, a college stu ...
'', and appeared as a guest on the television series ''
The O.C.
''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...
'' Other films Brown has appeared in include ''
This Christmas'' (2007), ''
Takers
''Takers'' (formerly known as ''Bone Deep'') is a 2010 American heist action thriller film directed by John Luessenhop from a story and screenplay written by Luessenhop, Gabriel Casseus, Peter Allen, and Avery Duff. It features Matt Dillon, P ...
'' (2010), ''
Think Like a Man
''Think Like a Man'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story, written by Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, and produced by Will Packer. It was based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book ''Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man''. The fil ...
'' (2012), and ''
Battle of the Year
Battle of the Year, commonly referred to as BOTY, is an annual international breakdancing competition that began in 1990. It has been regarded as the premier b-boying competition in the world
and has been referred to as the "World Cup of B-Boying" ...
'' (2013) and ''She Ball'' (2020).
Early life
Christopher Maurice Brown was born on May 5, 1989,
in the small town of
Tappahannock, Virginia
Tappahannock is the oldest town in Essex County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,375 at the 2010 census, up from 2,068 at the 2000 census. Located on the Rappahannock River, Tappahannock is the county seat of Essex County. Its name ...
,
to Joyce Hawkins, a former
day care
Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
center director, and Clinton Brown, a
corrections officer
A prison officer or corrections officer is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been ...
at a local prison.
He has an older sister, Lytrell Bundy,
who works in a bank.
Music was always present in Brown's life beginning in his childhood. He would listen to
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
albums that his parents owned,
and eventually began to show interest in the
hip-hop scene.
Brown taught himself to sing and dance at a young age and often cites
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
as his inspiration.
He began to perform in his church
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
and in several local talent shows. When he mimicked an
Usher performance of "
My Way
"My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...
", his mother recognized his vocal talent, and they began to look for the opportunity of a
record deal.
At the same time, Brown was going through personal issues. His parents had divorced, and his mother's boyfriend terrified him by subjecting her to
domestic violence.
Career
2002–2004: Career beginnings
At age 13, Brown was discovered by Hitmission Records, a local production team that visited his father's gas station while searching for new talent.
Hitmission's Lamont Fleming provided voice coaching for Brown, and the team helped to arrange a demo package, under the name of "C. Sizzle", and approached contacts in New York, where Brown started to sojourn, to seek a record deal. Brown attended
Essex High School in Virginia until late 2004, when he moved to New York to pursue his music career. Tina Davis, senior
A&R executive at
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The l ...
, was impressed when Brown auditioned in her New York office, and she immediately took him to meet the former president of the
Island Def Jam Music Group
The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordin ...
,
Antonio "L.A." Reid, who offered to sign him that day, but Brown refused his proposal. "I knew that Chris had real talent," says Davis. "I just knew I wanted to be part of it."
The negotiations with Def Jam continued for two months, and ended when Davis lost her job due to a corporate merger. Brown asked her to be his manager, and once Davis accepted, she promoted the singer to other labels such as
Jive Records,
J-Records and
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
. According to
Mark Pitts, in an interview with
HitQuarters, Davis presented Brown with a video recording, and Pitts' reaction was: "I saw huge potential ... I didn't love all the records, but I loved his voice. It wasn't a problem because I knew that he could sing, and I knew how to make records."
Brown ultimately chose Jive due to its successful work with then-young acts such as
Britney Spears and
Justin Timberlake. Brown stated, "I picked Jive because they had the best success with younger artists in the pop market,
..I knew I was going to capture my African American audience, but Jive had a lot of strength in the pop area as well as longevity in careers."
Brown said that during his permanence in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
, when he was trying to get his music heard by major labels, his artistic intention was to both rap and sing on his records, but
Jive convinced him to stick to just singing, because he said that "it wasn't acceptable yet" for an R&B singer to also rap on records.
2005–2006: ''Chris Brown'' and acting debut
![ChrisBrown](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/ChrisBrown.jpg)
After signing to
Jive Records in 2004, Brown began recording his self-titled debut studio album in February 2005. By May, there were 50 songs already recorded, 14 of which were picked to the final track listing.
The singer worked with several producers and songwriters—
Scott Storch
Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. He started off as a keyboardist for the group the Roots.
Early life
Storch was born on Long Island, New York. He was raised in South Florida and Ph ...
,
Cool & Dre
Cool & Dre are a record production and songwriting duo from North Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Antonio Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon. The duo are best known for their work with Terror Squad founder Fat Joe, first ...
,
Sean Garrett
Garrett Robin Hamler, known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is responsible for a series of chart-topping compositions, most notably Usher's " Yeah!" which ranks second on the ''Billboa ...
and
Jazze Pha
Phalon Anton Alexander, (born April 15, 1974), professionally known as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Sho'nuff Records, to wh ...
among them—commenting that they "really believed in
im.
Brown co-wrote half of the tracks.
"I write about the things that 16 year olds go through every day," says Brown. "Like you just got in trouble for sneaking your girl into the house, or you can't drive, so you steal a car or something."
The whole album took less than eight weeks to produce.
Released on November 29, 2005, the self-titled ''
Chris Brown'' album debuted at number two on the
''Billboard'' 200 with first week sales of 154,000 copies. ''Chris Brown'' was a commercial success with the time; selling over three million copies in the United States—where it was
certified
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
three times platinum by the
RIAA—and six million copies worldwide.
The album's
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
, "
Run It!
"Run It!" is the debut single by American recording artist Chris Brown. It was produced by Scott Storch and written by Sean Garrett alongside guest artist Juelz Santana. The song appeared on his debut studio album, '' Chris Brown'', and was r ...
", made Brown the first male act (since
Montell Jordan
Montell Du'Sean Barnett Jordan (born December 3, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Best known for his 1995 single "This Is How We Do It", Jordan was the primary male solo artist on Def Jam's Def Soul imprint until le ...
in 1995) to have his debut single to reach the summit of the
''Billboard'' Hot 100—later remaining for four additional weeks.
Three of the other singles—"
Yo (Excuse Me Miss)
"Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" is a song recorded by American singer Chris Brown. It served as the second single from Brown's debut album ''Chris Brown'' (2005) and was released in November 2005 in the US and February 2006 worldwide. "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" ...
", "
Gimme That
"Gimme That" is a song written by Scott Storch and Sean Garrett and recorded by American singer Chris Brown for his eponymous debut album. The official remix, featuring American rapper Lil Wayne, was released as the third single from the album ...
" and "
Say Goodbye"—peaked within the top twenty at the same chart.
On June 13, 2006, Brown released a DVD entitled ''
Chris Brown's Journey'', which shows footage of him traveling through England and Japan, getting ready for his first visit to the
Grammy Awards, behind the scenes of his music videos and bloopers. On August 17, 2006, to further promote the album, Brown began his major co-headlining tour, ''The Up Close and Personal Tour''. Due to the tour, production for his next album was pushed back two months.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital received $10,000 in ticket proceeds from Brown's 2006 "Up Close & Personal" tour. Brown has made appearances on
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
's ''
One on One'' and
The N
The N (standing for Noggin) was a nighttime programming block on the Noggin television channel, aimed at preteens and teenagers. It was launched on April 1, 2002, by Viacom and Sesame Workshop. Before the block's introduction, Noggin's daytim ...
's ''Brandon T. Jackson Show'' on its pilot episode.
2007–2008: ''Exclusive''
In January 2007, Brown landed a small role as a
band geek in the
fourth season of the American television series ''
The O.C.
''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...
''. Brown then made his film debut in ''
Stomp the Yard
''Stomp the Yard'' is a 2007 American dance drama film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, ''Stomp the Yard'' centers on DJ Williams, a college stu ...
'', alongside
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...
,
Meagan Good and
Columbus Short
Columbus Keith Short Jr. (born September 19, 1982) is an American actor and choreographer. He choreographed Britney Spears's Onyx Hotel Tour and worked with Brian Friedman (of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' fame). He is best known for his roles ...
on January 12, 2007. In April 2007, Brown was the opening act for
Beyoncé, on the Australian leg of her
The Beyoncé Experience
The Beyoncé Experience was the third concert tour by American singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was staged in support of her second studio album, '' B'Day'' (2006). The Beyoncé Experience consisted of 96 shows in 2007 over five legs. Fan-club ticket ...
tour. On July 9, 2007, Brown was featured in an episode of
MTV's ''
My Super Sweet 16
''My Super Sweet 16'' is an American reality television series documenting the lives of teenagers, usually in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, generally with wealthy parents who throw lavish, excessive and expensive coming-of-age ce ...
'' (for the event, it was retitled: ''Chris Brown: My Super 18'') celebrating his eighteenth birthday in New York City.
![Chris Brown singing at Brisbane Entertainment Centre cropped 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Chris_Brown_singing_at_Brisbane_Entertainment_Centre_cropped_2.jpg)
Shortly after ending his summer tour with Ne-Yo, Brown quickly began production for his second studio album, ''
Exclusive''. When the album's lead single, "
Wall to Wall", was released, it didn't have a great commercial success, peaking at number 79 on US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and number 22 on the US
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart, being his lowest charting single at the time. However, "
Kiss Kiss", featuring and produced by
T-Pain, released as the album's second single, received huge success, reaching number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and becoming Brown's second number one single following "Run It!" in 2005. "
With You With You may refer to:
Music
* With You., an American house music group
Albums
* With You (826aska album), ''With You'' (826aska album) or the title song, 2023
* With You (Stacy Lattisaw album), ''With You'' (Stacy Lattisaw album) or the title s ...
", produced by
Stargate (duo of producers known at the time for their work with R&B singer
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...
), was released as the third single from ''Exclusive'', had even bigger success than "Kiss Kiss", becoming one of the
all-time best-selling singles, and reaching number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. ''Exclusive'' was released in the United States on November 6, 2007. The album is musically R&B, having slight pop influences that were absent in the previous
hip hop soul
Hip hop soul is a subgenre of contemporary R&B music, most popular during the early and mid 1990s, which fuses R&B or soul singing with hip hop musical production. The subgenre had evolved from a previous R&B subgenre, new jack swing, which ha ...
-influenced disc, reaching a big international success. The album debuted at number four on the US
''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 294,000 copies in its first week, and received generally positive reviews from music critics.
As of March 23, 2011, it has sold over 1.9 million copies in the United States.
