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• Before he became famous
• Getting famous
• International success
• Albums
• Awards
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Chris Brown

Although he is still in his teens, Chris Brown is already on his way to music superstardom with his smooth voice, amazing dance moves, and boy-next-door charm. Chris Brown once said he wanted be the next Michael Jackson, he wanted to be “a singer, actor, entrepreneur, have a clothing line.” He’s 21, and he’s already tried his hand in all these things. A multitalented artist, a creative director, a down-to-earth but very caring person, and a small town boy with a killer smile turned a mega pop star – meet Chris Brown, hottest male solo artist of the day.

Before he became famous

Christopher Maurice Brown was born May 5, 1989 in Tappahannock, Virginia, a small town with population of about 2000 people. Chris is one of two children of Joyce Hawkins and Clinton Brown, who’re presently divorced. Chris is very close to his family, especially mom. “We’re like brother and sister. I tell her everything. My mother taught me to treat a lady respectfully.”

Brown says he started dancing when he was only 2. As a child Chris often listened to music his parents played on the radio, so among his greatest music influences he names Michael Jackson, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Anita Baker and Aretha Franklin.

Brown always knew he wanted to be on stage. Chris was growing up in 1990s so before actually considering becoming a vocalist, Chris wanted to become a rapper, hoping to be the first rapper from Tappahannock, Virginia to really hit the big time. In one of the interviews Chris confessed that it was some of his favorite artists, like Run DMC, Rakim and Lil Wayne, that made him want to rap, and it was Michael Jackson that made him want to move, though adding that Usher is another dance idol of his. Chris’ signature dance move is, of course, the moon walk.

Chris enjoyed singing in the church choir when he was a child. But for his aunt and his cousins from Arkansas it would have taken him much longer to first take to the stage to perform in a local talent show. Anyway, it was his mother who pointed out he had a good voice and could sing. When he was 11 his mom heard him singing around the house and said: “What are you doing? You really can sing!” Chris Brown recalled later, adding that “then I started going to school and singing to the girls.”

Around that time, Chris was discovered by his first producers at his dad’s gas station. “My dad was working at a gas station and a dude came in and said, ‘I want to find some guys that can sing or rap or dance,’ and my dad said, ‘My son can sing!’ So he hooked it up with my mom and I said, ‘I’m going to start working with this guy.’ He had connections with producers and other production teams,” Chris revealed.

Getting famous

So Brown was looking for opportunities of a record deal. In order to further his career, Chris Brown had to leave his small-town home. He moved to NYC at the age of 13 and lived with a friend’s family in Harlem while working on his career. In NY he auditioned for his future manager and then Def Jam vice president Tina Davis and Antonio “L.A.” Reid. “The first thing that hit me was his unique voice,” Davis told Billboard magazine. “I thought ‘This kid is a star.’”

Impressed with his talent, Davis took him to companies, like Warner Bros, Atlantic, and Jive, which he finally decided to join in in 2004. Chris concentrated on work on his first album, recording almost 50 songs over six months. 15 tracks were picked to become album tracks, Brown’s smashing hit ‘Run It!’ was among them. By early 2005, Brown began work on his eponymous debut album, working with Scott Storch, The Underdogs, Dre & Vidal, Bryan-Michael Cox, Bow Wow, and Jermaine Dupri. “There were ups and downs,” Chris Brown described the process. “But I loved it and I knew I wanted to do it.” Chris was writing and producing his own songs for the album. While working on it, he had to leave school to pursue his career goals, so he was homeschooled since then.

His first track, ‘Run It!’ featuring Juelz Santana and produced by Scott Storch (he was behind such hits as 50 Cent’s ‘Candy Shop’ and Beyonce’s ‘Naughty Girl’), went to No. 1 in the U.S, making Chris Brown the first male solo artist to release a single that went straight to the top of the Billboard singles chart. “I always imagined that I could be what I wanted to be. I never knew how fast this would take off, so I’m just thankful for it,” Chris said.

International success

“I’d rather be known as the first Chris Brown,” Chris Brown once said about him being often compared to Michael Jackson and Usher. “At the same time, I can fill the void, but Usher and Michael Jackson aren’t going anywhere. They’re still doing their thing, but I feel I can be a part of that and just continue to be the best that I can be at what I do.” I just want to be my own artist, Chris says.

Debut Chris Brown album, released in 2005, was a success selling two million copies in the United States and 3 million worldwide, thus, going platinum twice. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 selling over 155,000 copies in first week of sales. The debut single, ‘Run It!’ was No. 1 in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. Next four singles from the record followed, three of which made the top 10. His fourth single, ‘Say Goodbye,’ was featured in the film Step Up.

