50 Fun Facts About Chris Brown

In which US state was Chris Brown born?

Virginia. He grew up in Tappahannock, a town of about 2,000 people, and left as a teenager for New York, where he auditioned in label offices until he had a record deal.

Which 2007 holiday film casts Chris Brown as a secret singer?

This Christmas. His character, "Baby", is afraid to tell his mother he wants to be a singer; his brothers and sisters find out when they catch him performing Try a Little Tenderness in a club.

Which label did Chris Brown sign with in 2004?

Jive Records. He said he picked the label because it had the best record with young pop acts, pointing to the careers it had built for Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

What was Chris Brown's debut single?

Run It!. Its producer says he told the 15-year-old before they began that he was about to make him a number one song; it then spent five weeks on top.

Who produced 'Run It!'?

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

At the 2007 Grammys, Chris Brown lost Best New Artist to which fellow nominee?

Carrie Underwood. The American Idol winner took the award, but the 17-year-old still got the stage that night, performing alongside Lionel Richie and Smokey Robinson.

Which Dipset rapper guests on Chris Brown's 2005 debut single?

Juelz Santana. His guest spot borrows lines from other songs, among them The Waitresses' early-1980s single I Know What Boys Like.

Which artist both produced and features on Chris Brown's 2007 number one "Kiss Kiss"?

T-Pain. He was pop's busiest guest that autumn: in the week of Thanksgiving 2007 he appeared on four of the top ten singles in America, and none of them was his own.

Which duo produced Chris Brown's "With You"?

Stargate. The two Norwegians played nearly every instrument on the ballad themselves, and its acoustic guitar had reviewers comparing it with the hits they had already made for other singers.

Chris Brown's 2008 hit "Forever" was also a commercial jingle for which product?

Doublemint gum. The chorus slips in the gum's old slogan, "double your pleasure, double your fun", and a reworked version of the song ran in the brand's TV adverts.

Chris Brown's "Forever" got a second life in 2009 as the music for what viral YouTube video?

A wedding march. A Minnesota couple's whole bridal party danced down the aisle to it, and the clip spread so fast that the year-old song climbed back to number 4 on iTunes.

Which lead single from Chris Brown's Exclusive stalled at number 79 in America?

Wall to Wall. One reviewer called it a "mystifyingly underachieving single": it fell far short of his earlier hits, and the follow-ups "Kiss Kiss" and "With You" became the album's big hits.

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

Stomp the Yard. He plays the hero's younger brother, whose shooting after a dance battle in the opening minutes sends the story to Atlanta and its stepping fraternities.

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

The O.C. The teen idol with a number one single played against type for three episodes as lonely Will Tutt, telling MTV he was ready to be "geeked out all the way".

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

Takers. He plays Jesse, one of two bank-robbing brothers, and gets the film's big chase, fleeing two detectives with a bag of stolen cash.

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

Rihanna. He was sentenced to five years of probation and community labour, and later said he had gone "from America's sweetheart to public enemy number one".

Which R&B singer co-headlined 2015's Between the Sheets Tour with Chris Brown?

Trey Songz. Each had a sixth album to promote, X and Trigga, so the two shared one arena bill in early 2015.

Which 2010 single from the mixtape Fan of a Fan put Chris Brown back on top of the R&B chart?

Deuces. A cut from a mixtape rather than an album, it still gave him his first R&B number one in four years and a Grammy nomination.

Which Chris Brown album, home to "Yeah 3x" and "Look at Me Now", won the 2012 Grammy for Best R&B Album?

F.A.M.E. He gave the letters two meanings, "Forgiving All My Enemies" and "Fans Are My Everything"; the album was his first to reach number one and won him his first Grammy.

Which two rappers feature on Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now"?

Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes. Both guests rap at breakneck speed over a bare beat, and the single kept selling for years until it passed ten million, a diamond award.

Which pair of DJs, later famous for EDM, co-produced Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now"?

Afrojack and Diplo. The two dance DJs gave him not a club anthem but a sparse, eerie rap beat that MTV called downtempo, a sharp turn from the pop single before it.

Chris Brown's "Turn Up the Music" was the lead single from which 2012 album?

Fortune. It began as the overflow from the album before: he had recorded too many songs for one disc, so he planned a second album from the sessions, and it reached number one too.

Chris Brown sings the hook on "International Love", a 2011 hit for which Miami rapper?

Pitbull. Brown sings the bridge as well as the hook, and the rapper brought him back in 2015 for another single, "Fun".

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

Tyga. The song went out in three cuts: French Montana raps on the East Coast version and Too Short on the West Coast one, both released months before the album cut with Tyga.

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

His first daughter. Only months earlier the world had learned that he was father to a baby girl, Royalty; he said the title stood for where he was in life, and the album is dedicated to her.

