''Exclusive'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Chris Brown. It was released on November 6, 2007, by CBE, Jive Records. The record serves as Chris Brown's second studio release under his CBE

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, as well as with Jive. The record also serves as the follow-up to his multi-platinum selling debut album, '' Chris Brown'' (2005). ''Exclusive'' is an R&B record that contains slight influences of pop and electro-hop. Lyrically it revolves around

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, ...

. The album was commercially successful worldwide. It debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 295,000 copies in the first week. The album was supported by five singles, with three of the singles becoming top three hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and also charting highly on other charts worldwide. This album earned a quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States. ''Exclusive'' received generally positive reviews from critics, that praised Brown's performances. On June 3, 2008, ''Exclusive'' was re-released as a double-disc

deluxe edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

, titled ''The Forever Edition'', which includes 4 more songs, including the singles "

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 ...

" and " Superhuman", a bonus DVD featuring behind-the-scenes footage from his tour and his

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

Background

In 2006, following the success of Brown's self-titled album, the singer started to work on his sophomore album, developing its concept along with Tina Davis and Mark Pitts. Brown co-wrote half of the tracks along with different writers, including

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 ...

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 ...

Johntá Austin Johntá Austin ( ; born June 28, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, vocalist and rapper, signed to Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings. He is known for collaborating with producers Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri an ...

and

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 ...

. The musical direction aimed for the album was different to the

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 sound of the previous album, being worked as an R&B album appealable to a wider public. Initially, Brown wanted the album to be named ''Graduation'', but after knowing from

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 ...

that the rapper's third studio album, dropping that same year, was intentioned to be named the same way, he respected his decision and changed the name of his album to ''Exclusive''. Brown explained to MTV News: "at first I was naming it ''Graduation'' because I was 18 and the album was supposed to be my musical consolidation, but then Kanye was like, 'I heard Chris is naming his album ''Graduation''. I'm naming mine ... .', I was like, I'll change mine because I respect his reason more with '' College Dropout'' and ''

Late Registration ''Late Registration'' is the second studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on August 30, 2005, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album over the course of a year during sessions ...

'', all that, so it kind of went with his. So I was like, I don't need mine to be ''Graduation'', you know, I'll change mine to ''Exclusive'', because I'll make an album exclusively for those that will support it".The album was originally set to be released on August 28, 2007.

Singles

The album's lead single, " Wall to Wall" was released on May 29, 2007. The song was produced by

, written by Walter Scott. The single reached at number 79 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, due to no digital release for this single. " Kiss Kiss"; a collaboration with a fellow American recording artist T-Pain, was released as the album's second single on September 11, 2007. Following the non-success of his first single, this single became a big success in the United States. The song reached at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and number 6 on the Canadian Hot 100, also reaching the top ten in Australia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. "

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 ...

" was released as the album's third single on December 4, 2007. The song was produced by the production team StarGate. The single became his second successful single in the most international music markets. It has since become one of the highest-charting singles of Brown's solo career, entering the foreign music markets, where his previous efforts have failed to these charts. It has reached the top ten; including in Australia, Canada,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, New Zealand, and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The re-release of its first single from ''The Forever Edition'', called "

" (produced by

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977, or 1978), professionally known as Polow da Don, is an American record producer and rapper. Jones has produced a variety of singles for a multitude of artists including "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj (2014 ...

). It was released on April 29, 2008. The song debuted at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, due of its high digital sales. However, it dropped quickly due to the lack of sales during these following weeks. The song then re-entered the top ten again, after airplay increases and has peaked at number 2.

Critical reception

''Exclusive'' received generally positive reviews from critics, scoring 69 out of 100 based on 11 reviews on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. 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 ...

praised Brown singing ability reviewing the album, and found that its material to "push all the right target-demographic buttons". Rob Sheffield from ''

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 ...

'' said that “Brown seals the deal with ''Exclusive'', an all-grown-up album on a level with Justin Timberlake's '' Justified'' (2002), Rihanna's ''

Good Girl Gone Bad ''Good Girl Gone Bad'' is the third studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on May 31, 2007, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Rihanna worked with various producers on the album, including Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Neo d ...

'' (2007) or even

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 ...

's '' King of Stage'' (1986)", ending up saying "it's hard to imagine he doesn't have an album's worth of hits here". Mark Hammers of ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' in a positive review said that"If there was ever a record created to turn an R&B singer into a superstar, it's Brown's sophomore effort". ''

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 ...

