50 Fun Facts About Chris Brown

In which US state was Chris Brown born?

He grew up in the small town of Tappahannock, where his father worked at a gas station.

At what age was Chris Brown discovered by a local production team?

Hitmission Records found him while visiting the gas station where his father worked.

Which label did Chris Brown sign with in 2004?

He turned down L.A. Reid at Def Jam because Reid would not speak to his mother.

What was Chris Brown's debut single?

It featured Juelz Santana and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks.

Who produced 'Run It!'?

The producer later said the singer was 'just about to turn 16' when he came into the studio.

What first did Chris Brown achieve with his debut single, the first male artist to do so since 1995?

The last man to do it had been Montell Jordan a decade earlier.

When was Chris Brown's self-titled debut album released?

It was recorded between February and May of that year and spawned five singles.

Which artist features on and produced Chris Brown's next Hot 100 number one after his debut, 'Kiss Kiss'?

It was the second single from the album Exclusive in 2007.

Which production duo, known for their work with Ne-Yo, produced 'With You'?

The ballad peaked at number two and became one of the best-selling singles of all time.

The 2008 hit 'Forever' began life as a commercial jingle for which product?

The music video even opens with him unwrapping a stick of the gum outside a nightclub.

The chewing-gum-born hit "Forever" got a second life in 2009 as the music for what viral YouTube video?

The wedding-party dance clip was later parodied by The Office.

Chris Brown's album Exclusive entered the Billboard 200 at which position?

It sold 295,000 copies in its first week and produced three top-three singles.

Chris Brown made his feature film debut in 2007 in which dance movie?

Ne-Yo also made his acting debut in the film, which is about fraternity stepping competitions.

In 2007 Chris Brown played a band geek in the fourth season of which teen drama?

The role came the same month as his film debut.

Which 2010 heist film's cast included Chris Brown alongside Matt Dillon, Paul Walker and Idris Elba?

T.I. and Hayden Christensen were also part of the crew of bank robbers.

In 2009 Chris Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault of which singer, his girlfriend at the time?

He later said his reputation went 'from America's sweetheart to public enemy number one'.

What was the title of the album Chris Brown released in December 2009?

It debuted at number seven and was considered a commercial disappointment next to his earlier work.

'Deuces' came from a 2010 collaborative mixtape with which rapper?

The mixtape was called Fan of a Fan, and the single topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Which Chris Brown album, featuring 'Yeah 3x' and 'Look at Me Now', won the Grammy for Best R&B Album?

The 2011 record mixed R&B, pop, hip-hop, dancehall, rock and Europop.

Which two rappers feature on 'Look at Me Now'?

Its producers included Afrojack and Diplo, and it went diamond in the US.

Which pair of DJs and producers, later famous for EDM, co-produced 'Look at Me Now'?

The track's spare, thumping beat was a departure from his R&B ballads.

'Turn Up the Music' was the lead single from which 2012 album?

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 despite poor reviews.

In February 2012, Chris Brown and his ex released remixes of "Turn Up the Music" and which of her songs?

They later duetted on 'Nobody's Business' from her album Unapologetic.

Besides Lil Wayne, which rapper features on the album version of Chris Brown's 2014 hit 'Loyal'?

French Montana appears on the East Coast version and Too Short on the West Coast one.

Chris Brown's 2015 album Royalty is named after whom?

It was released on December 18, 2015 with fewer guest features than any of his earlier albums.

How many tracks are on the 2017 double album Heartbreak on a Full Moon?

It went gold in its first week and later double platinum on the strength of streaming.

The 2018 comedy single 'Freaky Friday', about Chris Brown swapping bodies with a rapper, was by whom?

The concept comes from the 2003 Lindsay Lohan film of the same name.

Chris Brown's 'No Guidance' (2019) ended a long feud with which collaborating artist?

The feud had started in 2012 over Rihanna and included a notorious nightclub bottle-throwing brawl.

'No Guidance' broke the record for the longest-running number one on which Billboard chart?

The record lasted only until his own 'Go Crazy' beat it in 2021.

'Go Crazy' was a collaboration with which rapper, taken from their joint mixtape Slime & B?

The track samples the Showboys' 1986 single 'Drag Rap' and peaked at number three on the Hot 100.

Which 2019 album track became a surprise worldwide hit in 2022 after going viral on TikTok?

It reached the top ten in more than twenty countries and number 12 on the Hot 100 three years after release.

The TikTok-revived 2022 sleeper hit originally appeared on the extended edition of which album?

The album debuted atop the Billboard 200 in 2019.

What is the title of Chris Brown's tenth studio album, released in June 2022?

The title is his long-time nickname; the album debuted at number four and went gold.

At the 2025 Grammy Awards, the deluxe edition of which Chris Brown album won Best R&B Album?

The track 'Sensational' with Davido and Lojay was also nominated for Best African Music Performance.

In January 2023, Chris Brown passed which legend for the most RIAA gold singles by a male vocalist?

He had already passed the same artist for the most Hot 100 entries by a male vocalist.

Which artist does Chris Brown most often cite as his inspiration for singing and dancing?

Critics have regularly compared his moves to the King of Pop's.

Billboard ranked Chris Brown at which position on its Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the 2010s decade list?

Only Drake and Rihanna finished ahead of him.

Which 2009 album, released months after his assault conviction, still picked up two Grammy nominations?

The nods were for Best Contemporary R&B Album and for 'Take My Time' with Tank.

The 2014 album X featured Kendrick Lamar, Usher, Nicki Minaj and which late singer?

The album's release was delayed several times by RCA and by the singer's legal troubles.

Chris Brown's 2012 album Fortune was which of his albums to top the Billboard 200?

It was also his fifth consecutive top-ten album.

Which American Idol winner had Chris Brown as the featured artist on her 2008 hit 'No Air'?

The duet peaked at number 3 on the Hot 100 and, with 'With You' and 'Forever', gave him three of the ten best-selling US singles of 2008.

Which Canadian pop star features on the F.A.M.E. single 'Next 2 You'?

It was the album's fourth international single; 'She Ain't You', built around a Michael Jackson sample, took that slot in the US.

In June 2022 Chris Brown began a multi-year residency at Drai's After Hours in which city?

The venue sits inside The Cromwell; later that year he also guested at Usher's residency in the same city, where Usher called him 'a legend'.

In January 2013 Chris Brown allegedly punched which singer in a row over a parking space?

The scuffle happened outside a West Hollywood recording studio; the other singer declined to press charges.

In April 2007 the 17-year-old Chris Brown was the opening act on the Australian leg of whose tour?

It was The Beyoncé Experience tour; months later MTV filmed his 18th birthday party in New York as a special 'My Super 18' episode of My Super Sweet 16.

Chris Brown was born in 1989 in which small Virginia town?

The town sits on the Rappahannock River; his mother ran a day care centre and he has one older sister, Lytrell.

Billboard magazine named Chris Brown its Artist of the Year at the end of which year?

That year he placed three singles among the ten best sellers in the US, guest-starred on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and had not yet released Graffiti.

What is the name of the streetwear clothing line Chris Brown launched in 2012?

It was created with the founders of Pink + Dolphin and went worldwide in 2016 through Snipes; in 2015 he also fronted A Bathing Ape's BAPE Black Label.

Which Italian DJ features on 'Beautiful People', the third single from F.A.M.E.?

It became the first number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart for both of them, part of a Europop streak that ran from 'Forever' to 'Don't Wake Me Up'.

What job did Chris Brown's father, Clinton Brown, hold during the singer's childhood?

He worked at a local prison; Brown has said music was always present at home and credits Michael Jackson as the reason he became an entertainer.