Exclusive (2007)

Exclusive is the second studio album by American singer Chris Brown. It was released on November 6, 2007, by CBE and Jive Records. The record serves as Chris Brown's second studio release under his CBE record label, as well as with Jive. The record also serves as the follow-up to his multi-platinum selling debut album, Chris Brown (2005).

Exclusive is an R&B record that also borrows from pop, hip-hop and electronic music. Lyrically it revolves around romance. The album was commercially successful worldwide. It debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200, selling 295,000 copies in the first week. The album was supported by five singles, three of which—"Kiss Kiss", "With You" and "Forever"—achieved top-three positions on the Billboard Hot 100, also charting highly on other charts worldwide. The album earned a quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States. Exclusive received generally positive reviews from critics, that praised Brown's performances.

On June 3, 2008, Exclusive was re-released as a double-disc deluxe edition, titled The Forever Edition, which includes 4 more songs, including the singles "Forever" and "Superhuman", and a bonus DVD featuring behind-the-scenes footage from his tour and his music videos.

Background

In 2006, following the success of Brown's self-titled album, the singer started to work on his sophomore album, developing its concept along with Tina Davis and Mark Pitts. Brown co-wrote half of the tracks along with different writers, including Sean Garrett, James Fauntleroy, Johntá Austin and Tank. The musical direction aimed for Exclusive was different to the hip hop soul-influenced sound of the previous album, being worked as an R&B album appealable to a wider public.

Originally, Brown intended to name his album Graduation. However, after discovering that Kanye West planned to use the same title for his third studio album, which was set to be released that year, Brown respected West's decision and changed his album's title to Exclusive. Brown explained to MTV News: "at first I was naming it Graduation because I was 18, but then Kanye was like, 'I heard Chris is naming his album Graduation. I'm naming mine ... .', I was like, I'll change mine because I respect his reason more with College Dropout and Late Registration, all that, so it kind of went with his. So I was like, I don't need mine to be Graduation, you know, I'll change mine to Exclusive, because I'll make an album exclusively for my fans". The album was originally set to be released on August 28, 2007, but was delayed until November of that year.

Singles

The album's lead single, "Wall to Wall" was released on May 29, 2007. The song was produced by Sean Garrett, written by Walter Scott. The single reached at number 79 on the US Billboard Hot 100, due to no digital release for this single.

"Kiss Kiss"; a collaboration with a fellow American recording artist T-Pain, was released as the album's second single on September 11, 2007. Following the non-success of his first single, this single became a big success in the United States. The song reached at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 6 on the Canadian Hot 100, also reaching the top ten in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

"With You" was released as the album's third single on December 4, 2007. The song was produced by the production team StarGate. The single became his second successful single in the most international music markets. It has since become one of the highest-charting singles of Brown's solo career, entering the foreign music markets, where his previous efforts have failed to these charts. It has reached the top ten; including in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and United Kingdom.

The re-release of its first single from The Forever Edition, called "Forever" (produced by Polow da Don). It was released on April 29, 2008. The song debuted at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, due to its high digital sales. However, it dropped quickly due to the lack of sales during these following weeks. The song then re-entered the top ten again, after airplay increases and has peaked at number 2.