The album brought Brown two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best R&B Contemporary Album along with many other nominations and some awards. “I love Chris Brown. He got down on the Grammys and he’s as bad as he wants to be. He’s definitely Numero Uno!” Aretha Franklin said.
In August 2006, Brown went out on the road for his Up Close & Personal tour, playing more than 30 concerts in cities across the country. Ne-Yo, Lil Wayne, Cherish, Juelz Santana, and Dem Franchise Boyz joined Chris on tour. Brown was also the opening act for Beyoncé Knowles on the Australian leg of her The Beyoncé Experience tour. “I love being on the road more than anything. Making an album is about recording the songs you love. By the time you get to performing them, it’s about putting that out on stage and expressing yourself physically through your voice and your feet,” Chris Brown said.

Chris Brown quickly began to take a more active role in his career, including co-directing his videos for ‘Yo (Excuse Me Miss)’ and ‘Gimme That.’ It was he to come up with the ‘Run It!’ video concept.

In November 2005 Brown appeared on Live with Regis & Kelly and Vibe Awards, he was also selected to host the 2005 American Music Awards’ Red Carpet for Access Hollywood. In November 2006, Brown performed ‘Thriller’ in tribute to Michael Jackson at the World Music Awards in London.

In 2006 Chris tried his hand in acting. Brown made appearances on UPN’s One on One and The Brandon T. Jackson Show on its pilot episode. On June 13, 2006, Brown released his first DVD, entitled Chris Brown’s Journey. It features Brown touring in the UK and Japan, rehearsals, 2006 Grammy Awards, behind the scenes of his videos, bloopers and more.

He appeared in TV movie Christmas in Washington before making his big screen debut in musical drama Stomp the Yard (2007) alongside fellow R&B singer Ne-Yo, Columbus Short, and Meagan Good. Chris was playing an ambitious dancer. The flick was well received by the audience and earned over $61 million in domestic market, though not being acclaimed by the critics. The same year he starred in After School and This Christmas, a family movie, in which he played a younger family member who wanted to be a singer.

On July 9, 2007, Brown was featured in an episode of MTV’s My Super Sweet 16 celebrating his 18th birthday in New York. He was on Disney’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody where he guest-starred as himself along The Cheetah Girls. He guest starred on an episode of Sesame Street on August 13, 2007. In the episode, Chris sang a duet with Elmo entitled ‘See the Signs.’ He also had a guest appearance in three episodes of The OC 2007 final season.

His new film Phenom, due to release in 2009, is a sports drama. “Basketball is my thing, other than singing and dancing, and that’s what I’m gonna show the world,” Brown told MTV News. “[We] wanted to pick a movie that I could be comfortable with, and that I could really do something in it.” In this flick Chris Brown will co-star with Vanessa Williams.

Brown also starred in Bone Deep, co-starring T.I., Hayden Christensen, Matt Dillon, and Paul Walker. The approx movie release date is January 2010.

Chris says he loves acting. “I do take the acting seriously. But this is all fun. I look at it like smoke and mirrors. I still think it’s a dream, but I ain’t pinching myself yet. I want to show people I’m not just a singer, but an all-around entertainer,” he says.

In 2007 Chris Brown performed with Rihanna at MTV Video Music Awards. “Whatever Chris Brown just did, reminded me how much I’m getting older, ’cause damn,” Justin Timberlake said on his performance. “I just had a lot to prove. So when I got out there I was like, ‘Lemme show you what I could really do’,” Brown told EW later.

His sophomore album, Exclusive, was released worldwide in November 2007. ‘Kiss Kiss’ and ‘With You’ singles peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was described as more mature. Producers on the album included Kanye West, Pharrell, Will.i.am, Timbaland, Scott Storch and Bryan Michael Cox. Exclusive peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s albums chart. A Rolling Stone review stated that Brown had grown from Usher’s “temporary substitute to an undeniably major pop star.”

On June 3, 2008, seven months after the release of the original version, Chris released his deluxe version of Exclusive, called Exclusive: Forever Edition. The album featured ‘Forever’, two songs with Keri Hilson (‘Superhuman’ and ‘Heart Ain’t A Brain’), and the remix of his song ‘Picture Perfect’ which featured Hurricane Chris and Bow Wow. It also featured a video of Chris on tour.

The Exclusive Holiday concert tour started on December 6, 2007 and lasted for a month ending in Honolulu, Hawaii. Chris Brown visited over thirty venues in the United States. The documented footage was released as the double disc of Exclusive: The Forever Edition.

Also in fall 2007, Chris Brown became a part of the new Rocawear men’s campaign. Chris is interested in fashion and has his line of Fitted Caps that he created in collaboration with New Era.

In 2007 Chris Brown was chosen one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive and one of People Magazine’s Annual 100 Most Beautiful People in the World.

On November 14, 2008 Chris Brown had a solo performance at Cotai Strip CotaiArena at The Venetian Macau-Resort-Hotel.

“With fame, you can’t trust everybody. You can’t depend on them being there for you as a person. They will only be there because of what you’ve got you as a person. They will only be there because of what you’ve got and what you can bring to their life. It’s not a relationship – it’s a leech,” Chris Brown once said.

