Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is a Grammy Award-nominated American R&B and pop singer, dancer, and occasional actor who rose to fame in mid 2005 with his Billboard Hot 100 number-one, Scott Storch-produced debut single "Run It!", featuring Juelz Santana. His self-titled debut album spawned four successful Top 10 and Top 20 hits in the United States. To date, the album has sold 2.1 million copies in the U.S. and 3 million worldwide.

Chris Brown was born and raised in the small town of Tappahannock, Virginia by Clinton Brown and Joyce Hawkins. He 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. He was influenced by the artists his parents played on the home radio, such as Michael Jackson and Sam Cooke. Before becoming a vocalist, Brown was interested in becoming a rapper, but began to notice his singing talent by age 11. By 13, Brown was discovered by a local production team who visted his father's gas station searching for new talent. Brown began his recording career and moved to New York, staying there for two years.

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 then 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 with the likes of Scott Storch, The Underdogs, Dre, Vidal, Bryan Cox, Bow Wow, and Jermaine Dupri

"Run It!" was a hit, peaking at #1 in the U.S. (5 weeks) and abroad. 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 U.S, peaking at #7 and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. "Gimme That" was released in April 2006 which 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 US. Brown also co-directed his videos for "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" and "Gimme That". Brown's third top 10 hit in the U.S. 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-headling tour, The Up Close and Personal Tour, in the late summer of 2006. 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 the tour may include artists: Pretty Ricky, Bowwow, Lil Wayne, Juelz, Neyo, Ciara, and Cherish. No official dates, and peformances, finalized.

Brown has begun production for his sophomore release, tentatively titled Exclusive. such as: Ciara, Pharell, Bowwow, and more to come. Six of which Brown co-wrote. Producers on the album so far include Kanye West, Pharrell, will.i.am, Timbaland, Scott Storch and Bryan Michael Cox to create a bit more mature album than his first, thus giving the album its name. The album is scheduled to release by fall 2007.

Other than his singing career, Brown has branched into some acting. He made short 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. Originally scheduled to guest in eight episodes, it was cut to only three, so that Brown could work on his second studio album. Brown made his big screen debut in Stomp The Yard (originally titled Steppin') alongside Ne-Yo, Meagan Good and Columbus Short in January 2007. According to TRL, Brown began filming for his second film, and first true leading role in This Christmas.

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