Which 2017 Chris Brown double album runs to 45 tracks?

Heartbreak on a Full Moon. It runs for more than two and a half hours, longer than most films, and still went gold within a week of release.

Which rapper swaps bodies with Chris Brown in the 2018 comedy single "Freaky Friday"?

Lil Dicky. He wakes up in Brown's body, and the swapping keeps going through Ed Sheeran, DJ Khaled and Kendall Jenner; it became the rapper's biggest hit, reaching number eight.

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

Drake. The two had been publicly at odds since 2012; seven years later their first duet together became the first single of Brown's career to be certified diamond.

Chris Brown's 2019 single "No Guidance" set a record for the most weeks at number one on which US chart?

R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. The record did not last: his own next big radio hit, "Go Crazy", stayed on top even longer, so he replaced himself at the head of the list.

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

Young Thug. Built on the 1986 "Drag Rap" beat, it was a slow burner: out on a mixtape in May 2020, it did not reach its peak of number three on the Hot 100 until 2021.

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

Under the Influence. It sat unpromoted on a deluxe edition for three years; only after TikTok carried it into the top ten of more than twenty countries was it released as a single.

Which 2019 Chris Brown album, home to "No Guidance", gave him his first US number one album in seven years?

Indigo. Around his 30th birthday he promised 30 songs, one for each year of his life, and delivered even more; several tracks carry colour names too, among them "Red" and "Emerald/Burgundy".

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

Breezy. The title is his own long-standing nickname, and he said he recorded almost 250 songs before cutting the album down; it entered the US chart at number four.

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

11:11. He kept adding to it: an expanded edition followed on April 11, 2024, and it was that version, not the 2023 original, that won him a second Grammy.

In 2007 Chris Brown sang "See the Signs" as a guest on which children's TV show?

Sesame Street. The song, performed with Elmo, earned a Daytime Emmy nomination, but after his arrest in 2009 the show took it off its website and cut the segment from repeats.

Which star has Chris Brown called "the reason why I do music and why I am an entertainer"?

Michael Jackson. He said it on the day Jackson died in 2009; a year later, singing "Man in the Mirror" in a televised tribute, he broke down in tears and fell to his knees.

Which rapper's 2006 top-ten single "Shortie Like Mine" features a teenage Chris Brown?

Bow Wow. The two were already a double act: earlier that year they had performed a remix of Brown's debut single together at the Kids' Choice Awards.

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

Graffiti. He had announced the title a year earlier, before the case; the album opened at number seven, yet drew nominations for itself and for "Take My Time" with Tank.

Chris Brown's 2014 album X featured Kendrick Lamar, Usher, Nicki Minaj and which late singer?

Aaliyah. Her vocals on "Don't Think They Know" were recorded in 2001, the year she died, for a duet with another singer, and were rebuilt around Brown twelve years later.

Which Nigerian star duets with Chris Brown on the 2022 single "Call Me Every Day"?

Wizkid. The two had history: months earlier he had brought Brown on stage at the O2 in London, the American's first UK performance since being barred from the country in 2010.

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

Jordin Sparks. The song had been written for a male singer; its producer let her have it on condition that it became a duet, and suggested Brown as her partner.

Which Canadian pop star features on Chris Brown's 2011 single "Next 2 You"?

Justin Bieber. It is one of four tracks the two have made together; this one was recorded in a single day in February 2011 and filmed at Universal Studios that May.

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

Las Vegas. The club is at The Cromwell hotel, and four months after his launch night Usher brought him on stage at his own residency in the city and called him "a legend".

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

Frank Ocean. Police treated the fight outside a West Hollywood studio as battery, but Ocean said he would "choose sanity" and not press charges.

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

Beyoncé. He opened the Australian dates of her world tour at 17; three months later MTV filmed his 18th birthday party as a one-off edition of My Super Sweet 16, renamed My Super 18.

In December 2024 Chris Brown sold out two nights at FNB Stadium in which African city?

Johannesburg. Close to 190,000 people came over the two nights, and local star Cassper Nyovest said he could not remember such hype for a concert in South Africa.

At the end of 2008, which magazine named Chris Brown its Artist of the Year?

Billboard. The title is worked out from the year's charts, not voted on: he had put three singles in the top three, "With You", "Forever" and the duet "No Air", and was still 19.

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

Black Pyramid. He started it with the founders of the label Pink + Dolphin, and four years later it opened a boutique of its own in Amsterdam.

Which Italian DJ features on Chris Brown's 2011 single "Beautiful People"?

Benny Benassi. Brown wrote the song alone, and it also appears on the producer's own album, Electroman; it gave both men a first number one on the US dance club chart.

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

Corrections officer. Clinton Brown worked at a local prison, and by one early biography he also had a gas station, where a visiting production team first heard his son sing.