Chris Brown

Christopher Maurice Brown was bron in 1989 in Tappahannock, Virginia to Joyce Hawkins and Clinton Brown. Known to the music world as Chris Brown, Chris didn't realize he had vocal talents until he was eleven. Until then, he'd largely focused on dancing, a skill he'd begun practicing as early as two, and he'd hoped to become a rapper.

When Chris was thirteen, he was spotted by a local production team that visited his father's gas station. Chris Brown moved to New York and scored an audition with Def Jam Vice President Tina Davis, who signed on as Chris's manager. At 15, Chris Brown performed for L.A. Reid and was signed to Jive Records in 2004.

With his signing to Jive, Chris recorded his self-titled debut album, which was released in November 2005. Chris Brown's debut immediately caught the public's eye, scoring several hot singles and selling over 100,000 copies in its first week. Chris Brown's debut single, "Run It!" topped the Hot 100 and R&B charts, and was followed by the hit "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" which reached #7 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B charts. The album's last single, from the Step Up soundtrack, "Say Goodbye" topped the R&B charts and reached #10 on the Hot 100. The album's sales were impressive with "Run It," "Yo," and "Say Goodbye" all going platinum and "Gimme That" going gold. With such success, it's no surprise that the album was able to go double platinum.

After securing a successful debut release, Chris Brown followed it up in 2007 with his sophomore effort, Exclusive. Despite launching to an impressive 300,000 copies sold in the album's first week, it stumbled with its first single. The album's debut single "Wall To Wall" did poorly on the charts, peaking at #22 on the R&B charts and #79 on the Hot 100. Still, the album more than made up for it with the later singles, "Kiss Kiss" and "With You." The former topped the Hot 100 and reached #2 on the R&B charts while the latter hit #2 on the Hot 100 and #5 on the R&B charts. The album saw a re-release in June 2008 titled Exclusive: The Forever Edition. The new release featured the single "Forever" which reached #7 on the Hot 100. The album's single "Kiss Kiss" was certified platinum, as was the album itself.

Outside of music, Chris Brown has had a few brief roles in movies. He first appeared in Stomp the Yard and later had a role in This Christmas.