In November 2007, Brown starred as a video host for
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's Math-A-Thon program. He showed his support by encouraging students to use their math skills to help children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. On November 21, 2007, Brown appeared in ''
This Christmas'', a family drama starring
Regina King
Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her o ...
. To further support the album ''Exclusive'', Brown embarked on his The Exclusive Holiday Tour, visiting over thirty venues in United States. The tour began in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio, on December 6, 2007, and concluded on February 9, 2008, in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, Hawaii. In March 2008, Brown was featured on
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks-Thomas (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. Her self-titled debu ...
' single "
No Air
"No Air" is a song by American singers Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. The song was written by James Fauntleroy II, Harvey Mason Jr., Steve Russell, Erik Griggs and Damon Thomas. It was released in the United States on February 11, 2008, and serv ...
", which had worldwide success peaked at number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. He also made a guest appearance on
David Banner
Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor.
Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Ba ...
' single "
Get Like Me" alongside
Yung Joc
Jasiel Amon Robinson (born September 20, 1980), better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 2006 hit single " It's Goin' Down". and as a feature on T-Pain's US number-one single "Buy U a Drank (Shawt ...
. The song peaked at number sixteen on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and number two on the US
Hot Rap Songs
Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...
chart. Brown re-released ''Exclusive'' on June 3, 2008, as a deluxe edition, renamed ''Exclusive: The Forever Edition'', seven months after the release of the original version. The re-released version featured four new tracks, including the
Eurodisco
Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is the variety of European forms of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the late 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...
single "
Forever
Forever or 4ever may refer to:
Film and television Films
* ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice
* ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama
* ''Forever'' (1992 film), an American ...
", which became one of his most known singles, reaching number two on ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In August 2008, Brown guest-starred on
Disney's
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
''
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' is an American sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series aired on Disney Channel from March 18, 2005, to September 1, 2008. The series was nominated for an Emmy Award three times and was al ...
'' as himself. Towards the end of 2008, Brown was named Artist of the Year by ''
Billboard'' magazine.
2009–2010: ''Graffiti'' and mixtapes
![Elephant Man ^ Usher - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Elephant_Man_%5E_Usher_-_panoramio.jpg)
In 2008, Brown began work on his third studio album, to be called ''
Graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
'', promising to experiment with a different musical direction inspired by singers
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
and
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. He stated, "I wanted to change it up and really be different. Like my style nowadays, I don't try to be typical urban. I want to be like how Prince, Michael and
Stevie Wonder were. They can cross over to any genre of music." Following the domestic violence scandal involving the singer and
Rihanna on February 8, 2009, the majority of media took positions against the singer. The incident also caused Brown to lose significant commercial contracts, including one with
Doublemint
Doublemint is a variety of chewing gum made by the Wrigley Company; according to early advertisements, it is "double strength" peppermint flavored. It was launched in the United States in 1914, and has had variable market share since then.
Th ...
. The singer later participated in numerous television appearances during the year to express himself publicly about it. ''Graffiti''s lead single "
I Can Transform Ya" was released on September 29, 2009. The song peaked at number 20 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. "
Crawl
Crawl, The Crawl, or crawling may refer to:
Biology
* Crawling (human), any of several types of human quadrupedal gait
* Limbless locomotion, the movement of limbless animals over the ground
* Undulatory locomotion, a type of motion characteriz ...
" was released as the album's second single on November 23, 2009. The song reached number 53 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ''Graffiti'' was then released on December 8, 2009, featuring an R&B sound mixed with
Eurodisco
Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is the variety of European forms of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the late 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...
and rock. Brown, with this album, started to take full control of his art, managing the artistic direction, and writing every song of the album (with the exception of the song "I'll Go", written and produced by
Brian Kennedy and
James Fauntleroy
James Edward Fauntleroy II (born May 16, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Inglewood, California. He is best known for writing credits on tracks by high-profile artists such as Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Kendrick ...
). Brown started to be the only artistic director of all his future projects. He said that his decision to entirely direct and write his albums and songs came from the fact that he wanted to give his "own perspective of the music
ewanted to make" and by his wanting to "verbalize whatever
ewas going through". The album, compared to its two precessors, was a commercial and critical failure, debuting at number 7 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 102,000 copies in its first week, and receiving generally negative reviews from critics.
As of March 23, 2011, it has sold 341,000 copies in the United States.
While performing a Michael Jackson Tribute at the 2010
BET Awards
The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...
, Brown started to cry and fell to his knees while singing Jackson's "
Man in the Mirror
"Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released on February 6, 1988, as the fourth single from Jackson ...
". The performance and his emotional turmoil resonated with several celebrities present at the ceremony, including
Trey Songz
Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, '' Trey Day' ...
,
Diddy and
Taraji P. Henson.
Songz said, "He left his heart on the stage. He gave genuine emotion. I was proud of him and I was happy for him for having that moment".
Michael's brother,
Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jackso ...
, expressed similar sentiments stating, "it was very emotional for me, because it was an acceptance from his fans from what has happened to him and also paying tribute to my brother". Later during the award ceremony, Brown stated, "I let y'all down before, but I won't do it again...I promise", while accepting the award for the AOL Fandemonium prize.
In August 2010, Brown starred alongside an
ensemble cast, including
Matt Dillon,
Paul Walker
Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He was known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise.
Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gaining recogniti ...
,
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor. ,
Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen (; born April 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the ''Star Wars'' media franchise. He first appeared in the prequel trilogy films, '' Star Wars: Episode ...
and
T.I. in the crime thriller ''
Takers
''Takers'' (formerly known as ''Bone Deep'') is a 2010 American heist action thriller film directed by John Luessenhop from a story and screenplay written by Luessenhop, Gabriel Casseus, Peter Allen, and Avery Duff. It features Matt Dillon, P ...
'',
and also served as executive producer of the film.
During 2010 Brown released the 3 free mixtapes ''In My Zone (Rhythm & Streets)'', ''
Fan of a Fan'' (collaborative mixtape with
Tyga
Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson ...](_blank)
), and ''In My Zone 2'', which featured a new style of writing with grown themes, and a different musical style, mixing R&B with hip hop. For the mixtapes he worked with new producers, most notably
Kevin McCall
Kevin Lamar McCall Jr. (born July 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his association with fellow singer Chris Brown. McCall signed to Brown in a joint venture with RCA Records in 2012. He was fe ...
. The mixtapes were highly appreciated by the artist's loyal audience, consolidating it. The single "
Deuces", extracted from the ''Fan of a Fan'' mixtape, obtained critical acclaim, also achieving a good success, peaking at number 1 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
. The song was later remixed by the biggest names in the hip-hop scene of that time, including
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
,
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
,
André 3000
André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), better known as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a part of southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi.
...
,
Rick Ross,
Fabolous
John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...
, and
T.I. He later released the solo track "
No BS" as his second single from ''Fan of a Fan'', and decided to include the two singles from the mixtape as anticipation singles for his next album.
2011–2012: ''F.A.M.E.'' and ''Fortune''
In September 2010 Brown announced his album, F.A.M.E.
ackronym for "Forgiving All My Enemies" releasing in October the first official single from the album, "
Yeah 3x
"Yeah 3x" (pronounced "Yeah three times", "Yeah Yeah Yeah", or “Yeah three-x”); sometimes stylized as "Yeah 3X") is a song by American singer Chris Brown, which features American producer DJ Frank E as an uncredited featured artist, and wa ...
", a
dance-pop song, different from his previous songs on the
urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
mixtapes. The single received enormous international success and entered the top-ten in eleven countries, including Australia, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.. It was succeeded by the
hip-hop single "
Look at Me Now", featuring rappers
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...
and
Busta Rhymes, that reached number one on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it remained for eight consecutive weeks. It also reached number one on the US
Hot Rap Songs
Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...
chart. The single became the best-selling rap song of 2011, as well as one of
all-time best-selling singles in the United States.
Brown's fourth studio album ''
F.A.M.E.'' was first released on March 18, 2011. The album debuted at number one on the US
''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 270,000 copies, giving Brown his first number-one album in the United States. The album's third single, "
Beautiful People", featuring
Benny Benassi
Marco "Benny" Benassi (; born 13 July 1967) is an Italian DJ, record producer and remixer. He is widely seen as a pioneer of electro house, a genre brought into the mainstream by his 2002 summer club hit " Satisfaction".
He started his career ...
, peaked at number one on the US
Hot Dance Club Songs chart, and became the first number-one single on the chart for both Brown and Benassi. "
She Ain't You" was released as the album's fourth US single, while "
Next 2 You", featuring Canadian recording artist
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
, served as the album's fourth international single. To further promote the album, Brown embarked on his
F.A.M.E. Tour in Australia and North America.
Brown received six nominations at the
2011 BET Awards and ultimately won five awards, including Best Male R&B Artist, Viewers Choice Award, The Fandemonium Award, Best Collaboration and Video of the Year for "Look at Me Now". He also won three awards at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards, including the People's Champ Award, Reese's Perfect Combo Award and Best Hip Hop Video for "Look at Me Now". At the 2011
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of '' Soul Train'', the p ...
, ''F.A.M.E.'' won Album of the Year. The album has also earned Brown three Grammy Award nominations at the
54th Grammy Awards for
Best R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...
, as well as
Best Rap Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...
and
Best Rap Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...
for "Look at Me Now". On February 12, 2012, Brown won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. During the ceremony, Brown performed several songs marking his first appearance at the awards show since his conviction of felony assault.
Originally, Brown wanted ''F.A.M.E.'' to be a
double-disc
A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
consistent of 25–30 tracks, but the label was contrary to that. Right before the release of ''F.A.M.E.'' Brown decided to follow his intentions in an acceptable way for the label, working on a sequel of ''F.A.M.E.'' called ''Fortune'', that would be a whole new album that contained new material and even some tracks that didn't make the cut of the previous album, releasing it six months after it.
The artist later decided to take more time to work on the album, developing it as a project of its own, with its own concept and sound being different than the one of its precedent album. On October 7, 2011,
RCA Music Group
RCA Music Group was an umbrella group of labels distributed by Sony Music Entertainment that existed between March 2004 and 2009, and for a short period of time between July 2011 and October 2011 as all RCA Music Group labels were merged with RCA ...
announced it was disbanding
Jive Records along with
Arista Records and
J Records
J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...
. With the shutdown, Brown (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release future material on the
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
brand. Brown's fifth studio album ''
Fortune'' was released on July 3, 2012. The album debuted atop the
''Billboard'' 200,
but received negative reviews from critics.
