chris brown / albums

The instant number one hit "Run It!" proved to be no fluke. Two other songs from Chris Brown's debut album were moderate to major hits, enabling the entertainer to become a popular music star with platinum sales, not just a brief crush for thousands upon thousands of tween-aged females. Brown's second act, released almost exactly two years after his first, takes a "don't fix it if it ain't broke" approach, offsetting the innocent and age-appropriate material with a handful of songs that are squarely placed within lil' Lothario territory. When he works with Johnta Austin and Stargate, out comes young courtship fodder that is boyish enough to be reinterpreted by squeaky clean American Idol contestant David Archuleta ("You're my sweetheart and I'm so glad that you're mine"); switch the collaborators to Jazze Pha and Lil Wayne, and you get come-ons like "You like 28s on a Hummer/'Cause you the number one stunner" and "That's it, babygirl/Put it on my zipper." The two modes have had a popularity-maximizing effect, to say the very least. Falling into the relatively edgy category, the T-Pain collaboration and lead single "Kiss Kiss" duplicated the chart success of "Run It!," and perhaps only someone as likable and harmless as Brown could get away with "And I get a little mannish, and you see the bandanna hangin'/That means I'm like a bandit." You've got to credit Brown and his songwriters and producers for cranking out another handful of easy to remember hits that cover the bases, from upbeat and carefree numbers to go-to mixtape ballads that push all the right target-demographic buttons. [The Forever Edition of the album adds six bonus tracks, as well as a DVD featuring a 30-minute tour clip. This is (at least) the third U.S.-released version of Exclusive to contain exclusive bonus tracks and/or other material. If the Grammys were to add a "Most Bold-Faced Swindling of an Artist's Fan Base by a Major Label" category, these releases would have to be nominated.] ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi