Chris Brown

Christopher Brown

Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is famous for being a teenage singing sensation with, among a bevy of others, his hit single, “Run It!”; not even legal to vote, he is already a Grammy Award-nominated American R&B and pop singer, dancer, and occasional actor who rose to fame in mid-2005 with this Scott Storch-produced, Billboard Hot 100 number-one, featuring Juelz Santana.

His self-titled debut album, Chris Brown, spawned four successful Top 10 and Top 20 hits in the United States; and to date, the album has sold 2.1 million copies in the United States and three million worldwide.

Early Life

Born to Clinton Brown and Joyce Hawkins and raised in the small town of Tappahannock, Virginia, Brown is one of two children. He gained his love of music when he was sent to stay with his Aunt in Arkansas: he and his younger cousins would perform in local talent shows. From there he became influenced by the artists his parents played on their home radio, like Michael Jackson and Sam Cooke. Even before he displayed his talent for singing, Brown was already interested in becoming a rapper. However, people began to stand-up and take notice of his singing ability by age 11, and by age 13, Brown was discovered by a local production team that visited his father's gas station searching for new talent. After that, Brown officially began his recording career and moved to New York, where he remained for two years.

Music Career

Brown's local production team organized an audition before Def Jam Vice President Tina Davis, who currently works as his manager. At the age of 15, Brown was sent to perform for L.A. Reid and was subsequently signed in 2004 to Jive Records. By early 2005, Brown began work for his debut album, working alongside several important people in the music industry such as Scott Storch, The Underdogs, Dre, Vidal, Bryan Cox, Bow Wow, and Jermaine Dupri.

He lists his influences as Sam Cook, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Usher, Kim Burrell, Donnie Hathaway, and Marvin Gaye; and has aspirations to work with the likes of Teairra Mari, Beyonce, Ciara, Usher, Micheal Jackson, Mario, 50 Cent, and Lil Wayne.

The First: Chris Brown – 2005

His first single, "Run It!," was an instant hit, peaking at #1 in the United States after five weeks. His freshman album, Chris Brown was released on November 29, 2005 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 200 selling over 155,000 copies in first week of sales. Five weeks later, became certified platinum, and within a year, went double platinum.

Following "Run It!", "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" became Brown's second top 10 hit in the United States, peaking at #7 and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. Next up, "Gimme That" was released in April of 2006 and featured Lil' Wayne for a remix that was not featured on his album. The single peaked at #15, making it Brown's first single to miss Top 10 in the United States.

In addition, Brown co-directed his videos for "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" and "Gimme That,” which he garnered a few MTV Video Awards nominations for Best New Artist - "Run It!," for Best R&B Video - "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)," and for Viewer's Choice - "Run It!."

Brown's third top 10 hit in the United States and second single to top the R&B charts was "Say Goodbye," which debuted at #79 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #10. The fifth and final single off his debut album, "Poppin'," has already debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #82 and has since risen to #48.

The album scored Brown three Billboard Awards in 2006, one of them being the most prestigious, Artist of the Year. The album has also received a nomination for a Grammy, in the Best Contemporary R&B Album category.

To further promote the album, Brown kicked off his major co-headlining tour, The Up Close and Personal Tour, in the late summer of 2006. The tour may include artists: Pretty Ricky, Bowwow, Lil Wayne, Juelz, Neyo, Ciara, and Cherish. Due to the tour, production for his next album was pushed back two months a second summer tour is in the works once the album is completed.

He garnered a bevy of awards and nominations for his freshman album as well, including Soul Train Music Award win for Best R&B/Soul New Artist, NAACP Image Awards win for Outstanding New Artist, TRL Awards win for Fake ID Award, BET Awards win for Best New Artist, BET Awards nomination for Best Male R&B Artist, BET Awards win for Viewer's Choice: "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)," Teen Choice Awards nomination for Choice Male Hottie, Teen Choice Awards nomination for Choice R&B Artist, and Teen Choice Awards win for Choice Music Breakout Artist (Male). More notably he received some high honor wins and nominations as well, such as the aformentioned Billboard awards, the American Music Awards nomination for Favorite Male Artist (R&B/Soul), Billboard Awards win for Male Artist of the Year, Grammy Awards nomination for Best R&B Contemporary Album - Chris Brown, and a Grammy Awards nomination for Best New Artist.

Up, Coming and Exclusive – 2007

Brown has begun production for his sophomore release, tentatively titled Exclusive. He is going to be collaborating with music stars such as Ciara, Pharell, Bowwow, and others. Brown is said to have co-written six of the songs, and producers on the album so far have been listed to include Kanye West, Pharrell, will.i.am, Timbaland, Scott Storch and Bryan Michael Cox. Brown is trying to create a more mature album than his first, and chose the name to reflect that notion. The album is scheduled to release in the fall of 2007.

Acting Career

Brown has acting on his list of accomplishes as well. He has made small appearances on UPN's “One on One” and “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 OC” in January 2007: originally scheduled to guest in eight episodes, it was cut to only three, so that Brown could work on his second studio album.

Brown came to American audiences on the silver screen in Stomp The Yard, alongside Ne-Yo, Meagan Good and Columbus Short in January 2007. Brown has begun filming his second film, This Christmas.