Released November 29, 2005 Genre R&B
hip hop soul | Recorded January – May 2005 Length 55:44 | |
Label Jive
CBE
Zomba
Sony BMG (International distribution) Producer Chris Brown (exec.)
Mark Pitts (co-exec.)
Scott Storch
Jermaine Dupri
Bryan-Michael Cox
WyldCard
The Underdogs
Dre & Vidal
Shea Taylor
Cool & Dre
Sean Garrett
Shannon "Slam" Lawrence
Oak
Eddie Hustle
LRoc | ||
Chris Brown is the eponymous debut studio album by American R&B recording artist Chris Brown. It was released on November 29, 2005, by Jive Records. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the album was a commercial success. It has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of two million in the United States and has sold over three million copies worldwide. The album also earned Brown his first two Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 49th Grammy Awards.
Contents
Background
Chris Brown was born on May 5, 1989, in Tappahannock, Virginia, where he started it out as a rapper, until Brown took pride in his singing. In 2002, at the age of 13, he was discovered at his father's gas station by the production team (who was looking for a new local talent). In August 2004, Brown adapted the stage name as "C-Syzle", along with T.J. attracted some attention towards Tina Davis (who was the Def Jam Recordings's senior A&R executive), while they were auditioning in front of the Island Def Jam's own CEO Antonio "L. A." Reid. Reid later offered to sign both of them, however, Brown claimed Allen has become "greedy" during this negotiations that has been prolonged for over two months. Davis advised Brown not to sign the deal. Davis later lost her job, due to restructuring, after the merger of Island Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella Records. On the same day, Brown hired her as his manager and moved in into her New Jersey's home. After weeks of label searching, Brown signed a deal with Jive Records (noted: this is label that is known for spanning these great careers of these pop and R&B artists, such as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and R. Kelly, during on the Christmas Eve on 2005). At the time, he dropped out of tenth grade at his Essex High School in Virginia, in favor of tutoring. Brown began recording his new debut album at Miami, Florida, with Mark Pitts (who is the Jive's A&R), who he helped Brown signed to the label. During at the time, he has finished recording over an amount of 50 songs, before signaling that these final 14 tracks have been chosen to be included on his first album. The production on the album was processing for over eight weeks. The album was initially titled Young Love, however, with that idea for the album title has been discarded as being "too kiddie".
Music
"Run It!" takes place in a party setting, with Brown explaining, "It's really a guy checking for a girl, or a girl checking for a guy...asking to see if they can run it. If they can be eligible to be your girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever. 'Let me see if you can run it; show me what you got.'" "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" discusses the first conversation someone has with a girl: "Fellas, first thing they say when they see a girl is 'Yo! Yo!'. I'm saying it like that, but technically not like that. She takes my breath away, all I can say is 'Yo, let me just talk to you for a minute. Chill with me for a minute.'"
Singles
His official debut single from the album, "Run It!" was released on June 30, 2005. The song features guest vocals from an American rapper Juelz Santana, with the production that was handled by a high-profile hip hop producer Scott Storch. Its been receiving within a continuous airplays (also topping on the airplays for the Billboard Hot 100), while it was reaching at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for over five weeks. The single was preceded by Kanye West's "Gold Digger", and succeeded by Mariah Carey's "Don't Forget About Us". The song also topped it on the Billboard's Pop 100.
The album's second single, "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" was released on December 13, 2005. The song's production was handled by the duo Dre & Vidal. The song became Brown's yet another top 10 hit in his career.
The remix to "Gimme That", which features guest vocals from a fellow American rapper Lil Wayne, was released as the album's third single on May 7, 2006.
The album's fourth single, "Say Goodbye" was released on August 8, 2006. The song's production was handled by Bryan-Michael Cox. The song peaking at number 10 in the United States.
The album's fifth and final single, "Poppin'" was released on November 21, 2006. The production on this track was handled by Dre & Vidal. The song has been charted top 40 outside the United States.
Promotion
Through the winter, Brown joined the Scream V Encore Tour, featuring Ciara, Bow Wow, Omarion and Marques Houston, as a supporting act. Later, he headlined the Xbox 360 Presents: Chris Brown Tour, supported by T-Pain.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 154,000 copies. The album was a certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of April 2011, the album has sold 2.1 million copies in the United States alone and over three million copies worldwide.