"
Strip
Strip or Stripping may refer to:
Places
* Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya
* Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Namibia to ...
", featuring Kevin McCall, was released as the album's
buzz single
A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...
, with "
Turn Up the Music" released as the lead single, and "
Sweet Love", "
Till I Die", "
Don't Wake Me Up" and "
Don't Judge Me
"Don't Judge Me" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown on his fifth studio album, ''Fortune (Chris Brown album), Fortune'' (2012). It was written by Brown and produced by The Messengers (producers), The Messengers. The song was sent ...
" released as the album's following singles, respectively. To further promote the album, Brown embarked on his
Carpe Diem Tour
The Carpe Diem Tour was a headlining concert tour by American recording artist Chris Brown, in support of his fifth studio album '' Fortune''. The tour included shows in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Trinidad. It began on November 14, 2012 in Denmar ...
in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Trinidad.
2013–2015: ''X'' and ''Royalty''
After concluding his
Carpe Diem Tour
The Carpe Diem Tour was a headlining concert tour by American recording artist Chris Brown, in support of his fifth studio album '' Fortune''. The tour included shows in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Trinidad. It began on November 14, 2012 in Denmar ...
in 2012, Brown's next studio album started to develop. On February 15, 2013, the singer unofficially released the song "Home", with an official videoclip, where he expresses a reflection on the bitter price of fame, and on how the only moment of respite from that thought is when he returns to the neighborhood where he grew up with people who knew him from the start. On March 26, 2013, Brown announced the release of ''X'', in various interviews and listening sessions, releasing the song "
Fine China" as the album lead single.
In an interview with ''
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...
'', when Brown spoke of taking his music in a different direction and changing his sound from pop-infused and sexually explicit of the previous album ''
Fortune'', to a more mature, soulful and vulnerable theme for the album.
On March 29, 2013, he released "
Fine China" as the lead single of the album.
Following the dropping of two other anticipation singles off ''X'', "
Don't Think They Know" and "
Love More", on August 9, 2013, at 1:09 am PDT, Brown was reported to have suffered a
seizure
An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with l ...
from Record Plant Studios in Hollywood, California as a
9-1-1 call was made. When paramedics arrived, Brown allegedly refused to receive treatment and also refused to be transported to the local hospital. (Brown has reportedly suffered from seizures since his childhood.
) The next day, Brown's representative reported the seizure was caused by "intense fatigue and extreme emotional stress, both due to the continued onslaught of unfounded legal matters and the nonstop negativity."
On November 20, 2013, Brown was sentenced to an anger management rehabilitation center for three months, putting the December 2013 release of ''X'' in jeopardy. To "hold
ans
Ans or ANS or ''variation'', may refer to:
Places
* Ans, Belgium, a municipality in Belgium
* Ans, Denmark, a village in Denmark
* Angus, Scotland, UK; a council area by its Chapman code
* Ainsdale railway station, England, UK (by station code ...
over until
he ''X'' albumdrops," Brown released a mixtape, titled ''X Files'' on November 19, 2013. On February 22, 2014, it was announced that the album would be released on Brown's birthday, May 5, 2014. On April 14, 2014, Brown released a teaser of the new track "Don't Be Gone Too Long" featuring
Ariana Grande. However, following Brown's arrest for felony assault in Washington, D.C., on October 27, 2013, the song and album were again delayed due to Brown's prison sentence.
While incarcerated, "
Loyal" was released as the album's fourth single, becoming one of his most successful songs, by peaking at the top 10 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the United Kingdom. On August 3, 2014, Chris announced via
Instagram that the album's release date will be on September 16, 2014.
On August 6, 2014, the album cover was revealed. The song ended up being never released as a single, instead "
New Flame
"New Flame" is a song recorded by American singer Chris Brown. It was originally released as a promotional single from Brown's album on March 5, 2014. This version only featured American rapper Rick Ross as a guest artist. A few months later, a ...
" featuring
Usher and
Rick Ross was later released as the album's final single. The title track "
X" was released as an instant-gratification track alongside the album pre-order on
iTunes on August 25, 2014.
Brown's sixth studio album, ''
X'' was released on September 16, 2014.
The album received positive reviews from critics, who celebrated the record's sound and Brown's vocal performances. The album was considered a big improvement compared to its critically panned predecessor ''Fortune''. At the
2015 Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for the
Best Urban Contemporary Album, while "New Flame" was nominated for
Best R&B Performance
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...
and
Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...
. Commercially, the album debuted at number two on the US
''Billboard'' 200 selling 146,000 copies in its first week, becoming his first album to miss the summit of the chart since ''
Graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
'' (2009) and his third album to go to number two on the chart overall following ''
Exclusive'' (2007). It also became his sixth consecutive top ten debut in the United States. By the end of 2015, the album had sold 404,000 copies in the United States. It has been certified
double platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Pushing the promotion for the album further, Brown performed and appeared at several televised music events and music festivals across the United States.
On February 24, 2015, Brown released his first collaborative studio album with Tyga, titled ''
Fan of a Fan: The Album''. The album was a follow-up to the pairs 2010 mixtape ''
Fan of a Fan''. In early 2015, Brown also embarked on his ''
Between The Sheets Tour
The Between The Sheets Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by American recording artists Chris Brown and Trey Songz, along with rapper Tyga supporting, in support of their sixth studio albums '' X'' and '' Trigga'', respectively. The tour bega ...
'' with
Trey Songz
Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, '' Trey Day' ...
. Also in February 2015, Brown said during an interview for ''
The Breakfast Club
''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The ...
'' that he started working on the album going for a direction that would've been the sound predominant overseas. A couple months later he discovered that he had a daughter and simultaneously broke up with his ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran. That happening made him change the idea for the album, ending up doing mostly R&B songs that he described as "representations of where i was in my life at that point", contemporarily starting his
One Hell of a Nite Tour.
![Backtosleepiguanas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Backtosleepiguanas.jpg)
In spring of 2015, Brown was featured on DJ
Deorro's song "
Five More Hours
"Five Hours" is a 2014 single by Mexican-American DJ Deorro and has appeared in a great number of dance compilations in 2014. The song charted in a number of countries and notably reached number 8 on SNEP official French Singles Chart. In the U ...
", which received an excellent worldwide success. On June 24, Brown released a new song titled "
Liquor". Shortly after, it was announced that "Liquor" was the first single from his seventh studio album. On August 22, 2015, the singer officially declares from his Twitter profile that the new album will be titled "Royalty" in honor of his daughter, Royalty Brown. On October 16 he has revealed the album cover, portraying Chris with Royalty in her arms in a black and white picture.
On October 13, 2015, Brown announced that ''Royalty'' will be released on November 27, 2015.
After it was revealed that the album has been pushed back to December 18, 2015, in exchange on November 27, 2015, he released a free 34-track mixtape called ''
Before the Party
''Before the Party'' is the sixth mixtape by American recording artist Chris Brown; it was released on November 27, 2015, by Chris Brown Entertainment on DatPiff for free. The mixtape contains appearances from French Montana, Wiz Khalifa, Wal ...
'' as a prelude to ''Royalty'', which features
guest appearance
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
s from
Rihanna,
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 20 ...
,
Pusha T
Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 201 ...
,
Wale,
Tyga
Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson ...](_blank)
,
French Montana and
Fetty Wap
Willie Junior Maxwell II (born June 7, 1991), better known by his stage names Fetty Wap or Harlem Fetty, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence after his debut single " Trap Queen" reached number two on the U.S. ''B ...
. On October 16, 2015, the album cover was revealed. The album was released on December 18, 2015, and it debuted at number 3 on the US
''Billboard'' 200, selling 184,000 units (162,000 in pure album sales) in its first week,
marking an improvement over Brown's last three studio albums. It also became his seventh solo album consecutive top ten debut in the United States.
2016–2017: ''Heartbreak on a Full Moon''
Brown started working and recording tracks for his next album few weeks before the release of ''Royalty'', in late 2015. On January 10, 2016, Brown had previewed 11 unreleased songs on his
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position.
In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
and
Instagram profiles, showing him dancing and
lip-synching
Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals.
Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...
these songs.
In March 2016, he collaborated again with the Italian DJ
Benny Benassi
Marco "Benny" Benassi (; born 13 July 1967) is an Italian DJ, record producer and remixer. He is widely seen as a pioneer of electro house, a genre brought into the mainstream by his 2002 summer club hit " Satisfaction".
He started his career ...
for the song "
Paradise
In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in parad ...
" from the album ''
Danceaholic''. On May 3 he announced the single "
Grass Ain't Greener
"Grass Ain't Greener" is a song by American singer Chris Brown released on May 5, 2016 as the lead single from Brown's eight studio album, ''Heartbreak on a Full Moon''. The song was written by Brown and Prince Chrishan, and produced by Nikhil. ...
", showing its cover art and announcing it as the first single from a new album titled ''
Heartbreak on a Full Moon
''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Chris Brown. The album is a double-disc, consisting of 45 tracks, and was released digitally on October 31, 2017, and onto CD three days later by RCA Records. Brown for t ...
''. The single was released on May 5, 2016. On July 7, 2016, after
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers
On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, shooting and killing five officers, and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded. Johnson was an Army Reserve Afghan War veteran and was ...
, Brown released on his
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
page two
piano ballad
A ballade (from French '' ballade'', , and German ''Ballade'', , both being words for "ballad"), in classical music since the late 18th century, refers to a setting of a literary ballad, a narrative poem, in the musical tradition of the , or to a o ...
s, "My Friend" and "A Lot of Love", saying that the songs are "released for free for anybody dealing with injustice or struggle in their lives." In 2016 he released two collaborative mixtapes with his OHB crew, ''
Before the Trap: Nights in Tarzana'' and ''Attack the Block'', where they rap and sing about a reckless lifestyle full of drugs, sexual encounters with numerous untrustworthy easy women, also illustrating a dangerous street life filled with guns, dirty money and luxurious cars.
![Chris Brown and Patrizio Pigliapoco in 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Chris_Brown_and_Patrizio_Pigliapoco_in_2016.jpg)
Throughout 2016 and 2017 he kept on sharing several snippets from songs that he was working for the album and features. He worked on the album heavily during 2016 and 2017, during two
tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...
as well, the European leg of the
One Hell of a Nite Tour and
The Party Tour, also building a recording studio inside of his home to record songs for the album. On December 16, 2016, he released the second official single from the album, "
Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...
", that features guest vocals from American R&B singer
Usher and rapper
Gucci Mane
Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...
