Exclusive (album)

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Exclusive
Exclusive cover
Studio album by Chris Brown
Released Flag of the United KingdomOctober 30, 2007
(Standard Edition)
Flag of the United StatesJune 3, 2008
(The Forever Edition)
(see release history)
Recorded 2006 – 2007
Genre R&B, pop, hip hop
Length 62:03 (standard edition)
69:45 (deluxe edition)
67:37 (UK)
Label Jive, Zomba
Producer Bryan-Michael Cox, Dre & Vidal, Jazze Pha, Scott Storch, Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, T-Pain, The Underdogs, Will.I.Am, Stargate, The-Dream, The Runners, Tank, Polow da Don, Timbaland
Professional reviews
Chris Brown chronology
Chris Brown
(2005)		 Exclusive
(2007)
Singles from Exclusive
  1. "Wall to Wall"
    Released: May 28, 2007
  2. "Kiss Kiss"
    Released: September 11, 2007
  3. "With You"
    Released: December 13, 2007
  4. "Take You Down"
    Released: April 1, 2008
Alternate cover
Exclusive: The Forever Edition
Exclusive: The Forever Edition
Singles from Exclusive: The Forever Edition
  1. "Forever"
    Released: April 15, 2008

Exclusive is the second studio album by American R&B singer Chris Brown. The album was originally scheduled to be released August 28, 2007, but was pushed back to October 30, 2007, then pushed back even further to its final release date of November 6, 2007.[1]

The album was commercially successful, reaching number 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart on its debut. It sold 295,000 units within a week of release, 140,000 units more than its predecessor, Chris Brown. The album yielded two Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, and was successful in music markets, entering the top twenty of many charts worldwide. Exclusive was set to re-release on June 3, 2008 as an expanded double-disc deluxe edition; a DVD counterpart was also released, featuring behind the scene footage music videos from his tour. The album has earned platinum certification in the United States from the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold more than two million copies worldwide.

This album was #34 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

The album was originally going to be titled Graduation, but was renamed due to rapper Kanye West's album going by the same name.

In an interview with MTV Brown stated the following,

I am still going to keep it so my younger fans can continue to listen to my music, but I got a couple of joints on there that's for some of the older people.[1]

The first single, which was "Wall to Wall" ,it garnered minor success compared to Brown's previous singles. The track was produced by Sean Garrett. Chris Brown confirmed in a 106 & Park appearance that the second single is "Kiss Kiss", which features and is produced by T-Pain.[1]

Recently leaked songs "Miss You" featuring Johnta Austin and "Hood Ridin'" were not featured on the album.

The song "Nice" featuring The Game samples Stacee Adams' club hit "The Last Call". The rap part in "The Last Call" was also performed by The Game and was also penned by one of Brown's producers, Scott Storch.

[edit] Critical response

Exclusive received "generally favorable reviews" from critics. Bill Lamb of About.com give the album four out of five stars, characterized the album as “an admirably clean record that is unlikely to raise any fears from parents concerned about content. However, he does not sacrifice anything in utilizing the talents of a wide range of today's top r&b producers and songwriters. Chris Brown's music makes it abundantly clear that explicit sexual and drug content is not a requirement for a hit record”. He also said “fans of Beyonce’s smash B’Day may recognize some sounds here. The Stargate-produced "With You" borrows the instrumental context of "Irreplaceable” and the beat structure of "I'll Call Ya" will bring immediate comparisons to "Get Me Bodied". However, both are infused enough with Chris Brown's unique performing persona that he manages to make both songs his own”.[3]

Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone Magazine said that “It's been a long stretch between Usher albums — long enough for Chris Brown to build a whole career, growing from a temporary substitute to an undeniably major pop star. He seals the deal with Exclusive, an all-grown-up album on a level with Justin Timberlake's Justified, Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad or even Bobby Brown's King of Stage, and give the album three and a half out of five stars.[4]

Neil Drumming from Entertainment Weekly rate the album as B- said that, “Like his onscreen (This Christmas) character, Brown is most charming when he's playing up his youth: singing of MySpace romance, meeting his girl's pops, and such”. But he also said, “sadly, Brown's adolescent voice and playful scatting — while cute — are steamrolled by pushy collaborators, whether it's those Stargate guys (Ne-Yo, Rihanna) falling back on that ol' guitar noodling, or T-Pain milking his vocoder. Ease back, people, and let the boy sing”.[5]

[edit] The Forever Edition

The album is set to be re-released on June 3 in USA and June 22 in UK, titled Exclusive: The Forever Edition, making the track "Forever" the lead single of the re-release, produced by Polow da Don and written by Chris Brown, Andre Merritt, and Rob Allen. The album is going to have 4 additional tracks and a bonus DVD of an unreleased concert and behind the scenes footage.[6]

