Chris Brown: The Comeback Kid

He is a singer, songwriter, dancer, and an actor. He has F.A.M.E., fortune, talent, and he is drowning in sex appeal. He’s been to the top of the highest mountain and at the bottom on the lowest valley, despite his misfortune he found a way to rise back to the top. I’m talking about R&B Singer Chris Brown.

Influenced by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and R&B heavyweight, Usher, Brown caught the eye of Manager, Tina Davis. At the time, she was working for Def Jam Records. “The first thing that hit me was his unique voice,” Davis stated to Billboard magazine. “I thought ‘this kid is a star.’” At the tender age of 15, Brown was on his way to stardom when he landed a deal with the major recording label, Jive Records.

After snatching up his deal, Brown took no time getting to work and developing his sound. After a year of being  signed, Chris Brown’s self-titled debut album was released to much praise and success in 2005. Brown’s debut was nominated for not one, but two, Grammy Awards’, an honor most musicians never achieve in a lifetime. Brown chose to keep the momentum going and released “Exclusive”, his sophomore album, in 2007. With five Grammy nominations and a double platinum selling rate, “Exclusive” solidified Brown as a legitimate superstar. Not to mention, Brown earned roles in the major motion pictures “Stomp the Yard” and “This Christmas”. By this time, Chris Brown was on top of the world. 

After two platinum selling records, a few movie roles, countless awards, the quadruple threat got in a bit of trouble. We all know the story…domestic violence against R&B/Pop sensation and then girlfriend, Rihanna. The incident, which took place a day before the 2008 Grammy Awards and caused both stars’ absence from the occasion caused an uproar of anger and disappointment from the public. Many say that the incident stopped Brown’s career right in its tracks. The less than satisfactory release of 2009’s “Graffiti” (just five months after the domestic violence incident) didn’t help Chris’ case either. Some felt insulted that he released an album so quickly after his fall, yet Chris said he was just trying to move past his faults.

Being the innovative hard worker that he is, Chris Brown never gave up when it came to admitting and apologizing for his wrongs and gaining support from the public, and more importantly his fans. Through his dedication, Brown proved that he was different than his peers by breaking down on national television while performing a tribute for his deceased idol, Michael Jackson. With his ever growing popularity on twitter, Chris Brown opened a new wave of thanks and appreciation to his fans, dubbing them #TeamBreezy. Brown trailblazes interaction with his fans via twitter as a way to gain a more personal relationship that doesn’t exist between most stars and their admirers. In 2011, Chris Brown released his fourth studio album F.A.M.E. (an acronym with double meaning: Fans Are My Everything and Forgiving All My Enemies).

After much speculation from the public, F.A.M.E. went platinum. Brown gained his momentum back. With a few movies coming up and a new album in the works, Chris Brown’s star is continuing to shine. I suppose we can dub him #TheComebackKid.

-Shantice Edwards