Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989), better known as Chris Brown, is an American hip hop, pop and R&B singer-songwriter, dancer, music video director and actor.

In late 2005, he released his first studio album, Chris Brown, which spawned the Billboard Hot 100 number-one debut single, “Run It!” which was produced by Scott Storch and featured Juelz Santana. The album also produced two other top ten singles: “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” and “Say, Goodbye.” Brown’s second studio album, Exclusive was released worldwide in November 2007. It has spawned his second US number one hit, “Kiss Kiss” which was produced by T-Pain, who was also featured in the song . The third single, “With You”, has reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has entered into the top ten in several countries across the world, becoming one of his most successful worldwide releases to date.

The first single, “Kiss Kiss”, was nominated for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in the category for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Early life

Brown, one of two children, was born and raised in the small town of Tappahannock, Virginia, the son of Joyce Hawkins and Clinton Brown.[1] Brown was influenced by the artists his parents played on the home radio, such as Michael Jackson and Sam Cooke.[2] A dancer since the age of two, Brown was not aware of his vocal talents until the age of eleven. Before becoming a vocalist, he was interested in becoming a rapper.[3] At thirteen, Brown was discovered by a local production team who visited his father’s gas station searching for new talent.[4] Since then, he began his recording career and moved to New York, staying there for two years.

Music career

Chris Brown

Main article: Chris Brown (album)

Brown left school in late 2004 to begin working on his self-titled debut album which was released on November 29, 2005. His debut single “Run It!,” was #1 in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. Following “Run It!,” “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” became Brown’s second top 10 hit in the US, peaking at #7, and #13 in the UK. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA.

His third single “Gimme That” was released in March 2006 which featured Lil’ Wayne for a remix, originally not featured on the Chris Brown album, but was later included. The single debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at #80 and climbed the charts quickly peaking at #15. Chris also co-directed his music videos for “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” and “Gimme That.” His fourth single is the ballad “Say Goodbye,” which is also a part of the Step Up Soundtrack. On June 13, 2006, Brown released a DVD entitled, Chris Brown’s Journey, which shows footage of him traveling in England and Japan, getting ready for his first visit to the Grammys, behind the scenes of his music videos and bloopers.

On August 17, 2006, Brown and Ne-Yo co-headlined the 28-city Up Close and Personal Tour.

Exclusive

Main article: Exclusive (album)

Shortly after ending his summer tour with Ne-Yo, Brown quickly began production for his second studio album, Exclusive, which was set to be released on August 28, 2007 until it was pushed to November 6, 2007. The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums selling nearly 300,000 copies in its first week domestically, +140,000 copies more than his debut solo album.

According to MTV News, Brown stated: “I am still going to keep it so my younger fans can continue to listen to my music, but I got a couple of joints on there that’s for some of the older people.” The album’s first single, “Wall To Wall”, debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #96, and peaked at #79 and #22 on the Billboard R&B and Hip-Hop Chart becoming his lowest charting song to date. “Kiss Kiss”, featuring and produced by T-Pain, was released as the second single. The music video was filmed entirely at Florida International University’s University Park campus in Miami, Florida during the Summer of 2007. “Kiss Kiss”, has become more successful surpassing the success of “Wall To Wall”, reaching #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 to become Chris’ second US #1 single and his highest chart peak since “Run it” in 2005. On December 4, 2007, Chris released the third single from “Exclusive”, entitled “With You”, a song produced by Stargate. So far, “With You” has reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has entered the charts in various countries around the world, becoming one of Brown’s most successful released to date, entering the top ten in Croatia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippine, Singapore, Bulgaria, Canada, USA, Cyprus, Ireland, UK, Malta, Malaysia, Australia, and the United World Chart.

Acting career

Brown has made appearances on UPN’s One on One and The-N’s The Brandon T. Jackson Show on its pilot episode. In addition, Brown landed a small role as a band geek in the fourth season of FOX’s The O.C. in January 2007.[5] Brown then made his film debut in the dance movie Stomp The Yard, alongside Ne-Yo, Meagan Good and Columbus Short in January 2007. Brown next appeared in This Christmas, a family drama starring Regina King, released on November 21, 2007. On July 9, 2007, Brown was featured in an episode of MTV’s My Super Sweet 16 celebrating his 18th birthday in New York. Brown’s most recent[when?] work was on Disney’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody where he guest-starred as himself. The episode also guest-starred The Cheetah Girls.

Charity work

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital received $50,000 in ticket proceeds from Brown’s 2006 “Up Close & Personal” tour. In 2008, Brown lent his efforts to promote the Math-A-Thon benefiting that hospital by starring as the host in a film to promote it.

Discography

Main article: Chris Brown discography

Albums

• 2005: Chris Brown
• 2007: Exclusive

Singles

• 2005: “Run It!” (featuring Juelz Santana)
• 2005: “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)”
• 2006: “Gimme That” (featuring Lil Wayne)
• 2006: “Say Goodbye”
• 2006: “Poppin’”
• 2007: “Wall to Wall”
• 2007: “Kiss Kiss” (featuring T-Pain)
• 2007: “With You”
• 2008: “Take You Down”
• 2008: “Forever”

Featured singles

• 2006: “Shortie Like Mine” (Bow Wow featuring Chris Brown & Johnta Austin)
• 2007: “Umbrella (Remix)” (Rihanna featuring Chris Brown & Jay-Z)
• 2008: “No Air” (Jordin Sparks featuring Chris Brown)
• 2008: “Shawty Get Loose” (Lil Mama featuring Chris Brown & T-Pain)