When Chris was about to release his third album Graffiti it was reported that besides working on his own tracks, he also made contribution to DJ Storm’s latest mixtape ‘Desert Storm South R&B’. In the project, he teamed up with Mary J. Blige on a song called ‘Stronger’.

In October 2009 it was reported about Chris’s Fan Appreciation tour that started in November and ended on Dec. 15, 2009 with Chris visiting 17 small venues across the US.

On October 27, 2009 Brown performed at Power 105.1’s Powerhouse concert at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey alongside Fabolous, The-Dream, Trey Songz, Keri Hilson, Mario, Ginuwine and Day26. It was his first big gig after the February assault case.

In April 2010 Chris released his new video for ‘Holla At Me’. For the song and teh video he collaborated with Tyga. The single is one of the tracks coming from Chris and Tyga’s collaborative mixtape Fan of a Fan.

Chris Brown became a headliner at Virginia Stand Up! A Call to Action charity concert on May 15, 2010 at Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center. He was joined by Keri Hilson, Trey Songz, T-Pain, Ryan Leslie, Mario and Juelz Santana.

Chris collaborated with T.I. on his song ‘Get Back Up’ released on October 15, 2010 via T.I.’s website.

In November 2010 Chris Brown released a new song ‘Boing’ off of DJ Drama-hosted mixtape, In My Zone 2.

Albums

CHRIS BROWN (2005)

Chris Brown’s debut self-titled studio album was released on November 29, 2005. “My first album was me finding myself and my voice, finding how I sing. I was rolling with the punches because everything was new to me,” Chris Brown said later, adding that his songs were talking about him “becoming a man.”

First two singles from the album (‘Run It!’ and ‘Yo (Excuse Me Miss)’) both were top 10 singles in the US, also peaking at No. 7, and No. 13 respectively, in the UK. The track ‘Run It!’ stayed on top on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks. The third single ‘Gimme That’ was released in March 2006, with the remix to the song featuring Lil Wayne later included in the album. Generally, Chris Brown’s first album charted No. 2 in the U.S. and was in the top 30 in the UK. It was certified platinum five weeks after the release and went double platinum within a year.

In his interview in 2005 Chris Brown said he loved everything about making the album, adding “it was hard, but it was fun at the same time.” Chris greatly enjoyed doing ‘Run It!’ with Scott Storch and Brian Cox, another producer.

Chris described his super hit ‘Run It!’ as a song about “a guy checkin’ for a girl, a girl checkin’ for a guy,” while his second single ‘Yo’ was “about asking a girl for her name, number and if we could talk awhile. I’m trying to be a gentleman about it.”

The album contains 16 tracks but Chris says ‘Winner’ (the song he co-wrote) is definitely his favorite one: “[‘Winner’] is like comparing a relationship to a boxing match. I was just thinking about the first round being how you met her, the second round how y’all in the relationship and everything y’all doing, and the third round telling her she’s a winner.”

Chris Brown brought him two Grammy Award nominations and though he did not win, he had a chance to show his talent performing with two R&B legends, Lionel Richie and Smokey Robinson at the ceremony.

EXCLUSIVE (2007)

Brown’s second studio album, Exclusive was released worldwide in November 2007. “I’m 18 in this album. I’m not losing fans, and I’m not disrespecting women, but you reach the maturity of taking it to the next level with a girl,” Chris said on his album. Originally, Exclusive was set for release on August 28, 2007 shortly after Chris Brown ended his summer tour with Ne-Yo but then the release date was pushed to November 6, 2007.

The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums selling nearly 300,000 copies in its first week. The original title of Exclusive was going to be “Graduation”, but since Kanye West (one of the album producers) had his own album called this name, Brown chose the name “Exclusive.” “Exclusive is something that not everybody can get,” he explained the title. “I feel it’s an album especially for my fans. It’s not for the critics or the haters… or people that get it just to fit in. It’s only for those who truly want to hear my music.”

Chris co-wrote seven tracks for Exclusive (compare to five for his debut album). His hit ‘Kiss Kiss’ was one of them. “I would say it’s just me getting older,” Chris revealed, “growing a little bit more hair and peach fuzz on the bottom of my chin. This time, I was more physically and mentally into the whole process. I just jumped in head first and delved into everything. It’s another stepping stone for me. Every day is a learning experience when you’re in the music industry. From day one, I’ve learned how to be a better artist, working on my music and with other people.” The second album was more mature, with Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am, T-Pain, Sean Garrett, the Underdogs, Adonis and Bryan-Michael Cox, and Kanye West collaborating with Chris Brown on the tracks. “When we had a chance to pick those we really wanted to work with, magic just happened,” Chris said.

The first single, ‘Wall to Wall,’ is written by Sean Garrett and represents a cheeky look at how success attracts female admirers. The song only peaked at No. 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Brown’s lowest charting song to date.

