As the tag on the photo above states, when Chris Brown first emerged on the music scene in late 2005, critics and newly converted fans alike dubbed the baby-faced, tender-voiced, footworkin’ newcomer just that: the future of R&B. Girls swooned and fell head-over-heels with his adorable good looks, sweet and playful records, and boy-next-door persona. The guys were also quick to give him props for his fly fashion, flashy footwork, and his seemingly effortless ability to make the girls melt. And critics were also slow to find fault with the effervescent youngster and his music, many even dubbing him the 2nd coming of Michael Jackson. All this praise managed to equate success for Chris and his debut album, Chris Brown, went on to spawn 3 top-10 hits, sell over 3 million copies worldwide, and earned Chris 2 Grammy nominations. By the end of 2006, Chris Brown had become R&B’s “it” male singer and had the music world in the palm of his hand.
However, as 2007 presses on, it seems that Chris’ engine of success is slowly roaring to a halt. Earlier in the summer, fans went on an illegal downloading frenzy when a new cut - “Wall 2 Wall” - from Chris’ recording sessions for his sophomore album, Exclusive, leaked. But when Chris’ label, Jive, caught wind of the leak, sprung for a high-budget video and officially released it as a single to radio, it quickly stalled; it peaked at a dismal #79 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and #22 on Hot R&B unlike Chris’ debut single, “Run It!”, which hit #1 on both formats. As a means of damage control to erase such a performance failure from memory, and still maximize record sales, Jive quickly pushed the album’s release date back from late August to late October (October 30th was the last date standing) and have sent into rotation a new single: “Kiss Kiss”, which includes a guest appearance from the Hot 100’s current hitmaker, T-Pain.
Unfortunately, the response to this track probably isn’t what Jive bargained for. Many fans are calling it one of Chris’ worst songs to date, accusing him of conformity by resorting to “kiddie lyrics” and “bootleg production” and even labeling him a sell-out for being so desperate for a hit that he resorted to enlisting the help of T-Pain (who is a hitmaker in his own right but receives much flak for all the talent he does not possess). And in such a quick flash, it feels and many can’t help but question if R&B’s golden boy has already started to tarnish.
Some could blame Chris’ current success slump on the general slump severely hindering the industry as of late. True, record sales are at an all-time low but it would hard to use that as an excuse for a single’s lack of success, especially considering the high volume of iTunes transactions occurring daily as well as having our generation referred to as the “iPod generation”. Some could say that the quality of music that Chris has issued forth so far is what is affecting his performance. True, they say that if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it but branching out and trying something new vs. trying to milk what’s left out of his current sound might get him better results. And then there’s the lingering fear that former audience have already grown tired of a cute boy with a catchy song and are moving on to either the next big gimmick riding the airwaves (“Beautiful Girls”, anyone?) or perhaps something with a little more substance (take notice of the singer/songwriter motif slowly back on the rise).
Or maybe all this worry and fear is for nothing. Maybe Chris just hit a small bump in the road but will quickly recover once Exclusive is released. Only time will tell but I’m sure Chris’ current stumbles have sent a message loud and clear through the different ranks of the music industry and alerting them to the fact that they best play it smart with their current and future hit-making machines because soon will come the day when good looks and a catchy won’t be enough.
i think this article is sooo not necessary as far as im concerned i think chris brown is doing very good and this article just makes me sick to read this cause i know this is not true why would people write some stupid stuff like this!!!!
rihana and you hay!!! u make a gd couple!!! but i think u r so fit if only i was rihana shes soo lucky!!!
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When a junkie needs a fix, they usually go on a bender. So for all the music junkies out on the web searching for their fix, now they need look no further than Music Bender! Music Bender is the hottest blog on the 'Net focused exclusively on MUSIC! From CD reviews to interviews to video clips to chart stats to release dates to new singles to tour dates to award nominations and back, with a few rumors tossed around to keep things interesting, J. Lewis is dedicated to ensuring that Music Bender isn't just a music junkie's quick fix but their BEST fix!
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October 15th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
[...] bet Johnny would even have Chris Brown on his show today if he were still alive and had a TV [...]
November 22nd, 2007 at 11:35 pm
i think this article is sooo not necessary as far as im concerned i think chris brown is doing very good and this article just makes me sick to read this cause i know this is not true why would people write some stupid stuff like this!!!!
November 26th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Hey Baby !
Where are you ?
Do you still love me ?
Do you still got my picture ?
December 12th, 2007 at 5:20 am
HI!
Thank-you for your service, everything has arrived without any hiccups.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Love You!!!!!!!!!!!!!SexyBaby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!You Little Shorty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Love, Karina
March 27th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
i love youuuuu chris brown sexy baby el pais the q vç
April 10th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
rihana and you hay!!! u make a gd couple!!! but i think u r so fit if only i was rihana shes soo lucky!!!