, getting a good commercial success. The singer, while working on the album, realized that he had done too many songs that he thought were quality records that followed perfectly the narrative of the album to make a 15/20 track album, so he decided that he wanted to take it to the next level by working on it as a 40-track album.
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
, the record label of the singer, initially wasn't agreeable of satisfying Brown's intentions to make a 40-track album, thinking that it would've damaged its commercial performance, but the singer ended up convincing them. In February 2017 he announced that his previously teased song "
Privacy" would have been released as the next single from ''Heartbreak on a Full Moon''. The single was released on March 24, 2017, and received an excellent response from his core audience.
On June 7 he released ''
Welcome to My Life'', a
self-documentary focused on his life and career, directed by Andrew Sandler.
Numerous celebrities participated in the movie, making statements and sharing stories about the artist. Among them there are
Jennifer Lopez,
Mike Tyson,
Rita Ora
Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...
,
Usher and
Tyga
Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson ...](_blank)
.
On August 4, 2017, he released the album's fourth single "
Pills & Automobiles
"Pills & Automobiles" is a song written and performed by American singer Chris Brown featuring American rappers Yo Gotti, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, and Kodak Black. Production was handled by OG Parker, The Martianz and Smash David. The song was r ...
", that features guest vocals from American
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
artists
Yo Gotti
Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...
,
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and
Kodak Black
Bill Kahan Kapri (born Dieuson Octave; June 11, 1997), better known by his stage name Kodak Black, is an American rapper. He gained initial recognition with his single "No Flockin", released in 2014. His debut album, ''Painting Pictures'' (20 ...
. Then on August 14, 2017, he announced the release of the fifth official single from the album, "
Questions
A question is an utterance which serves as a request for information. Questions are sometimes distinguished from interrogatives, which are the grammatical forms typically used to express them. Rhetorical questions, for instance, are interrogative ...
", on August 16, announcing the album release date, saying that it would be released on October 31, 2017. On October 13, 2017, Brown released the promotional single "High End", that features guest vocals from American
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
artists
Future and
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
, announcing the final tracklist of the album. On October 25, 2017, Brown organized with
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
a free pop-up concert in New York City to perform the singles on the album and promote it for his fans.
''
Heartbreak on a Full Moon
''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Chris Brown. The album is a double-disc, consisting of 45 tracks, and was released digitally on October 31, 2017, and onto CD three days later by RCA Records. Brown for t ...
'' was eventually released as a
double-disc
A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
album on October 31, 2017, via digital retailers and onto CD, three days later by
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
. The album's sound has been as
dark
Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown.
Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...
and soulful. The songs on it show every emotional aspect of what's been on the singer's mind after a heavy
breakup. Its themes include
regret
Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past, because the consequences of the decision were unfavorable.
Regret is related to perceived opportunity. Its intensity varies over time after the decision, in regard ...
, love transforming into hate, the difficulty in managing emotions, the impossibility of getting over someone, and how a reckless lifestyle can't numb the pain of an heartbreak. Its lyrical content was inspired by Brown's breakup with
Karrueche Tran
Karrueche Tran ( ; born May 17, 1988) is an American actress and model. From 2013 to 2016, she starred as Vivian Johnson in the web series '' The Bay''. For producing the series, she won two Daytime Emmy Awards. Her return to ''The Bay'' for i ...
. ''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' received widespread acclaim from critics, who celebrated the record's variety, its length, and its introspective lyrical content. Many defined it as the singer's best body of work. Despite being counted for only three days of sales, ''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' debuted at number three on the US
''Billboard'' 200, becoming Brown's ninth consecutive top 10 album on the chart. One week after its release ''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' was certified
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America for combined sales and
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditio ...
s of over 500,000 units in the United States, and Brown became the first R&B male artist that went gold in a week since
Usher's ''
Confessions'' in 2004.
In 2019 the album has been certified
Double Platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
On December 13, 2017, he released a 12-track surprise deluxe edition of the album called ''Cuffing Season – 12 Days of Christmas'' as a
Christmas present for his fans. The deluxe edition is made off Brown's favorite leftovers of the album and few holiday-themed songs. Brown eventually embarked on his US "
Heartbreak on a Full Moon Tour" in June 2018 to further promote the album. The
opening acts for the tour were
6lack
Ricardo Archibald Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American singer and rapper.
He initially gained notable recognition following the release of his single, " Prblms ...
,
H.E.R.
Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress.
She has received several awards includin ...
,
Rich the Kid, and
Jacquees
Rodriquez Jacquees Broadnax (born April 15, 1994), better known as Jacquees (pronounced jah-kwees), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper from Decatur, Georgia. In 2015, he signed a recording and management contract with Cash Money Rec ...
.
2018–2019: ''Indigo''
Following the overall success of ''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'', Brown and rapper
Joyner Lucas
Gary Maurice "Joyner" Lucas Jr. (born August 17, 1988) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Lucas first received widespread exposure and critical acclaim after the release of his single "Ross Capicchioni" in 2015. In June 2017, he relea ...
announced a collaboration project, titled ''Angels & Demons'' on February 25, 2018, with the release of the single "
Stranger Things". However the project ended up never being released. On March 15, 2018, Brown was featured in
Lil Dicky's smash hit single "
Freaky Friday
''Freaky Friday'' is a comedic children's novel written by Mary Rodgers, first published by Harper & Row in 1972. It has been adapted for several films, including versions in 1976, 1995, 2003, and 2018, and was reinterpreted as a horror film f ...
". By April 9, 2018, the video had reached over 100 million views and topped the charts in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
After drafting the concept for his new album, in August 2018, at the end of the "Heartbreak On A Full Moon tour", Brown started the actual processing work of his ninth album, ''
Indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
''. On January 4, 2019, Brown released "
Undecided
"Undecided" is a popular song written by Sid Robin and Charlie Shavers and published in 1938.
Recordings
*The first recording was made by John Kirby and The Onyx Club Boys on October 28, 1938, and released by Decca Records as catalog number 22 ...
", the first single off it, alongside a video for the song. "Undecided" saw Brown reunite with producer
Scott Storch
Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. He started off as a keyboardist for the group the Roots.
Early life
Storch was born on Long Island, New York. He was raised in South Florida and Ph ...
, who previously worked with Brown in 2005 on his breakout hit "
Run It!
"Run It!" is the debut single by American recording artist Chris Brown. It was produced by Scott Storch and written by Sean Garrett alongside guest artist Juelz Santana. The song appeared on his debut studio album, '' Chris Brown'', and was r ...
". The single marked Brown's first release after signing an extension and a new
license agreement
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
with
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
, that gave him the owning of his master recordings, making him one of the youngest artists to do so at the age of 29. On April 11, he released the second single off the album titled "
Back to Love", that received positive reviews from music critics who celebrated its lyrical content and its production, but it failed to chart in the US. The third single, "
Wobble Up", was released a week later featuring
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...
and
G-Eazy, announcing that the album is expected to be released in June. On April 25, he appeared on a track with
Marshmello
Christopher Comstock (born May 19, 1992), known professionally as Marshmello, is an American electronic music producer and DJ. His songs "Silence", "Wolves", "Friends", " Happier", and " Alone" have been certified multi-platinum in several ...
and
Tyga
Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson ...](_blank)
called "
Light It Up". In an announcement on May 2, Brown revealed the list of artists he had been working with for his album, Nicki Minaj,
Tory Lanez
Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape ''Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story'', rel ...
,
Tyga
Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson ...](_blank)
,
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
,
Juicy J
Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, established i ...
,
Juvenile,
H.E.R,
Tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...
,
Sage the Gemini
Dominic Wynn Woods (born June 20, 1992), better known by his stage name Sage the Gemini (), is an American rapper and record producer from Fairfield, California. He is perhaps best known for his 2013 singles "Gas Pedal" (featuring Iamsu!), which ...
,
Lil Jon
Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cr ...
,
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...
,
Joyner Lucas
Gary Maurice "Joyner" Lucas Jr. (born August 17, 1988) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Lucas first received widespread exposure and critical acclaim after the release of his single "Ross Capicchioni" in 2015. In June 2017, he relea ...
,
Gunna and
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
were included on the list. Some of these collaborations were surprising to the media, especially Drake, due to their public feud that lasted for several years. He later revealed the artwork of the album and its track list between May and June 2019. On May 31, he appeared on "
Easy", a successful single where he duetted with singer
DaniLeigh
Danielle Leigh Curiel (born December 20, 1994), known professionally as DaniLeigh, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and choreographer. Initially appearing as a backup dancer, Curiel began her career by posting covers of popul ...
. On June 8, Brown released "
No Guidance
"No Guidance" is a song by American singer Chris Brown featuring vocals from Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 8, 2019, as the fourth single from Brown's ninth studio album, ''Indigo'' (2019). The song was written by Brown, Drake, Vel ...
" featuring Drake as a single. It debuted at number nine on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it Brown's 15th top-ten song, and later peaked at number five. The single won
Best Collaboration Performance,
Best Dance Performance and
Song of the Year at the
2019 Soul Train Music Awards
The 2019 Soul Train Music Awards took place on November 17 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and aired live for the first time, on BET and BET Her. It was hosted by Tisha Campbell & Tichina Arnold, honoring artists in 12 different catego ...
and received a nomination for
Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...
at the
62nd Grammy Awards
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...
.
![Indigoat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Indigoat.jpg)
''Indigo'' was eventually released on June 28, 2019, as a double album, marking Brown's second album to be released in this style. The disc is an
R&B and
tropical-pop album, about vibrations, spiritual love and sex, that leaves the introspective, dark and sultry mood of ''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'', for a way more lighthearted sound and tone.
In the United States, ''Indigo'' debuted at number one on the US
''Billboard'' 200 with 108,000
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditio ...
s, which included 28,000 pure album sales in its first week, making it his third number-one album in the country.
The album was met with positive reviews from critics.
''Indigo'' spawned two other singles, "
Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
", which topped the ''Billboard''
Rhythmic Airplay
The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine.
The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...
chart, and earned Brown his 13th number one on the chart, and second during 2019, and "
Don't Check on Me", that features vocals from
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
and vocalist Atia "Ink" Boggs. On October 4, 2019, Brown eventually released a deluxe version of ''Indigo'' entitled ''Indigo Extended'', which included 10 additional songs, making the extended version a total of 42 songs.