''s Iyana Robertson stated that on ''Exclusive'' Brown is "tapping more electric up-tempos, swimming deep in hip-hop waters and annihilating the pop arena". Neil Drumming from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' rated the album as B− said that, "Like his onscreen ('' This Christmas'') character, Brown is most charming when he's playing up his youth: singing of MySpace romance, meeting his girl's 'pops,' and such". But he also said, "sadly, Brown's adolescent voice and playful scatting — while cute — are steamrolled by pushy collaborators, whether it's those Stargate guys (

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 ...

, Rihanna) falling back on that ol' guitar noodling, or T-Pain milking his vocoder. Ease back, people, and let the boy sing". However, Sal Cinquemani of '' Slant Magazine'' criticized the unoriginality of the album, writing, "...there's still nothing very 'exclusive' about ''Exclusive'' at all."Kot, Greg
Review: ''Exclusive''
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''. Retrieved on 2010-04-17. Michael Arceneaux of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' wrote, "''Exclusive'' seems aimless, an album where Brown is doing what he’s told versus being the anchor of his own ship." The album ranked number 34 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.

Accolades

At the

2008 Grammy Awards The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...

, ''Exclusive'' was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration The Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance (awarded as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration until 2017, and Best Rap/Sung Performance from 2018 to 2020) is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and original ...

" for "Kiss Kiss", a collaboration with T-Pain. However, the award was given to the 2007 rival single, "

Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally use ...

" by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z. The album also nominated for a

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

in a category for "Best Album", while Chris himself won for "Best Male Artist". At the 2008

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 ...

, Chris received 4 nominations in four categories, including "Best Male R&B Artist", "Best Collaboration" for "Kiss Kiss", and "Viewer’s Choice" for "Kiss Kiss" and "

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 ...

", his duet with

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 ...

. On June 22, 2008, Fearne & Reggie revealed on their UK's chart show

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, that all three tracks from the album ''Exclusive'' have appeared on the top forty. Two of which on the top ten, including "

" (at number 35), "

" with

(at number 2), and "

" (at number 5).

Commercial performance

''Exclusive'' debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 294,000 copies in the United States. As of March 2011, the album has sold 1,973,000 copies in the United States. In 2021, the album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over four million copies in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 31 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

and eventually peaked at number three on the chart. It spent a total of 52 weeks on the chart. On September 5, 2008, the album was certified platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

(BPI) for sales of over 300,000 copies in the UK.

Track listing

''The Forever Edition'' includes a DVD with a documentary titled "Chris Brown on Tour", which is a montage of performances from his Up-Close & Personal Tour and behind-the-scenes footage. It also features a cameo appearance from

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

, who held her own sold-out ''Just like You'' tour. Two versions of ''The Forever Edition'' were made available; the first included the DVD, and the second did not. Only the CD edition was made available in the United Kingdom, while most other countries had both editions available.Forever AUS Exclusive The Forever Australian Edition
''Exclusive: The Forever Australian Edition''. Accessed May 30, 2008 Notes *(co.) signifies a co-producer. Samples credits *"Picture Perfect" samples "A Quiet Place" written by

Ralph Carmichael Ralph Carmichael (May 27, 1927 – October 18, 2021) was an American composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music. Early Life and Career ...

, as performed by

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as Dove ...

BET bonus DVD

BET Presents Chris Brown is a DVD originally packaged with Exclusive, exclusively at

Wal-mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

. The release features BET highlights, performance highlights, and music videos from throughout Brown's career at that time. It also includes an interview where Brown talks about the making of ''Exclusive''.

Production

* Executive producers: Chris Brown,

Clive Calder Clive Ian Calder (born 13 December 1946) is a South African-born British billionaire record executive and businessman primarily known for co-founding the Zomba Group with Ralph Simon, and its subsidiary Jive Records. As of October 2021, Calder ...

and Phineas Kelly * Album mastered by Chris Athens at Sterling Sound, NYC * A&R administration: Shay Young * A&R coordination: Leticia Hilliard * Production coordination: Cara Hutchinson, Brian Gately * Clearances: David Schmidt, Kobie "The Quarterback" Brown, Donato Guadagnoli, Mattias Eng * Art direction and design: Courtney Walter * Photography: Dave Hill and Mark Mann * Styling: Mike Bogard for Blynn Group

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
Exclusive
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

*
Exclusive
' at