Hugely popular ‘Kiss Kiss’, is one of the tracks, in which Chris appeals to his female fans. Brown co-wrote and produced the song with T-Pain, describing the track as the one about “what we like in girls.” The song was a great chart success reaching the first spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Chris Brown released his third single, ‘With You’, on December 4, 2007. The song still remains one of Chris’s most successful releases to date, entering the top 10 in many countries worldwide. Brown performed ‘With You’ at the BET Awards ’08 on June 24, 2008.

Exclusive features a mix of R&B soul roots with a hip-hop edge, fusing dance floor vibe with the old-school heritage. Exclusive has gone platinum, selling over one million units.

Brown’s next single, ‘Forever’, was released in May 2008 from the deluxe Exclusive: The Forever Edition album and has peaked at No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100.

In 2008 Chris Brown was also featured in duets with Jordin Sparks for the song ‘No Air’, rapper Bow Wow for ‘Shortie like Mine’, and Lil Mama and T-Pain for ‘Shawty Get Loose.’

GRAFFITI (2009)

Recently, Chris Brown revealed some details about his new album, saying he planned to stay in the urban line. “I wanted to change it up and really be different,” Chris said, “like my style nowadays, I don’t try to be typical urban. I wanna be like how Prince and Michael and Stevie Wonder were. They can cross over to any genre of music.” In one of the interviews, Chris hinted he was going to do a little rapping on the new album. Brown predicts that Graffiti will be a bigger project for him. “It’s going to be my stepping stone from Chris Brown to superstar.”

Chris also said he was dreaming of a duet with Madonna and Coldplay for his new album.

Some of his new album’s material was leaked online in the mid of the work on the record. Most of the unfinished songs were demos and reference tracks Brown and his production team were writing and producing for other artists.

‘Froze’, a new song for Graffiti has been revealed in late November 2008. The track carries a slow 4-minute jam and is produced by Hit-Boy and Chase N. Cashe.

Single ‘Save Me’ became available for audio stream on December 5, 2008. The slow ballad jam was produced by David Banner.

Songwriter Robert Allen said Chris was trying something different for his new record. “It’s not particularly just R ‘n’ B,” Robert told People. “Chris is trying different things and experimenting. We’ve been making things really eclectic. The direction of this album is really fun and free spirited. It’s like a collage.”

In late May 2009 Chris released a video message for for his fans saying his new single was coming out in summer 2009 and the album was going to get released soon, too.

In early June 2009 it was reported that Chris Brown would possibly get helping hands from Hip-Hop production duo, The Runners, for his album to make it an “amazing, insane record. Something you’ve never heard before.” Later it was revealed Keri Hilson also collaborated on his new album. “Us working together will probably be the first project I’ve worked on as a songwriter in a while,” Keri told E! News.

Chris’s new singles ‘Smash’ and ‘Not My Fault’ hit the web in June 2009, while ‘I Can Transform Ya’ was released September 30, 2009. “He’s got something to prove,” producer of the song, Swizz Beatz said. “He worked on 60, 70 songs. He’s just on fire.” The song featuring Lil Wayne is the lead single from the album.

Chris debuted a new single, ‘Crawl’ on October 22, 2009. The ballad features Cassie. Director Joseph Kahn said about the video for the song that was released November 13, 2009: “[It’s] everything that’s happened to him in the year, I think this is going to be his big statement, in terms of what he’s feeling and what he’s living through right now. I don’t even know if Chris is trying to say anything with the video. I think he just sort of, as an artist, I think Chris communicates more through what he does … and so what he does in the video will speak for itself.”

Another single ‘So Cold’ was leaked on the web on October 12, 2009. Reportedly produced by Polow Da Don, the ballad track’s lyrics revolve around Chris begging for forgiveness from his estranged lover. “OMG as you all know a song leaked today from my album called so cold.. im a lil upset but i pray my album doesnt leak..” Chris tweeted that day, “I’m still putting it on the album though. i dont care if its leaked.”

On October 27, 2009 the day of video release for ‘I Can Transform Ya’ Chris revealed the date for Graffiti release – December 15, 2009. Several days after that, the cover art for the album was unveiled. Later Chris changed the release date for December 8, 2009. “Good NEWS: my album date has changed.. December 8. Graffiti. If u love me get it twice and if u hate me still get it,” he wrote on Twitter.

On November 12, 2009 Chris released his new single ‘Sing Like Me’. “New single for all the ladies,” Chris tweeted that day. “I’m trying to give all the fans more music. That’s why I put out so many singles.”

“Graffiti is the art of me, the art of Chris Brown. That’s why I named it Graffiti – because graffiti is art. I know it’s a form of vandalism, but not lookin’ at it on a negative aspect, it’s art and my music is my graffiti,” Chris described his album in the interview for YRB Magazine.

