Chris Brown (2005)

Chris Brown is the debut studio album by American singer Chris Brown, released on November 29, 2005, through Jive Records. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Scott Storch, Cool & Dre, Oak Felder, Bryan-Michael Cox and the Underdogs among others. The album also features guest appearances by Juelz Santana, Lil Wayne, Bow Wow, Jermaine Dupri and more.

The album was recorded between February and May 2005, after Brown got discovered at the age of 13, subsequently signing with Jive Records two years later. Chris Brown is an R&B album that focuses on teenage lovelife. Upon its release, the album received a generally positive critical reception, that highlighted Brown as a promising figure; however, some retrospective reviews have praised it even more for its role in ushering in a new generation of R&B artists, crediting Chris Brown as a defining release in 2000s R&B music.

Chris Brown was supported by five singles: "Run It!", "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)", "Gimme That (Remix)", "Say Goodbye" and "Poppin'". "Run It!" topped the US Billboard Hot 100, while "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" and "Say Goodbye" entered the top ten. The album was a commercial success and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). At the 49th Grammy Awards, the album earned Brown his first two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Contemporary R&B Album.

Background and recording

At age 13, Brown was discovered in Virginia by Hitmission Records, a local production team that visited the gas station where his father worked, while searching for new talent. Hitmission helped to arrange a demo package, under the name of "C. Sizzle", and approached contacts in New York.

Tina Davis, senior A&R executive at Def Jam Recordings, heard the demo package that Brown's local team had sent to Def Jam, and among the artists contained in the CD she was impressed by Brown with his track "Whose Girl Is That". Davis later had Brown auditioning in her New York office, and she immediately took him to meet the former president of the Island Def Jam Music Group, Antonio "L.A." Reid, who offered to sign him that day, but Brown refused his proposal because Reid wouldn't talk to his mother. Brown then moved temporarily to Harlem, New York to seek a record deal. The negotiations with Def Jam continued for two months, and ended when Davis lost her job due to a corporate merger. Brown asked her to be his manager, and once Davis accepted, she promoted the singer to other labels such as Jive Records, J-Records and Warner Bros. Records. "I knew that Chris had real talent," says Davis. "I just knew I wanted to be part of it."

According to Mark Pitts, in an interview with HitQuarters, Davis presented Brown with a video recording, and Pitts' reaction was: "I saw huge potential ... I didn't love all the records, but I loved his voice. It wasn't a problem because I knew that he could sing, and I knew how to make records." Brown ultimately signed with Jive Records on Christmas Eve of 2004. Brown stated, "I picked Jive because they had the best success with younger artists in the pop market, [...] I knew I was going to capture my African American audience, but Jive had a lot of strength in the pop area as well as longevity in careers." At the time, he dropped out of tenth grade at his Essex High School in Virginia, in favor of tutoring.