It’s been a tumultuous and almost tragic career cycle for young star Chris Brown. His record label Jive records have dropped him from his contract after promotional singles ‘Love More’ and ‘Fine China’ failed to chart. His latest album X, which Chris spent almost two years recording and the label spent over $5 million in was released as a free mixtape. He was also fired from two upcoming films ‘Think Like a Man 2’ and Tyler Perry’s ‘Single mom’s Club’ because of the scrutiny surrounding the star. In 2008 he was on Forbes highest earning celebrities list with sold out tours and 5 million in album sales. Brown’s net worth was estimated at $25 million. Since then he has not re-entered the highly coveted list. His last two albums have been deemed a critical and commercial disaster with poor sales. It’s no surprise that his constant legal and personal issues have lead to his declining career. So what could be next for Brown?
With all of his recent struggles that have surfaced since his incident with Rihanna, it’s no surprise that the only plausible reason for his behavior is a mental disorder. The threat of facing criminal charges, going to jail and losing his credibility in the music industry seem to have no affect on the disturbed young singer. Most recently he escaped another jail threat despite failing to complete community service hours and an alleged assault in November. He’s made millions in his career but the money will soon run dry once he gets dropped from his label and less managers want to be associated with the failing star.
He began his career as one of the most loved teen R&B artist. His boyish charm, good looks, and mega talent was enough to woo women everywhere. But those same female fans who fell in love with the star as a teenager lost great respect for Chris Brown when he was accused of physically hitting his pop star girlfriend Rihanna. But the drama and personal struggles never stopped him. He has 2 double platinum albums in the bag and 4 number 1 singles. Now 24 years old he is starring those same detractors in the face with a new album entitled X in the process and upcoming movie roles. With a series of extreme highs and even greater lows Chris Brown has proven it’s possible to start over but lately he’s been slowly losing credibility and sympathy with audiences.
Christopher Maurice Brown was born May 5, 1989 in Tappahonnock Virginia. After teaching himself to sing and dance Brown participated in local talent shows and his church choir. His mother recognized her son’s gifts and decided to help him land a record deal. By the time he was 13 Hit Mission records had discovered this young talent. Brown recorded his first demo while a freshman in high school and Hit Mission shopped it around to top New York labels. Finally signed with Jive Records in 2004 and soon moved to New York.
His self titled debut released in 2005. The commercially successful record went to number 2 on the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified double platinum. It also contained his first number 1 hit Run It as well as three other top 20 singles. After his recording advance of $1 million he was finally able to received a new income with additional album sales and sold out concerts which put his worth at $2 million in 2006.
Brown became a true triple threat when he began to act in small roles like the television series the O.C. and jumped to the big screen in 2007 Stomp The Yard and This Christmas. The same year he released his second album Exclusive. It entered the Billboard 200 chart at 4 and sold more than 2 million records in the US alone and spawned the popular track With You. The next year an expanded edition of the album hit shelves featuring the widely popular track Forever. He earned over $10 million between 2006 and 2008 bringing his net worth to $14 million. By the end of 2008 he was named Billboard’s Artist of The Year.
Chris Brown Legal Troubles
Just months later Brown was faced with the first and most obscuring obstacle of his career. In 2009 the night before the Grammy Awards he and then girlfriend Rihanna were involved in a physical altercation which landed Chris Brown in court where he was sentenced to 5 year probation, and a fine. During their relationship Brown claims he took Rihanna on shopping sprees in Paris during the Last Girl On Earth tour. Although Rihanna’s net worth is more than double his at almost $100 million. But more recently according to Perez Hilton he was involved in a hit and run which may violate his probation. He also received a heavy backlash in 2009 from critics and fans who refused to play his records on the radio and launched a long media attack on the singer.
That same year he dropped Graffiti which featured Transform Ya. Hip Hop and electro music was a strong influence on the record a new and more aggressive sound for Chris Brown. He also went on a Fan’s Appreciation tour hoping to regain the audience that initially drove his success. But the fight to get back on top was much hard than he thought. Brown’s Graffiti was released to poor album sales only selling 300,000 copies compared to 2 million his previous albums had sold.
But it wasn’t completely over in 2010 he teamed up with Young Money rapper Tyga and Kevin McCall who laced vereses on Deuces. The song was released on the Fan of a Fan mixtape and the single became his highest charting single and biggest selling since his career debut. As of January 2011, the song has sold 1,000,000 digital copies in the US. He slowly grew back to prominence with a few more hurdles involving his on again and off again girlfriend Rihanna. But he is planing to release his sixth studio album X in August.