That’s how the mag reviewed the album: “The musical range of Graffiti is made evident in the first two single releases off the album, ‘I Can Transform Ya’ (a record alive with visuals and energy for the club) and ‘Crawl’ (a ballad that, as Brown explains, refers to “crawling back to any good moment in your life where you can just be yourself and be happy”). Alternating from the party-all-night, Euro-pop record ‘Pass Out’ to the braggadocio swagger of ‘What I Do’ featuring Plies, the compilation flows into the genre-less blend of ‘I’ll Go’ and ‘Take My Time’ featuring Tank… ‘Lucky Me’ (a song slightly reminiscent of Britney’s ‘Piece of Me’) talks in detail about the difficulties of being a celebrity and meeting everybody’s standards and expectations. Brown is forthright about the title’s sarcastic tone, but describes it as “kind of my version of ‘Man in the Mirror,’ so it’s one of those more heartfelt, deep songs.”

When the album was released, Chris tweeted he was outraged at stores selling his new CD. He wrote: “im tired of this s***. major stores r blackballing my cd. not stockin the shelves and lying to costumers. what the f*** do i gotta do.” “WTF… yeah i said it and i aint retracting s***. im not biting my tongue about s*** else… the industry can kiss my a***.” “For those people who r constantly tweeting me wit bulls***.. hop off my ****.. ur life is pointless.” “For the young fans.. honestly, sorry for all the cursing” “All my fans… love you.. thx for everything.”

Even though the album was “blackballed” it ended up at No. 2 spot on Billboard Hot 200 during the first week of sales selling between 95,000 – 100,000 copies.

F.A.M.E. (2011)

The first single off of the album was ‘Yeah 3x.’ “Thank you GOD for allowing me to inspire the world with the abilities you have given!!!” Chris said on Twitter. “And thanks for my wonderful fans. Thanks for allowing me to share this with you. It’s my ART. If your world is gloomy, there are only two things to do… DREAM and DANCE!!”

In early November 2010 Chris Brown released the new video for ‘Between the Lines’, which features his ‘Deuces’ producer Kevin McCall.

In late December 2010 Chris debuted two new songs, ‘Where Do We Go From Here’ featuring Pitbull and ‘Look At Me Now’ that features Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes. “Look at me now… Look at me now….. I’m getting paper!!!! 12midnight Busta is killin on this song and Weezy is a monster!!” Chris tweeted. Another song featuring Justin Bieber ‘Up’ was premiered online in Feb. 2011.

Brown also added that he had plans to make F.A.M.E. a double disc. “I’m tryna make F.A.M.E album a double disc!! But not too expensive. The other disc will be called FORTUNE!!! I just got too many damn songs,” Chris said in his message.

“My album will contain all types of styles and genres of music…. hopefully my music will inspire and spread peace and positivity,” Brown tweeted in February 2011.

Days before the official release, Breezy revealed he was going to present yet another new album six months after the F.A.M.E. hit music stores.

Awards

2006

In 2006, Brown received twenty-three award 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 of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards
• Outstanding New Artist at the NAACP Image Awards
• Choice Breakout Male at the Teen Choice Awards
• Best R&B/Soul New Artist at the Soul Train Music Awards
• Fake ID Award at the TRL Awards
• Best R&B Video for ‘Run It!’ at the MTV Australia Awards.

2007

In 2007, Chris didn’t win any awards though received twelve nominations, some of the most prestigious among them. He was nominated for Grammy Awards in the categories of Best R&B Contemporary Album and Best New Artist, his role in Stomp the Yard brought him a Teen Choice Awards nomination in the Choice Movie: Breakout Male category, and his hit ‘Run It!’ brought him the Best R&B/Urban Dance Track nomination at International Dance Music Awards. He was also nominated for NAACP Image Award as an Outstanding Male Artist.

2008

In 2008, Brown has so far won in the following categories:

• Best Male R&B Artist at the BET Awards
• Best Heartbreak Video for ‘No Air’ at the BET Pre-Awards
• Best International Act and Best R&B/Soul at the MOBO Awards
• Best Male Video for ‘With You’ at the MTV Video Music Awards
• Best Male Artist at the NAACP Image Awards
• Favorite Male Singer at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards
• Best R&B Artist at the Ozone Awards
• Choice Music Hookup for ‘No Air’, Choice Music: Male Artist, Choice Music: R&B Artist, Choice Music: R&B Track for ‘Forever’ and Choice Music: Rap/Hip Hop Track for ‘Shawty Get Loose’ at the Teen Choice Awards
• Best R & B Male Artist at World Music Awards 2008
• Favorite Male Artist in Pop/Rock Music and Soul/Rhythm & Blues Music, Artist of the Year at American Music Awards 2008

Overall, he received thirty-eight nominations, including Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy Awards nomination for his hit ‘Kiss Kiss’. His performance in This Christmas brought him Best Breakthrough Performance nomination at MTV Movie Awards. And he was nominated for Europe Music Awards 2008 in the Ultimate Urban category alongside Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Kanye West, Lil Wayne.

Chris Brown was also named the most requested artist by on-demand service Music Choice. His videos and interviews were ordered more than 43 million times since September 2007 till September 2008.

