February 9,2011
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Focus is back on the
Music for Chris Brown
Singer has new
beginning two
years after
Rihanna
(AP) - Tw o years ago, the G ram m y
A w ards appeared to m ark the end o f
C hris B row n's career. T his year, it is
serving as a new beginning.
Life for the m ultiplatinum sen sa
tion dram atically changed on the
eve o f m usic's biggest night in 2009,
w hen he assaulted then-girlfriend
R ihanna and both w ere forced to
bow out o f the cerem ony. In the
m onths that follow ed, he saw his
reputation tarnished, he had to plead
guilty to a felony, and his com eback
CD, "Graffiti," was a com m ercial dis
appointm ent.
But w ith the success o f his brush-
o ff anthem "D euces," three n o m i
natio n s at the S u n d ay , Feb. 13
G ram m ys (including best co n tem
Singer Chris Brown at the BET
porary R & B album ), an upcom ing
Awards in Los Angeles last
C D and an A ustralian tour in A pril,
June. (AP Photo)
the focus on C hris B row n has re
turned to his m usic, w ithout adding released a flurry o f m usic. A fter
the R ihanna-prefix.
"G raffiti," released in D ecem ber
"W e fe e l g o o d n o w th a t 2009, failed to create a buzz for the
everybody's talking about his m u singer like his past album s. B row n
sic, w hich is exactly w hat C hris' in put out various m ixtapes. O ne o f
tention is," said T om C arrabba, the those, "Fan o f a Fan," a co llab o ra
executive vice president and g en tion w ith rap p er T yga, featu red
eral m anager o f Jive Label G roup, "D euces," a m id-tem po tune that hit
Brown's hom e label since he released No. 1 on B illboard's R & B /H ip-H op
his first album at age 16.
songs chart for nine w eeks; the plati
C a rra b b a say s B ro w n h a s a num -selling single peaked at No. 14
new found co n fid en ce, w hich he on the H ot 100 chart. T he m usic
believes is the reason for the singer's video for the song w as No. 1 on
current success.
B ET's T op 100 videos o f 2010.
"I think w hen he w as a little bit
B row n, w ho has acted in m ovies
younger he w as still trying to find such as the p o p u lar "S tom p ’the
his w ay a little bit and fine-tune his Yard," also hit No. 1 at the box office
craft, but I think over the last tw o last y ear as part o f the en sem b le cast
years he's absolutely developed a in the heist film "Takers," w hich
confidence and is very secure in his also starred rap p er T.I. and Idris
d e c is io n - m a k in g
p r o c e s s ," Elba.
C arrabba said.
"D euces" is up for best rap/sung
B row n, now 21, is serving five c o lla b o ra tio n at th e u p c o m in g
years o f probation after pleading G ram m ys, where it will com pete with
guilty to felony assault for the at- Jay-Z
.
's "E m pire State o f M ind,"
tack on R ihanna in the early m o rn E m inem 's "Love the W ay You Lie"
ing hours before the 2009 G ram m ys.
The V irginianativew ascom m ended
in N ovem ber for com pleting m ore
than one-third o f the required 180
days o f com m unity service and for
alm ost finishing his dom estic vio-
lence counseling.
O ver the past year, B row n has
j
an d B .o .B 's "N othin' on Y ou,"
:
songs
that are all up for the coveted
i record o f the year aw ard and had
I
been
No. 1 pop hits in 2010.
C arrabba says the G ram m y nom i
nations are "another step in the
i right direction for C hris B row n."
' "Graffiti," Brown's third album which
i
has only sold 336,000 units, acco rd
ing to N ielsen S oundS can, is o n e
C arrabba says w ill be m ore ap p reci
ated in the future.
"W e alw ay s th o u g h t one day
w hen C hris is w here he belongs,
people w ill go back to that record
and say, 'Y ou know w hat, this is a
re c o rd th a t w a s o v e r lo o k e d ," '
C arrab b a said. "W e'll see in tim e,
but right now that's behind us and
we re kind o f looking forw ard."
O th er tracks have also helped
keep the focus on B row n's m usic.
The E uro-dance tune, "Y eah 3x," is
a T op 15 pop hit, w hile the bedroom
groove "N o Bull" is also a hit on the
R&B charts. A new album, "F. A.M.E.
(Forgiving All M y Enem ies)," is due
out this spring.
Jiv e h o p e s his n ew C D w ill pu t
B ro w n b a ck o n th e p ath to p h e
n o m e n al su c c e ss th at he b la ze d
w h en h e m ad e h is d e b u t as a teen.
H is 2 0 0 5 s e lf-title d d e b u t w as a
d o u b le -p la tin u m su cc e ss an d fe a
tu re d th re e T o p 10 p o p h its, in
c lu d in g the N o. 1 sm ash "R un It!"
H e ra c k e d in ev en b ig g e r h its w ith
the re le a se o f h is so p h o m o re a l
bum , 2 007's d o u b le -p la tin u m "E x
c lu siv e ," in c lu d in g th e N o. 1 song
"K iss K iss" an d the h its "W ith
Y o u " a n d " F o re v e r." H e w as
n a m ed B illb o a rd 's to p a rtis t fo r
2008 a m o n g o th e r a c c o la d e s.
"Som e people m ight have forgot,
but then once you see him perform ,
you understand the gift that he has,"
C arrab b a said.
O ne perform ance that brought
his talen ts to the fo refro n t w as
B row n's em otional M ichael Jack-
so n trib u te at la st y e a r's B E T
A w ards. M irroring Jackson's sig
nature dance m oves w hile perfo rm
ing "B illie Jean," he then started to
sing "M an in the M irror." But he
broke dow n in tears, fell to the stage,
and couldn't finish. T he audience,
som e people in tears them selves,
cheered him on.
Stephen H ill, B ET 's p resid en t o f
program m ing, m usic and specials
and the aw ards' ex ecu tiv e producer,
says B row n s perform ance at the
cerem o n y w as "the turning point"
o f his rising return.
"H ere's a young m an that m ade a
very, very bad m istake and he w as
in dan g er in being m arked by that
event," he said. "I think that m o
m ent and that tribute, w e probably
gave him another chance."
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Sat., Feb. 19
2:00pm & 7:00pm
&0SÌÓÀHMI1
Purchase tickets at the Rose Quarter Box Office
or online at ComcastTIX.com
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