On June 10, 2019, Brown announced an official headlining concert tour where he performed the album throughout United States, titled "Indigoat Tour". The tour began on August 20, and ended on October 19. The tour was received with very good responses by journalists, that praised its stage settings, and Brown's dancing abilities. "Indigoat Tour" grossed over $30,100,000 in its 37 shows, selling out most of the venues. Brown was ranked 3rd in the ''
Billboard'' top R&B/Hip-Hop artists of the decade for the 2010s, behind peers
Rihanna and
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
in 2nd and 1st, respectively.
2020present: ''Breezy''
In December 2019, Brown revealed that he started working on new material for his tenth studio album. Later, on April 29, 2020, Brown announced the release of a collaborative mixtape with
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
, ''
Slime & B''. The mixtape was released on May 5, 2020, and features the hit single "
Go Crazy", which peaked at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Brown's first song to spend one full year on the chart. In April 2021, "Go Crazy" broke the record for the longest running No. 1 song on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, a record that was previously held by Brown's 2019 hit single "
No Guidance
"No Guidance" is a song by American singer Chris Brown featuring vocals from Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 8, 2019, as the fourth single from Brown's ninth studio album, ''Indigo'' (2019). The song was written by Brown, Drake, Vel ...
". On May 1, 2020, Brown was featured on
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
's ''
Dark Lane Demo Tapes
''Dark Lane Demo Tapes'' is a mixtape by Canadian rapper and singer Drake. The mixtape is a compilation of songs that were released on SoundCloud or leaked on the internet, as well as new songs, and is considered a "warm-up" to Drake's sixth stu ...
'' mixtape on the track "Not You Too". The song earned Brown his 100th career entry on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, as it entered and debuted at number 25.
On July 9, 2020, Brown announced via Instagram that the title of his tenth album would be ''
Breezy'', a reference to his stage nickname. No release date has been announced yet.
Brown said in July 2021, while working on the album, that he wanted to make some "really endearing music" that "talk to women's soul". On August 2, 2021, he announced on his Instagram that his ''Breezy'' album would be accompanied by a short film of the same name. Later on December 18, 2021, he said that the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
of ''Breezy'' would be released during January 2022. On January 14, 2022, he released the single "
Iffy", which peaked to #1 of the Rhythmic Radio Chart on April 3, 2022. "Iffy" ended up not being included on the album. On March 15, 2022, Brown shared a snippet of a second single entitled "Warm Embrace" on his Instagram account with the caption "Is this the BREEZY you've been waiting for?". The song has a more traditional R&B sound and is set to be released on April 1. On March 16, 2022, Brown took to his Instagram account to tease a new joint tour for Summer 2022 with a mystery co-headliner, which will coincide the rollout of the album. On April 1, 2022, Brown released the official audio for his second single "
WE (Warm Embrace)
"WE (Warm Embrace)", also known by the simplified title "Warm Embrace", is a song by American singer and songwriter Chris Brown, released by RCA Records as the second single from his tenth studio album, '' Breezy'', on April 1, 2022.
Composit ...
" on all streaming platforms. The record is produced by Don City and sees Brown go back to his R&B roots, as he samples Guy's '90s hit "
Let's Chill". On April 26, 2022, Brown announced that the mystery co-headliner for his summer tour titled One of Them Ones is rapper
Lil Baby
Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape ''Perfect Timing''. *Alt URL* * His deb ...
. The tour will include 27 stops in North American and is set to kick off on July 15. Brown performed at
Drai
Victor Drai (born July 25, 1947) is a Moroccan- Franco American nightclub owner, entrepreneur and film producer. Drai rose to prominence in the 1980s, producing the movies '' The Woman in Red'' (1984) and '' Weekend at Bernie's'' (1989), before ...
's After Hours Nightclub at
The Cromwell Las Vegas Hotel and Casino on June 11, 2022 in Las Vegas marking the launch of his new multi-year residency at the venue.
On June 17, 2022, one week ahead of the album release, Brown released the audio for an Afrobeats-infused collaboration with Wizkid titled "
Call Me Every Day". The song was co-produced by DJ Tunez, Blaise Beatz and Leon Youngblood. On June 21, 2022, Brown released a music video for the single "WE (Warm Embrace)". The video included a guest appearance and dance sequence with fellow R&B artist
Normani
Normani Kordei Hamilton ( ; born May 31, 1996) is an American singer and dancer. She auditioned as a solo act for the American television series ''The X Factor'' in 2012, after which she became a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which wen ...
and teased a sneak peak of an album track titled "Sleep at Night". On June 24, 2022, Brown released a music vdeo for “C.A.B. (Catch A Body)” featuring rapper
Fivio Foreign
Maxie Lee Ryles III (born March 29, 1990), known by his stage name Fivio Foreign, is an American rapper from New York. He rose to fame in 2019 with his single "Big Drip", which spawned a remix with rappers Lil Baby and Quavo. He is signed to fel ...
. The neon-glowing visual finds the two men sipping red cups, driving foreign cars, and enjoying a night out on the town.
The video was directed by Damien Sandoval and coincided with the release date of the
Breezy album.
On August 22, 2022, Brown took to social media to state that there is a strong possibility his North American co-headlined tour with
Lil Baby
Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape ''Perfect Timing''. *Alt URL* * His deb ...
would be expanding to Europe. On August 24, 2022, Brown released a music video his single "
Call Me Every Day" featuring
Wizkid
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential Afri ...
. The video which was directed by Child finds a woman taking a bath before she starts daydreaming about Brown and Wizkid.
She’s then transported to an African village where the Virginia native links up with the Nigerian megastar to celebrate Black beauty.
The video also captures interactions with Brown and his backup dancer Taylor Terry, as well as the singer grooving with his longtime backup dancers. At the final stop of Brown's One of Them One's tour in Las Vegas, he renuinted with
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
winner
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks-Thomas (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. Her self-titled debu ...
for a nostalgic performance of their duet "
No Air
"No Air" is a song by American singers Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. The song was written by James Fauntleroy II, Harvey Mason Jr., Steve Russell, Erik Griggs and Damon Thomas. It was released in the United States on February 11, 2008, and serv ...
" nearly 15 years after it release.
On September 4, 2022, Brown won international artiste of the year at the 15th annual
Headies awards. The category is designed for non-African artists or groups with outstanding achievements and impact on Afrobeats. In September
2022, with the official release of "
Under the Influence", Brown became the first R&B singer in history to chart over fifty top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. On October 14, 2022, Brown appeared as a special guest at
Usher's Las Vegas Residency to perform a few songs, including
Back to Sleep (Remix),
Under the Influence and
Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
. During the show Usher took a moment to give Brown his flowers. “I love you. You a great. You’re a legend. We love you and we gon’ continue to keep lifting you up,” said Usher. On Novemeber 16, 2022, Brown released two Christmas themed standalone singles titled "No Time Like Christmas" and "It's Giving Christmas" and later dropped visuals for the singles in December. On November 18, 2022, Brown took to his Instagram page to announce that the
American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...
had canceled his scheduled tribute performance to
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
in celebration of the 40th anniversay of the later singer's 1982
Thriller album. Brown also shared rehearsal footage of the cancelled tribute and stated the performance was cancelled for unknown reasons. The cancelled tribute prompted backlash against the AMAs from fans and industry peers alike.
Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ.
Early life
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...
stated the decision to pull thetribute signals something grave for celebration of Black Music stating that "If the American Music Awards canceled the Chris Brown performance, then that means they canceled the 40th anniversay of
Thriller. Which means they canceled the Michael jackson tribute. Black Music, we in trouble." Similarly
John Branca, the co-executor of the
Michael Jackson Estate
The Estate of Michael Jackson is a legal entity established following the death of American singer Michael Jackson for the purpose of administering the property of Jackson, and overseeing the latter's posthumous income. The last will of Jackson was ...
stated that the AMAs should be ashamed of themselves and that the cancellation is an attack on celebration of Black Music. On December 9, 2022, Brown announced a European tour for 2023 titled the "Under The Infuence" tour with artist Skillibeng as a special guest. Within minutes, the entire 19-show tour sold out, including four nights at London's renowned O2 Arena, two nights at Accor Arena in Paris, two nights at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam and more.
Artistry
Influences
![Michael Jackson1 1988](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Michael_Jackson1_1988.jpg)
Brown has cited a number of artists as his inspiration, predominantly
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. Brown emphasizes "Michael Jackson is the reason why I do music and why I am an entertainer." In "
Fine China", he exemplifies Jackson's influence both musically and visually as
''Ebony'' magazine's Britini Danielle asserted that the song was "reminiscent of Michael Jackson's ''
Off the Wall''". Choreographically,
MTV noticed that it "takes distinct visual cues from classic clips like '
Smooth Criminal
"Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, as the seventh single from his seventh album, '' Bad'' (1987). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The lyrics add ...
' and '
Beat It'", while ''
Billboard'' complimented his appearance by calling it "a modern way to channel the King of Pop".
Usher is also another influence who comes across as a more contemporary figure for Brown. He tells
Vibe magazine
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production ...
"He was the one who the youngsters looked up to. I know that we, in the dancing and singing world, looked up to him", and maintains "If it wasn't for Usher, then Chris Brown couldn't exist". Other influences include
Marvin Gaye,
Sam Cooke,
Ginuwine
Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. He began his career as a member of Swing Mob in the early 1990s. Signing to Epic Records as a solo ...
,
Phil Collins,
Bobby Brown
Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...
and
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.
During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
. When it comes to his rapping he cited
Naughty by Nature,
Tupac
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...
,
Lil' Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...
and
Rakim
William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
as the rappers he's inspired by.
Musical style
Music critics have commended Brown's introduction to
R&B, recognizing his versatility, and considering him an evolver of the genre. His musical style has often been defined as polyhedric. Lyana Robertson of
''Vibe'' says "As traditional R&B flourished around him, the young singer began an evolution of the genre". She saw his debut single "
Run It!
"Run It!" is the debut single by American recording artist Chris Brown. It was produced by Scott Storch and written by Sean Garrett alongside guest artist Juelz Santana. The song appeared on his debut studio album, '' Chris Brown'', and was r ...
" as a "prelude to what Brown would continue to do for the next decade: relentlessly disrupt the constructs of
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
." By his second album ''
Exclusive'', she says he was "tapping more
electric up-tempos, swimming deep in
hip-hop waters and annihilating the pop arena". Describing the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
winning ''
F.A.M.E.'' as "his most diverse offering to date", she remarked "There was no level of musical flexibility comparable. There still isn't."