Chris’s also been named Artist of The Year by Billboard. His rankings are determined by album sales as well as digital downloads, radio airplay and Internet streams. “It’s bigger than what I can ever imagine. It’s unexpected totally, so it’s a surprise. I’ve had a good year but I still feel like a little insecure in those parts. I’m like, `There’s little ol’ me getting an award’ — that’s incredible,” Chris said in the interview.

2009

In 2009 Chris Brown won People’s Choice Awards 2009 in the categories Favorite Male Star and Favorite Combined Forces, though he was nominated in five categories.

Chris was nominated for Grammy Awards in the category of Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals for ‘No Air,’ his duet with Jordin Sparks and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for ‘Take You Down,’ though scheduled to perform at the show, Brown couldn’t attend it due to domestic violence accusations.

2011

Chris was nominated for three Grammys at 2011 Grammy Awards, including Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for ‘Take My Time,’ Best Contemporary R&B Album for Graffiti, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for ‘Deuces.’

Chris Brown got six nominations at 2011 BET Awards, including Viewer’s Choice Award (won), Video of The Years and Best Collaboration for ‘Look At Me Now’ (won), Best Actor and Best Male R&B Artist (won), as well as Best Collaboration for ‘Deuces’.

Up Close & Personal

Chris Brown leads a high profile life with thousands of fans interested in his every move, in every single detail of his personal life. This kind of life might be difficult for a teen but Chris tries to balance his career and the life style he used to lead before getting famous. “My personal life is the same. At the end of the day, this is just a job. I love what I do, and it’s a great job. But it’s like my alter ego. There’s Chris Brown the singer. And there’s Christopher Brown, the down-home Tappahannock boy that plays video games and basketball and hangs out,” Chris said, adding that his family means a lot to him, and spending time with his family is definitely his “best holiday memories.”

Being pretty busy writing and recoding new songs, performing on stage, and touring, Chris nevertheless finds time for charity work. He has been an incredible supporter of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital which is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other diseases. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital received $50,000 in ticket proceeds from Brown’s 2006 Up Close & Personal tour, as Chris donated 50 cents from each ticket sold.

Chris’ largest and most visible involvement with St. Jude to date is with their Math-A-Thon program. In 2008, Brown starred as the host in a film to promote it. Math-A-Thon is a school-based fundraiser where students ask their friends and family to sponsor them to do math. For every correct math problem they complete, their sponsors give them an undisclosed amount of money.

In 2006 Chris Brown signed a deal with Xbox for charity. He signed a facet place that went with Xbox 360 premium bundle. The money went to Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit Christian organization which aim is to build simple, decent and affordable homes for those who need houses.

Chris Brown says he likes down-to-earth girls, likes the casual, hip-hop clothing style, enjoys dancing, and designing his own shirts. He describes himself as a creative, humble, and talented person, as well as funny, outgoing, charismatic, and charming. As for the girls, he says he likes “low-maintenance but at the same time, classy girls,” girls who are not afraid “to get sweaty and play basketball, so it’s cool if she’s a tomboy.”

Chris’s personal life is under the spotlight due to his relationship with Rihanna. “Our relationship is growing. We started off as friends and we’re getting a little bit closer now. My mom is real cool about it all. They both have light skin with green eyes, so…” The first reports about their romantic link surfaced in February 2008 when they were spotted hanging out in a pool in Jamaica.

“He’s one of my closest friends in the industry,” Rihanna told Allure in January 2008. “He makes me feel like a teenager. I have to act and think like an adult so much. He makes me feel young again.” “I won’t say that we’re just friends – me and Chris are really best, best friends. We both started our careers around the same time. He is one of the only people in the industry…I trust and hang out with all the time. We are best friends, honestly, like brother and sister. If he was a boyfriend, I would say that.”

In June 2008 the two went to Rihanna’s home island of Barbados for a romantic getaway shortly after Chris won Best Male R&B Artist award at the BET Awards. As of January 2009, they never confirmed they were romantically involved though being often pictured together cuddling and kissing. In August there was a rumor Chris and Rihanna were moving in together as they were seen looking at luxury apartments in LA. “She and Chris want to live together. They play their music loud though, so they want a condo that’s soundproof,” Star quoted an insider as saying.

Meantime, in October 2008 there was speculation about Chris and Rihanna’s relationship being on the rocks as Rihanna was spotted getting cozy with Kanye West at a T.I. concert in Hollywood on October 3. Rihanna and Kanye hung out together after they performed their songs, the source revealed. Nonetheless, Chris and Rihanna have been spotted together pretty often and even spent Christmas holidays 2008 with Chris’s family in Virginia. In January 2009 the rumor had it Chris proposed to Rihanna as she was seen wearing a big bling on her wedding finger during their shows.

Chris and Rihanna were not only romantically involved, they collaborated professionally as well. In January 2009 it was revealed Chris Brown was features on Rihanna’s new track ‘Bad Girl’ from her new studio album.

“Loving is doing anything for them, thinking about them constantly and being able to spend your whole life with that person. Liking somebody is just like, ‘Okay, I like them because of this, this and this, but I don’t know if I am ready to be in love with them’,” Chris once said about love.

