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Biography

Born Chris Maurice Brown on May 5, 1989, in Tappahannock, Virginia, Chris Brown originally wanted to be a rapper. He hoped to be the first rapper from Tappahannock, Virginia to really hit the big time. As a natural performer, he knew early on that he wanted to be on stage. It was actually during time spent with an aunt in Arkansas that he first took the stage, performing in local talent shows with his younger cousins.  Brown's second studio album, Exclusive was released worldwide in November 2007. It spawned two successful singles; his second U.S. number one hit, "Kiss Kiss" featuring T-Pain and "With You", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.[5][6] Brown has released a deluxe version of his album called the The Forever Edition. The first single off of it, "Forever", was released in May 2008 and reached number two on Billboard Hot 100.[7] Exclusive has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. In addition to his solo commercial success, Brown has been featured on several hits such as "No Air", a duet with singer Jordin Sparks, "Shortie like Mine" with the rapper Bow Wow and "Shawty Get Loose" alongside Lil Mama and T-Pain. The songs have peaked on number three, number nine and number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively.[8][9][10] Due to his dance routines, Brown has been compared to renowned R&B artists such as Usher and Michael Jackson, citing both as large influences on his music. Brown was born and raised in the small town of Tappahannock, Virginia, the son of Joyce Hawkins and Clinton Brown.[12][13] He began dancing at the age of two and began singing in his church choir.[14][15] He was influenced by the soul albums his parents owned. Originally interested in becoming a rapper, he chose to become a vocalist when his mother noticed his singing voice. At the age of thirteen, Brown and his mother began looking for opportunities of a record deal.[13] He was discovered by a local production team who visited his father's gas station while searching for new talent. Brown left school in late 2004 to begin working on his self-titled debut album which was released in November 2005. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 selling over 155,000 copies in first week of sales. On August 17, 2006 to further promote the album, Brown began his major co-headlining tour, The Up Close and Personal Tour. Due to the tour, production for his next album was pushed back two months. Brown was also the opening act for R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles on the Australian leg of her The Beyoncé Experience tour. Brown released his single "Take You Down" in January 2009 in the UK and Ireland.