''F.A.M.E.'' is considered to be the album that defined Brown's musical style and persona.
[Jones, Steve (March 22, 2011)]
Listen Up: Chris Brown back with 'F.A.M.E.'
''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
''. Retrieved on March 22, 2011.
Brown is considered to be, by a big part of critics and general public, the biggest R&B artist of the
2010s
File:2010s collage v21.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed; Crimea is ...
,
with Andy Kellman of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
crediting him as the "spearhead" of the genre during the period. Brad Wete of ''
Billboard'' said that his sixth album ''
X'' showcased "the height of his musical talents", while cultural critic and media personality
Joe Budden
Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...
defined his 2017 album ''
Heartbreak on a Full Moon
''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Chris Brown. The album is a double-disc, consisting of 45 tracks, and was released digitally on October 31, 2017, and onto CD three days later by RCA Records. Brown for t ...
'' as "one of the greatest things ever happened to R&B music".
Genres
Brown made his sound mixing the traditional sound of R&B adding different influences to it, most importantly
hip hop and pop, but also several other genres in different songs, such as
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
,
dancehall,
alternative R&B,
house,
EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
,
afropop,
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
,
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
disco and
funk. The multitude of genres influencing his music can be heard in many of his singles, like "
Deuces", "
Sweet Love", "
Liquor", "
Zero
0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...
", "
Back to Love" or "
Don't Check on Me". His pure side of
R&B is densely shown on every album that he has done, even after that his music started to be more tinged from other genres, with some examples being "
No BS", "
Don't Judge Me
"Don't Judge Me" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown on his fifth studio album, ''Fortune (Chris Brown album), Fortune'' (2012). It was written by Brown and produced by The Messengers (producers), The Messengers. The song was sent ...
", "
Back To Sleep" and "
Privacy".
Throughout his career Brown has always had a strong influence from
hip hop in his music, and following his 2010 mixtapes, he approached the genre differently, starting to rap frequently on mixtapes and features, adding to his albums straight hip-hop songs like "
Look at Me Now", "
Till I Die" and "
Loyal", or by doing performances that switch from his R&B singing to his rapping, like he did in several tracks from his album ''Heartbreak on a Full Moon''. His
dance-pop side in the single "
Forever
Forever or 4ever may refer to:
Film and television Films
* ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice
* ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama
* ''Forever'' (1992 film), an American ...
" off his second album ''Exclusive'' opened the door for many other
Europop
Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...
songs like "
Yeah 3x
"Yeah 3x" (pronounced "Yeah three times", "Yeah Yeah Yeah", or “Yeah three-x”); sometimes stylized as "Yeah 3X") is a song by American singer Chris Brown, which features American producer DJ Frank E as an uncredited featured artist, and wa ...
", "
Beautiful People", "
Turn Up The Music" and "
Don't Wake Me Up", but it began to be less present in his music starting from his album ''
X''.
Themes
Brown's lyrical production is typically considered to be "emotional" or "hedonistic". His songs mainly cover themes of
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
,
lovesickness
Lovesickness refers to an affliction that can produce negative feelings when deeply in love, during the absence of a loved one or when love is unrequited.
The term "lovesickness" is rarely used in modern medicine and psychology, though new rese ...
,
regret
Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past, because the consequences of the decision were unfavorable.
Regret is related to perceived opportunity. Its intensity varies over time after the decision, in regard ...
,
romantic love
Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions.
The ''Wiley Blackwell Ency ...
,
desire,
fast life, and
internal conflict
An internal conflict is the struggle occurring within a character's mind. Things such as the character views for, but can't quite reach. As opposed to external conflict, in which a character is grappling some force of themself, such as wars or a c ...
, also having some introspections over
loneliness
Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...
and the dark side of
fame.
Along with his vocal and dancing abilities, his songwriting is considered to be one of the things that distincts him for the better compared to other R&B singers of his time. American media executive and radio personality
Ebro Darden
Ibrahim Jamil "Ebro" Darden (born March 17, 1975) is an American radio personality, broadcaster, and DJ. Until 2014, he was Vice President of Programming for Emmis Communications' New York contemporary urban station WQHT (Hot 97). He is current ...
stated that Brown is the "most all-around talented person in
R&B.
Trey Songz
Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, '' Trey Day' ...
is talented, but he can't dance like Chris Brown.
Usher is probably the only one that could come close to him, but he doesn't have the songwriting abilities that Chris Brown has".
Brown said in 2013, during an interview for ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', that his songs are always "derived from personal experiences, my personal life. Then creativity brings my reality to another dimention. That's what my songs are made of. I always like mixing reality with art".
Voice
Brown possesses a light
lyric tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
voice, which spans three and a half octaves, rising from the bass F♯ (F2) to its peak at the
soprano C♯.(C♯6) His vocal ability was first recognized by his mother at a young age, as Brown tells
People magazine
''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the lar ...
"I was 11 and watching Usher perform '
My Way
"My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...
', and I started trying to mimic it. My mom was like, 'You can sing?' And I was like, 'Well, yeah, Mama.'" subsequently leading to the start of his career.
"
Take You Down
"Take You Down" is a song recorded by American recording artist Chris Brown for his second studio album, '' Exclusive'' (2007). The song was written by Brown, Harvey Mason, Jr., Damon Thomas, Steve Russell, James Fauntleroy and Lamar Edwards, ...
" most notably earned him a
Grammy award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
nomination for
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:
*In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male
*From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B V ...
in 2009.
His vocal performances are characterized by his
harmonization
In music, harmonization is the chordal accompaniment to a line or melody: "Using chords and melodies together, making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads".
A harmonized scale can be created by using each note of a musical scale as a root ...
,
timbre
In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musica ...
,
vocal runs and soulfulness. While his voice on his first two albums, ''
Chris Brown'' and ''
Exclusive'', was considered to be "honeyed", due to his young age, with subsequent projects like ''
Graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
'' and ''
F.A.M.E.'' it was noted for maturing to a "more mature, distinctive and melodious voice", with Brown "coming into his own as a singer". On ''F.A.M.E.'' critics noted huge flexibility in his voice, with Steve Jones of ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' praising the singer's ability to "give top notch vocal performances in R&B, Europop, rap, rock and acoustic records".
''
X'' and ''
Indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
'' were noted for displaying his timbre, exemplifying his singing performances.
His harmonizing was found by Andrew Unterberger of ''
Billboard'' to be notably shown on his songs "
Liquor" and "
Go Crazy". On "
Another Round", "
Don't Judge Me
"Don't Judge Me" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown on his fifth studio album, ''Fortune (Chris Brown album), Fortune'' (2012). It was written by Brown and produced by The Messengers (producers), The Messengers. The song was sent ...
" and "
It Won't Stop
"It Won't Stop" is a song recorded by American singer Sevyn Streeter, featuring vocals from American singer Chris Brown. It was released on May 22, 2013, as the first single from her debut extended play (EP) '' Call Me Crazy, But...'', by Atlant ...
" he did what was considered by Lee Hildebrand of ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' to be "some of the most soothing and smooth singing of his discography". Jake Indiana of ''
Highsnobiety'' said that his feature on
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
's song "
Waves
Waves most often refers to:
*Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass.
*Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water.
Waves may also refer to:
Music
*Waves (band) ...
" is one of his best vocal performances, and that it "sounds like ascending to heaven with a choir of angels at your back". The singer was particularly noted for his emotional singing that illustrated his
vocal range
Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...
on songs like "Covered In You", "
Lost & Found", "
No Guidance
"No Guidance" is a song by American singer Chris Brown featuring vocals from Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 8, 2019, as the fourth single from Brown's ninth studio album, ''Indigo'' (2019). The song was written by Brown, Drake, Vel ...
" and "
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
". On tracks like "
Look at Me Now", "
No Romeo No Juliet" and "
Stranger Things" he displayed his ability of fast-rapping.
Dancing
![Breezyparty4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Breezyparty4.jpg)
Brown's dancing abilities and stage presence are widely praised, receiving broad comparisons to those of
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
.
According to Brown, he taught himself how to dance by imitating Jackson's moves since childhood, then developing his own distinct style throughout his career.
Most of his music videos feature complex choreographies,
including the "futuristic" "
Turn Up the Music",
the Jackson-inspired choreography of "
Fine China", "
Zero
0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...
", where he displayed different dancing styles, including
popping
Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance) cultural movement in Oakland, California. As Boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as Robottin in Richmond, California, Strutting movements in San Francisco and San J ...
and his signature spin move,
"
Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...
", where he showcased his remarked
footwork, and "
Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
", described by ''
The Source
''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...
'' as a "silky smooth choreography that shows Brown's unmatchable dancing talent in the classiest way".
Some of his most notable dancing live performances include his "
Thriller" recreation at the
2006 World Music Awards, his medley at the
2011 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards took place on August 28, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. On July 20, the nominees were announced. Katy Perry received the most nominations this year at ten, ...
, where he performed a choreography that included
flying parts, and his 2015 freestyled dancing over
Future's "March Madness" at the Vestival The Hague Malieveld, that included a highly acclaimed
front-flip, done with no hands by standing still, landed perfectly on beat.
In films such as ''
Stomp the Yard
''Stomp the Yard'' is a 2007 American dance drama film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, ''Stomp the Yard'' centers on DJ Williams, a college stu ...
'' and ''
Battle of the Year
Battle of the Year, commonly referred to as BOTY, is an annual international breakdancing competition that began in 1990. It has been regarded as the premier b-boying competition in the world
and has been referred to as the "World Cup of B-Boying" ...
'', Brown displayed his ability to breakdance while in-character.
Street art
Aside from his musical career, he was noted for markedly producing
graffiti art
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
. His visual works have been described as "
manga-inspired" and "
abstract". Brown said that he painted since his childhood, saying "my first approach with it was painting school walls" saying that he's always been captivated by the fact that drawing and painting "gives you the chance to express yourself in whatever way, showing to the world your own dimension".
Brown has produced street art under the pseudonym Konfused, partnering with street artist Kai to produce works for the Miami Basel. The singer painted the buildings of different radio stations such as
Hot 97
WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared ser ...
. In 2015 he worked on some of the walls of
The Grammy Museum, mixing his spray paint drawings with images of
James Brown,
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
,
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
and himself. Brown has made graffiti works for different cities worldwide, including
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
.