Chris’s good guy reputation was shattered after he was accused of domestic assault against his girlfriend Rihanna. The case took place on Sunday morning, February 8, 2009, the day the both were supposed to perform at Grammy Awards. According to reports, Rihanna had bruising on her face. Chris was taken to police later on Sunday and then set free on bail. The court hearing was set on March 5, 2009. If Chris was convicted, he wouldn’t have faced jail time because it was his first offense, it was revealed in late February.

Chris’ people said he attended his first anger management class on Feb. 23 in Glendale, Calif. Though he wasn’t ordered to go, he thought the effort might help him look better to the public and in court, his rep said.

In spite of the attack the couple seemed to reconcile in late February spending time together in Miami and thus causing concern in Rihanna’s family. However, Chris and Ri avoided being pictured together in public. “They have spent quite a few nights together,” a longtime friend of Rihanna’s family claimed. “Unfortunately, Rihanna still wants him and has said to us all, ‘Get over yourselves. I’m with him, so deal with it.’ She has told us she won’t be going public with the relationship for a while.”

However, April reports claimed Chris Brown reconnected with University of Mary Washington student Erica Jackson when he was back in Virginia. The couple was spotted leaving a Sunset Blvd. tattoo parlor on April 11, 2009. This report surfaced amidst rumors Rihanna and Chris had split for good.

After the April’s hearing of the assault case, Brown’s lawyer said he was petitioning to dismiss the case claiming there was no way to have a fair trial as a result of leaks in the procedures taken by police. “The leaks can form the basis for a motion to dismiss the case in regards to outrageous governmental misconduct,” he said. The next hearing was scheduled for May 28th.

Amidst rumors that Chris leaked Rihanna’s nude photos online, Ri was quoted as promising to leak Brown’s private photos too, as a kind of revenge action to “ruin his sexy image.” “[Rihanna] has less-than-flattering nude pics of him that she plans on leaking. Rihanna says he’ll be really embarrassed,” Star Magazine reported in June 2009. Moreover, Rihanna was also said to be planning to make public several humiliating stories about Chris’ sex life, including the fact that he wasn’t good at making love before “she taught him everything he knows.”

The preliminary trial in Chris Brown/Rihanna case was held June 22, 2009. Rihanna testified at the hearing, and Chris pleaded guilty and sentenced to 5 years probation and 180 days of community service in Virginia. Brown was given supervised probation and has to go back to court every three months. Chris must also enroll in a domestic violence counselling programme.

Both Chris and Rihanna thought the stay-away order wasn’t necessary. “They think it’s unnecessary and ridiculous,” NY Daily News reported. “After [the proceeding], Ri and Chris talked on the phone for almost an hour and really worked at becoming friends. They’re solid now.”

The source also confirmed there was no reconciliation for the couple. “That’s 100% done. They aren’t looking to hook back up again. They’re both moving on and going their separate ways.” However, in her first interview after the assault, Rihanna confessed that she did come back to Chris after the Feb. 8 case but then she finally ended their relationship.

The sentencing was held August 5, 2009. The judge postponed the sentencing because she didn’t want Chris to have easy community service. She wanted to see documents specifying that Brown will do community labor like picking up trash or cleaning up graffiti.

At the court hearing on August 25, 2009 Chris was sentenced to 180 days of community labour and five years probation. Brown was told he would be personally supervised by the Richmond chief of police while he completed tasks such as picking up litter, graffiti removal and washing cars. Chris must have also completed a 52-week domestic violence program and personally gone to court every three months during his probation. Furthermore, he was ordered to have no contact with Rihanna for five years (until 2014) — not even on the phone or through a third person. He must stay 100 yards away from her, unless there’s an entertainment-related event, in which he must stay 10 yards away. The restraining order was lifted in Febraury 2011.

However, Chris told People in his first tell-all interview since the assault that he “never fell out of love” with Rihanna.

Around this time it was confirmed Chris and Rihanna had a history of domestic violence. Chris assaulted Rihanna two times before the infamous February 8 night. It first happened in Europe and then later in Barbados.

In his interview with Larry King on September 2, 2009, Chris confessed he still hoped to regain his role model status. “I just need to prove to people I can be a role model. That’s not who I am as a person, and that’s not who I promise I want to be. I made a mistake and I — and it was just something I have to live up and own,” Brown said about assaulting Rihanna.

In MTV News special Chris Brown: The Interview on Nov. 6, 2009 Chris said the following: “My thoughts [when I look back on it now] is like, ‘Why did it happen?’ Like, ‘What was I thinking? What is wrong with you?’ That’s what I’m thinking with myself. That’s what my thoughts are, basically, now.” “It’s like, ‘How do we get past it? How do you, Chris’ — talking to myself — ‘how do you go from point A to point B? How do you learn from your mistakes, turn it into a positive and help other people with the situation, and at the end of the day become the person that you want to be?’”