[edit] Singles

“Wall to Wall” was released as the album first single in August 2007. It was a disappointment in chart performance in comparison with most of Brown’s previous singles, reaching only number 79 in the Billboard Hot 100. “Kiss Kiss” which features rap from T-Pain released as the album second single in October 2007, following the non-success of the first single. The single has a big success in the USA, reaching number 1 the Billboard Hot 100 and number 6 in Canadian Hot 100. However, it failed the chart commercially worldwide, reaching the top ten only in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Malta, and New Zealand. Following the less successful worldwide chart performances of "Wall to Wall" and "Kiss Kiss", “With You” was released on December 4, 2007 in the United States as the album's third single, and the second single in most international music markets. It has since become one of the highest-charting singles of Brown's solo career, entering foreign music markets where previous efforts failed to chart on. So far it has reached the top ten in Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Turkey, Singapore, UK, and the United World Chart. The first single from the re-release, “Forever” already climbed into number 3 both in US and Canadian iTunes Top 100 just behind “4 Minutes” by Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake and “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis"[7]. The song debuted at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 due of its high digital sales, but dropped quickly due to the lack of sales in the following weeks.[8] This album has had three singles reach number-one in Brazil, "Wall to Wall", "Kiss Kiss" and "With You", one of the albums which has had most singles reach number-one [9].

[edit] Awards and accolades

In 2007, Exclusive was nominated for a Grammy Awards in a category of "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" for "Kiss Kiss", his collaboration with T-Pain. However, the award was given to a 2007 rival single, “Umbrella” by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z. The album also nominated for a NAACP Image Awards in a category for “Best Album”, while Chris himself won for “Best Male Artist”. In the 2008 BET Awards Chris received 4 nominations in four categories, including “Best Male R&B Artist”, “Best Collaboration” for “Kiss Kiss”, and “Viewer’s Choice” for “Kiss Kiss” and “No Air”, his duet with Jordin Sparks.[10]

[edit] Chart performance

The album debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling roughly 294,498 copies in its first week.[11] Although the album did have higher first week domestic sales than his freshman effort Chris Brown did, it failed to chart as high, because of the high competition on that week. So far, it has sold 1,581,716 units in USA and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.[8]

Internationally, Exclusive gained moderate reactions in the first week of release. The album debuted outside the top 30 in most of the charts its appeared. But, when the third single, “With You” released worldwide in early 2008, the album climbed back into the top twenty in most of the chart because of the single worldwide successful, reaching number 3 in New Zealand, number 5 in Australia, number 11 in Ireland and number 14 in UK. It has gone Gold in Ireland, Australia, Canada and UK, Platinum in New Zealand and Brazil[12]. In the United World Chart, the ‘’Exclusive’’ opened at number 4 selling about 328,000 in its initial week of release. The album has stayed in the chart for 27 consecutive weeks. So far it has sold 2,023,000 (2,174,725 copies + 7,5% UWC doesn’t cover)[13]

The re-release also helped the album rise from #56 to #10 on Billboard 200 with 38,000+ copies sold, about 261% sales increase that week. The Forever Edition also debuted at #18 in New Zealand before finally rising to #3 the next week, following the success of "Forever" which has stayed at #1 for 5 consecutive weeks.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Standard edition

  1. "Throwed" (C. Brown, B. Cox, D. Scantz, K. Dean, T. Shropshire) – 3:01
  2. "Kiss Kiss" (featuring T-Pain) (C. Brown, T-Pain) – 4:10
  3. "Take You Down" (C. Brown, H. Mason Jr, D. Thomas, S. Russell, J. Fauntleroy II, L. Edwards) – 4:05
  4. "With You" (J. Austin, M.S. Eriksen, T.E. Hermansen, E. Lind, A. Bjorklund) – 4:12
  5. "Picture Perfect" (featuring will.i.am) (C. Brown, W. Adams, K. Hariss, R. Carmichael) – 4:12
  6. "Hold Up" (featuring Big Boi) (A. Harris, V. Davis, J. Harris, R. Toby, Sammie, A. Patton) – 3:48
  7. "You" (C. McKinney, T. Nash) – 3:22
  8. "Damage" (C. Brown, C. Williams, A. Harr, J. Jackson) – 4:16
  9. "Wall to Wall" (S. Garrett, W. Scott) – 3:43
  10. "Help Me" (H. Mason Jr, D. Thomas, S. Russell, J. Fauntleroy II, R. Knox) – 3:17
  11. "I Wanna Be" (A. Dixon, E. Dawkins, J. Campbell, Tank, L. Bereal) – 3:46
  12. "Gimme Whatcha Got" (featuring Lil Wayne) (C. Brown, P. Alexander, T. Nash, C. Williams, D. Carter) – 3:48
  13. "I’ll Call Ya" (S. Garrett, K. Dean) – 3:53
  14. "Lottery" (H. Mason Jr, D. Thomas, J. Fauntleroy II, R. Knox) – 3:41