His painting and dancing skills were shown at the same time when Brown, partnering with
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
's Rap Caviar, painted ''
Heartbreak on a Full Moon
''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Chris Brown. The album is a double-disc, consisting of 45 tracks, and was released digitally on October 31, 2017, and onto CD three days later by RCA Records. Brown for t ...
''s album cover, mostly from dancing around the canvas. In 2020 he painted a mural in memory of
Kobe Bryant, doing a portray that includes Kobe's face, a
mamba
Mambas are fast moving highly venomous snakes of the genus ''Dendroaspis'' (which literally means "tree asp") in the family Elapidae. Four extant species are recognised currently; three of those four species are essentially arboreal and green ...
, and a few pictures of Kobe dribbling and dunking a basketball.
Personal life
Relationships
From 2007 to 2009, Brown dated singer
Rihanna until their highly publicized domestic violence case.
His emotional state following the happening was theme of a big part of his album ''
Graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
''. In 2009, Brown was linked with
Girlicious
Girlicious was an American girl group originally formed by Robin Antin, creator of the Pussycat Dolls, from The CW reality TV show '' Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious''. The group was originally signed to Geffen Records and composed of membe ...
singer
Natalie Mejia after the pair were spotted leaving a tattoo parlor together. However Brown and Mejia later denied the report claiming they were only friends. In 2009, Brown reunited with an ex-girlfriend by the name of Erica Jackson from his hometown in Virginia. In 2010, Brown dated R&B singer Rhea who used to be a part of fellow Virginia native
Pharrell
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom h ...
's group
N.E.R.D
N.E.R.D. (stylized as N⋆E⋆R⋆D and N.E.R.D, a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) is an American hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Recor ...
. Later in 2010, Brown dated Sports Illustrated model
Jasmine Sanders
Jasmine Sanders, also known as Golden Barbie, is an American model and fashion influencer.
Early life
Sanders was born in 1991 in Frankenthal, Germany to a German mother and African-American father; she was raised in Columbia, South Carolina.
...
. Brown and Sanders also reuinted briefly in 2019. In 2011, Brown dated model
Draya Michele
Andraya Michele Howard (born January 23, 1985) is an American media personality, model, actress, and fashion designer.
Early life
Andraya Michele was born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania. She has two children, one with her ex fiancé and ...
who stated that Brown was a great boyfriend in spite of the public perception against him. Despite their split Brown and Michele have remained friends over the years. In 2011, Brown began dating Karrueche Tran, whom he had met while she was working in a retail store. In October 2012, Brown announced that he ended his relationship with Tran because he did not "want to see her hurt over my friendship with Rihanna." The day after the announcement, Brown released a video entitled "The Real Chris Brown", which features images of himself, Tran, and Rihanna, as Brown wonders, "Is there such thing as loving two people? I don't know if it's possible, but I feel like that."
In February 2012, Rihanna and Brown dropped surprise remixes to their singles
Turn Up The Music and
Birthday Cake
A birthday cake is a cake eaten as part of a birthday celebration. Birthday cakes are often layer cakes with frosting served with small lit candles on top representing the celebrant's age. Variations include cupcakes, cake pops, pastries, an ...
, which all but alluded to a reconciliation. In January 2013, Rihanna confirmed that she and Brown had resumed their romantic relationship, stating, "It's different now. We don't have those types of arguments anymore. We talk about shit. We value each other. We know exactly what we have now, and we don't want to lose that." Speaking of Brown, Rihanna also said, "He's not the monster everybody thinks. He's a good person. He has a fantastic heart. He's giving and loving. And he's fun to be around. That's what I love about him – he always makes me laugh. All I want to do is laugh, really – and I do that with him". Rihanna and Brown collaborated again on a duet song off Rihanna's
Unapologetic
''Unapologetic'' is the seventh studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on 19 November 2012 by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded between June and November 2012, during promotion of her sixth studio album, ...
album titled
Nobody's Business. In a May 2013 interview, Brown stated that he and Rihanna had broken up again. He subsequently reunited with Tran, but they parted ways following confirmation of Brown's daughter with Nia Guzman in 2015. His breakup with Tran inspired several songs off his albums ''
Royalty'' and ''
Heartbreak on a Full Moon
''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Chris Brown. The album is a double-disc, consisting of 45 tracks, and was released digitally on October 31, 2017, and onto CD three days later by RCA Records. Brown for t ...
''. In 2017, Brown dated model Vanessa Vargas in his first public relationship since his split with ex-girlfriend Karrueche. Later in 2017 and 2018, Brown dated Indonesian pop singer
Agnez Mo
Agnes Monica Muljoto (born 1 July 1986), known professionally as Agnez Mo (stylized as all caps), is an Indonesian singer and actress. She was professionally known as Agnes Monica before amending her stage name. As a bilingual singer who reco ...
. Brown and Mo also released a single together entitled "Overdose". In 2019, Brown dated model Indya Marie who he had met while filming a music video with
Eric Bellinger
Eric Aldwin Bellinger Jr. (born March 26, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles. He began songwriting in 2010, and his co-writing credits including "Lemme See" by Usher, " New Flame" by Chris Brown, "You D ...
for their collaboration
Type a Way
Eric Aldwin Bellinger Jr. (born March 26, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles. He began songwriting in 2010, and his co-writing credits including "Lemme See" by Usher, "New Flame" by Chris Brown, "You ...
. On November 20, 2019, Brown welcomed his second child, a son. His third child, a daughter, was born in 2022.
Religion
When discussing his upbringing, Brown stated: "We were used to two pairs of shoes for a school year. We used to go to church every day. I was one of those kids that had more church clothes than school clothes."
He has also discussed his
second work of grace
According to some Christian traditions, a second work of grace (also second blessing) is a transforming interaction with God which may occur in the life of an individual Christian. The defining characteristics of the second work of grace are ...
, saying that "he experienced the
Holy Ghost
For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Gru ...
while performing '
His Eye Is on the Sparrow
"His Eye Is on the Sparrow" is a gospel hymn written in 1905 by lyricist Civilla D. Martin and composer Charles H. Gabriel. It is most associated with actress-singer Ethel Waters who used the title for her autobiography. Mahalia Jackson's recordi ...
' in church".
[ After being released from jail on June 2, 2014, Brown wrote that he was "Humbled and Blessed" and ]tweeted
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
the words "Thank you GOD."
In 2015, he said during an interview for ''Vibe
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
'', that God is the only thing that he's afraid of. Speaking about prayers he said "I pray everyday, I think we pray unconsciously too. Personally I don't pray for success. I pray for knowledge for understanding and peace of mind. I really try to pray for that because it's a big world, and you can get wrapped up in it trying to please every city. So I just try to get a peace of mind and me understanding that being at peace with my flaws and my talents. I'm cool with that. That's why I think once He shows me certain things, or even the choices that I make, and decisions that I make that are healthy for me. He shows me the right path. When I bless other people, He always blesses me. It's not even about a self-serving journey; it's about just learning. I want to learn people's experiences. I want to give them experiences too."
Legal issues
Domestic violence incident with Rihanna
At around 12:30 a.m. ( PST) on February 8, 2009, Brown and his then-girlfriend, singer Rihanna, had an argument which escalated into physical violence, leaving Rihanna with visible severe facial injuries which required hospitalization. Brown turned himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
's Wilshire station at 6:30 p.m. ( PST) and was booked under suspicion of making criminal threats. On June 22, 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to a felony and accepted a plea deal of community labor, five years of probation, and domestic violence counseling. On August 25, Brown received five years of probation
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration.
In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
. He was ordered to attend one year of domestic violence counseling and undergo six months of community service
Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...
; the judge retained a five-year restraining order on Brown, which required him to remain 50 yards (45.72 meters) away from Rihanna, reduced to 10 yards at public events. On September 2, 2009, Brown spoke about the domestic violence case in a pre-recorded ''Larry King Live
''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly.
Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...
'' interview, his first public interview about the matter. He was accompanied to the interview by his mother, Joyce Hawkins, and attorney Mark Geragos
Mark John Geragos (born October 5, 1957) is an American criminal defense lawyer and the managing partner of Geragos & Geragos, in Los Angeles.
Early life and education
Geragos was born in Los Angeles, California, where he attended Flintridge Pr ...
, as he discussed growing up in a household with his mother being repeatedly assaulted by his stepfather. Brown said of hearing details of his assault of Rihanna, "I'm in shock, because, first of all, that's not who I am as a person, and that's not who I promise I want to be." In February 2011, at the request of Brown's and Rihanna's lawyers, Mark Geragos and Donald Eltra, Judge Patricia Schnegg modified the restraining order to a "level one order", allowing both singers to appear at awards shows together in the future.
On July 11, 2012, Brown's community service was evaluated and he was ordered to meet a judge. The evaluation was ordered by Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg on July 10, 2012. He was scheduled to appear in court with regard to the evaluation on August 21, 2012. While conducting his community service in Virginia, however, Brown was tested positive for cannabis and appeared in court on September 25, 2012, at which time his hearing date was changed to November, to determine whether or not he had violated the terms of his court order. On March 20, 2015, Brown's probation ended, formally closing the felony case emanating from the Rihanna assault which happened over six years prior.
In a 2017 self-documentary, '' Welcome to My Life'', Brown goes into detail about the abusive relationship, saying he intended to marry Rihanna, but that she lost trust in him after finding out that he lied about a prior relationship someone who worked with him. Brown also provided a detailed description on how the known fight went down.
Other legal issues
On June 14, 2012, Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
and his entourage were involved in a scuffle with Brown at a nightclub called WIP in the SoHo
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develo ...
neighborhood of New York City. About eight people were injured during the brawl, including San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
star Tony Parker
William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...
, who had to have surgery to remove a piece of glass from his eye. Drake was not arrested. Brown's attorney alleged Drake was the instigator. Brown himself tweeted about the incident and publicly criticized Drake weeks later.
In January 2013, Brown was involved in an altercation with Frank Ocean
Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...
over a parking space, outside a recording studio in West Hollywood. Police officers in Los Angeles said that Brown was under investigation, describing the incident as "battery" due to Brown allegedly punching Ocean. Although Ocean alleged that Brown had threatened to shoot him, he said he would not press charges. Fellow artist Sean Kingston who was present at the scene alleged that Ocean and his cousin instigated the incident and were at fault. Brown later sued Ocean and his cousin for the incident and the matter was eventually settled out of court.