Chris added he was in no hurry to start a new relationship. “I love women. But I would say I’ve just been chillin’. I haven’t really been trying to get into a relationship or trying to date anybody. I’ve just kinda been working on me. Like I said, just really getting me straight,” he told MTV News.

In February 2010 Chris attended his first progress report hearing during which the judge praised him for “doing really, really well,” fulfilling the terms of his probation.By the time of the hearing he had attended 17 of his 52 domestic violence classes and completed 32 days of his total 180-day sentence of hard labor, his lawyer reported. Also during the hearing the judge allowed him to go overseas for his world tour from May 18 to June 27, 2010.

The second progress report hearing was held May 6, 2010. By that time the singer had completed over 290 hours of community service and was one class away from finishing his domestic violence course. At the next hearing in November 2010 the judge praised Chris’ hard work and commitment: “Out of thousands of probationers, no one has done a better or more consistent job than you have,” the Judge said. “I really want to commend you for taking responsibility and for actually working diligently to complete all the things the court has required of you.”

Chris completed the domestic violence course on December 20, 2010. He tweeted the picture of his certificate and said: “I’m Done With Class. I have enough self respect and decency to be proud of accomplishing this DV class.. Boyz run from there mistakes.. Men learn from them!!!thx.”

FYI, Rihanna’s song from Rated R album entiled ‘Cold Case Love’ is said to tell Ri’s side of the story. Rihanna described the song: “It’s a song that everybody wanted to hear, everything that I didn’t say for the past eight months, exactly how I felt about that relationship and how I feel about it now – that song says it all.”

In October 2010 Chris said he had offered his services to the anti-domestic violence charity Man Up. “I found Chris to be very humble, sincere, honest and clear about expressing an interest in working with Man Up or an organization like ours,” Man Up founder said in his interview. “Some people may feel or not feel he hasn’t paid his dues, but he’s on a journey. We have to be supportive. My parting words to him were ‘Keep your head up.'”

10 things you should know about Chris Brown

1. Chris Brown has 5 tattoos: on his right arm he has Jesus with music notes to symbolize his gratitude towards God for giving him the gift of singing; on his left arm he has his first initial “C” with a hand under it and two stars on the sides; on his left arm he has a spray can with a 2 ups and 2 downs sign which stands for “VA”, which means Virginia; there are three stars behind his right ear and a skull with a halo on his right hand.

2. In most of his songs, Chris Brown usually mentions that he is from Virginia.

3. Chris owns over 500 sneakers and confesses he loves sneakers on a girl. “I don’t know why, but I guess it’s because I’m still a young.”

4. Chris is a big fan of Usher. “At first, I was like, Yo’, that’s Usher! But as I got to know him, he was just a regular person like me. He’s great, and when we work together, the chemistry is there,” he said about meeting his idol for the first time. Chris is sure he can beat Usher on the dance floor.

5. Chris co-wrote Rihanna’s song ‘Disturbia.’

6. Chris says his kiss with Kelly Rowland from Destiny’s Child was his best kiss on stage. “She gave me a really nice soft kiss on my lips during a performance on my birthday. It was amazing.”

7. Brown says the worst moment on stage for him was when he chocked while singing. “I was performing and I was about to sing, but I choked. I had a tickle in my throat and I started coughing, and I couldn’t get the words out. It lasted for like thirty seconds, but I got over it, and luckily the crowd didn’t seem to care.”

8. Chris Brown wrote songs for Britney Spears’s Circus album. “I actually wrote a couple songs for her. We’re on the same label, so all the executives heard the records and they love the records, so hopefully she’ll cut it. But if she doesn’t, oh well, we’ll go back in the studio and still do some more records for her,” he said.

9. Chris Brown & Rihanna have got two sets of matching tattoos. Fresh tribal patterns were first seen on their wrists in November 2008. They were probably picked up during their tour in Australia or New Zealand.

10. Due to the assault case and possible associations it could bring about, Timbaland axed Chris from his song ‘The One I Love’ that was originally titled ‘Maniac’ as “some people” could misinterpret the connotations.

Upcoming Projects

Chris Brown is reported to have partnered with producers Mark Burnett and J.D. Roth (Survivor, The Apprentice, The Biggest Loser, Beauty and the Geek) to create a new reality competition series that will focus on the hip-hop and street dance cultures. “Dancing is more than just a way of moving, it’s a different expression of music. That’s what I want to focus on with this show,” Brown told Variety. The series would reportedly pit contestants against each other in impromptu dance-offs. While additional judges may also be involved, Brown would appear in every episode to determine which contestants move on to the next round. Chris Brown has been chosen to headline the show because of “his massive credibility [in music and dance].”

In August 2010 both Chris Brown and Usher teased their fans with the reports they were going on tour together. Producer Bryan Michael Cox said: “Usher and the boy Chris Brown are going on tour, y’all know that, right?” Chris also tweeted: “What would you guys say if me and Usher went on tour?”

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