In July 2013, Brown's probation was revoked after he was involved in an alleged hit-and-run in Los Angeles. He was released from court and was scheduled to reappear in August 2013, to learn whether or not he would serve time in prison. The charges would later be dropped, but Brown would have 1,000 additional hours of community service added to his probation terms. In October 2013, Brown was arrested for felony assault in Washington, D.C., after refusing to take a picture with a man, and throwing a punch which broke the man's nose. The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor. Brown spent 36 hours in a Washington jail and was taken to court in shackles. He was released and ordered to report to his California probation officer within 48 hours.
On October 30, 2013, Brown voluntarily decided to enter rehab. After Brown completed his 90 days, the judge ordered him to remain a resident at the Malibu treatment facility until a hearing on April 23, 2014. The deal was if Brown left rehab, he would go directly to jail. On March 14, 2014, Brown was kicked out of the rehab facility and sent to Northern Neck Regional Jail
Northern Neck Regional Jail is a jail in Warsaw, Virginia, which is located in Virginia's Northern Neck. The jail was completed in 1995. It employs 100 people and has a capacity of 460 inmates with its most recent addition completed in 2000.
Notab ...
for violating internal rules. He was expected to be released on April 23, 2014, but a judge denied his release request from custody either on bail or his own recognizance. At his May 9, 2014, court date, Brown was ordered to serve 131 days in jail for his probation violation. He was sentenced to serve 365 days in custody; however, he was given credit for the 234 days he has already spent in rehab and jail. During Brown's rehab, a probation officer noted in a letter that Brown's brushes with the law may have been caused by untreated bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
and posttraumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats ...
, specifically that "Mr. Brown became aggressive and acted out physically due to his untreated mental health disorder, severe sleep deprivation, inappropriate self-medicating and untreated PTSD". According to the court documents, which were received by E! News
''E! News'', previously known as ''E! News Daily'' and ''E! News Live'', is the infotainment, entertainment news operation for the cable network E! in the United States. Its former on-air weekday newscast debuted on September 1, 1991, and prima ...
and later The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
, Brown was formally diagnosed with both Bipolar II
Bipolar II disorder (BP-II) is a mood disorder on the bipolar spectrum, characterized by at least one episode of hypomania and at least one episode of major depression. Diagnosis for BP-II requires that the individual must never have experience ...
and PTSD at the unnamed rehab facility.
In the early hours of August 30, 2016, a woman called the police and falsely accused Brown of threatening her with a gun inside his house. Police were called, but Brown denied them entry without a warrant. When they returned with one, Brown refused them entry and began what news sources referred to as a "standoff" with the LAPD, including the robbery-homicide division and SWAT team. During this time, Brown was seen posting videos on Instagram, in which he rails against the police and the media coverage of the activity at his house. He denounced media reports that he was "barricaded" inside his house, complained about the helicopters flying overhead, and called the police "idiots" and "the worst gang in the world." He said that he was innocent and "What I do care about is you are defacing my name and my character and integrity". Brown was arrested and later released from jail on $250,000 bail. On September 1, 2016, Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos
Mark John Geragos (born October 5, 1957) is an American criminal defense lawyer and the managing partner of Geragos & Geragos, in Los Angeles.
Early life and education
Geragos was born in Los Angeles, California, where he attended Flintridge Pr ...
, stated that there was no standoff and that, with regard to the LAPD search, "nothing was found to corroborate her statement." Charges were later dropped after prosecutors declined to arraign Brown on the felony charges. Brown later sued the accuser for defamation, prevailing in the lawsuit, after it was ruled that the defendant brought to court false and defamatory statements about Brown, through her incriminating text messages where she said "don't you know this freak Chris Brown is kicking me out of his house because I called his friend jewelry fake can you come get me my Uber is messing up if not I'm going to set him up and call the cops and say that he tried to shoot me and that will teach him a lesson I'm going to set his a** up." Brown later said through his social media accounts "Because of my past, my character keeps on being defaced by these fake news and allegations highlighted by the media, but I'm glad that all my real supporters know who i really am and can see the truth."
In January 2022, a woman filed a civil suit accusing Brown of raping her on a yacht in Miami in December 2020. The woman attempted to sue Brown for $20 million. Brown denied the allegations and later submitted text messages to the Miami police department which indicated a consensual relationship with the accuser. According to TMZ, Brown plans to counter sue the accuser for defamation for making false accusations, and the accuser's lawyer dropped the case against him citing that she was unaware of the messages. The lawsuit against Brown was dropped in August 2022 due to lack of prosecution.
Business ventures
In 2007, Brown founded the record label CBE ("Chris Brown Entertainment" or "Culture Beyond Evolution"), under Interscope Records. Brown has since signed frequent collaborator Kevin McCall
Kevin Lamar McCall Jr. (born July 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his association with fellow singer Chris Brown. McCall signed to Brown in a joint venture with RCA Records in 2012. He was fe ...
, singer Sabrina Antoinette, former RichGirl
RichGirl was an American R&B vocal girl group consisting of four members: Audra Simmons, Christina "Brave" Williams, Kristal Lyndriette Smith (then known as Lyndriette and now known as Kristal, a member of June's Diary) and Amber Streeter (n ...
member , singer-songwriter Joelle James, and rock group U.G.L.Y. However, from 2014 the label started to sign exclusively Brown's works.
Brown has stated he owns fourteen Burger King restaurants. In 2012, he launched a streetwear clothing line called ''Black Pyramid'', in collaboration with the founders of the ''Pink + Dolphin'' clothing line. In 2016 the clothing label was set for larger release, partnering with streetwear clothing lines such as ''Snipes'' for a worldwide distribution, also being distributed through its own ''Black Pyramid'' boutiques.
On November 11, 2021, the singer launched his own cereal, "Breezy's Cosmic Crunch", partnering with SoFlo Snacks for this limited edition of collectible breakfast cereal.
Discography
*'' Chris Brown'' (2005)
*'' Exclusive'' (2007)
*''Graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
'' (2009)
*'' F.A.M.E.'' (2011)
*'' Fortune'' (2012)
*'' X'' (2014)
*'' Royalty'' (2015)
*''Heartbreak on a Full Moon
''Heartbreak on a Full Moon'' is the eighth studio album by American singer Chris Brown. The album is a double-disc, consisting of 45 tracks, and was released digitally on October 31, 2017, and onto CD three days later by RCA Records. Brown for t ...
'' (2017)
*''Indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
'' (2019)
*'' Breezy'' (2022)
Filmography
Tours
Brown has headlined multiple arenas tours in North America, Europe and World-Wide. Additionally, he has co-headlined two separate North American tours with Trey Songz
Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, '' Trey Day' ...
and Lil Baby
Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape ''Perfect Timing''. *Alt URL* * His deb ...
and served as a supporting act on tours for industry peers such as Rihanna, Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
, Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...
and Beyoncé. In total, Brown has earned approximately $157 million from 279 concerts over the course of his career – making him one of the highest grossing African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
touring artists of all time.
Headlining
* Up Close and Personal Tour (2006)
* The UCP Exclusive Tour (2007)
* Fan Appreciation Tour (2009)
* F.A.M.E. Tour (2011)
* Carpe Diem Tour
The Carpe Diem Tour was a headlining concert tour by American recording artist Chris Brown, in support of his fifth studio album '' Fortune''. The tour included shows in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Trinidad. It began on November 14, 2012 in Denmar ...
(2012)
* One Hell of a Nite Tour (2015–2016)
* The Party Tour (2017)
* Heartbreak on a Full Moon Tour (2018)
* Indigoat Tour (2019)
* Under the Influence Tour (2023)
Co-headlining
* Between the Sheets Tour
The Between The Sheets Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by American recording artists Chris Brown and Trey Songz, along with rapper Tyga supporting, in support of their sixth studio albums '' X'' and '' Trigga'', respectively. The tour bega ...
(2015)
* One of Them Ones Tour (2022)
Supporting
* The Beyoncé Experience
The Beyoncé Experience was the third concert tour by American singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was staged in support of her second studio album, '' B'Day'' (2006). The Beyoncé Experience consisted of 96 shows in 2007 over five legs. Fan-club ticket ...
(Australia dates) (2007)
* Good Girl Gone Bad Tour
The Good Girl Gone Bad Tour was the second overall and first world concert tour by Barbadian singer Rihanna, in support of her third studio album '' Good Girl Gone Bad'' (2007). The setlist was composed of songs mostly from ''Good Girl Gone Bad ...
(the Philippines, Oceania) (2008)
* Supafest
Supafest was an annual music festival held in Australia during April, created by Paper Chase Touring and Entertainment PTY LTD. It started in 2010, spreading out to in five major capital cities (Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney), t ...
(2012)
* Lil Weezyana Fest (2016)
* OVO Fest
OVO Sound (also known simply as OVO) is a Toronto-based Canadian record label, founded in 2012 by hip hop artist Drake, producer 40, and Oliver El-Khatib. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Warner Music Group's Warner ...
(2019)
Achievements
* List of awards and nominations received by Chris Brown
Chris Brown is an American singer and actor. In 2006, Chris Brown received twenty-three nominations and won nine, including Viewer's Choice for "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" at the BET Awards; Male Artist of the Year, New Artist of the Year and Artist ...
See also
* List of artists who reached number one in the United States
This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on '' Billboard'' magazine's weekly singles chart(s). This list spans from the issue dated January 1, 1955 to the present. Prior to the creation of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ''Bil ...
*List of highest-certified music artists in the United States
This is the list of the highest-certified music artists in the United States based on certifications of albums and digital singles (but not physical singles) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). RIAA certifications are base ...
* List of best-selling music artists
* List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones
*List of most-followed Instagram accounts
This article is a list of the top 50 accounts with most followers on the photo and video-sharing social platform Instagram. the most-followed person is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo with over 520 million followers, and the most- ...
References
External links
*
*
*
Chris Brown
on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Chris
1989 births
Living people
21st-century American criminals
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American businesspeople
African-American Christians
African-American male actors
African-American male dancers
African-American male rappers
African-American male singer-songwriters
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American child singers
American contemporary R&B singers
American dance musicians
American hip hop singers
American male criminals
American male dancers
American male film actors
American male pop singers
American male television actors
American music industry executives
American music video directors
American people convicted of assault
Burger King people
Businesspeople from Virginia
Criminals from Virginia
Grammy Award winners
Jive Records artists
Male actors from Virginia
People from Tappahannock, Virginia
People with bipolar disorder
Pop rappers
Rappers from Virginia
RCA Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Virginia
Singers with a three-octave vocal range
Sony BMG artists
World Music Awards winners