Bonus tracks:

  1. "Nice" (featuring The Game) – 4:32
  2. "Down" (featuring Kanye West) (C. Brown, K. West, A. Merritt) – 4:17
Japanese Edition Bonus Tracks
  1. "Get At Ya" – 3:18
  2. "Mama" – 4:24
  3. "Nice" (featuring The Game) – 4:32
  4. "Down" (featuring Kanye West) (C. Brown, K. West, A. Merritt) – 4:17
Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
  1. "Get At Ya" – 3:18
  2. "Mama" – 4:24
  3. "Fallen Angel" (UK/Japan Bonus Track) - 5:34
Limited Edition DVD
  1. Journey to South Africa – 15:00
  2. Behind the Scenes of "Wall to Wall" – 15:00
  3. "Wall to Wall" video – 5:20
  4. Behind the Scenes of "Kiss Kiss" – 12:37
  5. "Forever" video – 4:25

[edit] Exclusive: The Forever Edition

  • Standard 16 tracks as above
  1. "Forever” (Produced by Polow da Don and Written by Chris Brown, Andre Merritt and Rob Allen) – 4:39
  2. "Superhuman" (featuring Keri Hilson) (Produced by Oak) – 3:39
  3. "Heart Ain't a Brain" – 3:41
  4. "Picture Perfect (Remix)" (featuring Hurricane Chris and Bow Wow) – 4:12 [14]
UK Edition
  • Standard 16 tracks as above
  1. "Fallen Angel" - 5:34[15]
  2. "Forever" (Produced by Polow da Don and Written by Chris Brown, Andre Merritt, Marcus Grant and Rob Allen) – 4:39
  3. "Superhuman" (featuring Keri Hilson) (Produced by Oak) – 3:39
  4. "Heart Ain't a Brain" – 3:41

[edit] DVD

Completing the Forever Edition package is a bonus DVD with a special montage of performances from his recent Up Close & Personal sold-out tour and never before seen behind the scenes footage.

There are two versions of the Forever Edition, one with the DVD and one without. These are sold separately. In the UK, only the CD edition is available.[16] , in Australia both editions are available.[17]

[edit] BET Bonus DVD

Confirmed by Wal-Mart.[18]

DVD features:

  • BET Highlights
  • 2006 BET Hip-Hop Awards Performances
  • Interview with Chris Brown
  • 106 and Park Performances & Interviews

Music videos:

  • "Run It"
  • "With You"
  • "Say Goodbye"
  • "Gimme That"
  • "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)"
  • "Wall to Wall"
  • "Kiss Kiss" (Sneak Peek)

[edit] Production

  • Album mastered by Chris Athens at Sterling Sound, NYC
  • A&R Administration: Shay Young
  • A&R Coordination: Leticia Hilliard
  • Zomba Production Coordination: Cara Hutchinson
  • Clearances: David Schmidt, Kobie "The Quarterback" Brown, Donato Guadagnoli, Mattias End and Lisa Pinero
  • Art Direction and Design: Courtney Walter
  • Photography: Dave Hill & Mark Mann
  • Styling: Mike Bogard for Blynn Group
  • Executive Producers: Chris Brown, Tina Davis & Mark Pitts
  • Management: Tina M. Davis and Joyce Hawkins for The Tina Davis Company

[edit] Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position		 Sales Certification
Billboard 200[12] 4 1,545,491[19] Platinum
Canadian Albums Chart 16 50,000 Gold
Japanese Albums Chart 14
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[12] 3 15,000+ Platinum
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[12] 6 35,000+[20] Gold
Irish Albums Chart[12] 11 Gold
UK Albums Chart[12] 14 113,000+ Gold
Swiss Albums Chart[12] 35
French Albums Chart[12] 46
Dutch Albums Chart[12] 63
Hot100Brasil 2 Platinum
United World Chart[12] 4 2,174,725[13] Platinum

[edit] Release history

Region Date The Forever Edition
United Kingdom October 30, 2007 June 22, 2008
Australia November 3, 2007 June 7, 2008[17]
Canada November 6, 2007
United States June 3, 2008
Spain April 8, 2008

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Shaheem Reid (July 7, 2007).
  2. ^ Robert Christgau, David Fricke, Christian Hoard, Rob Sheffield (December 17, 2007). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007" Rolling Stone. Accessed January 17, 2008.
  3. ^ Chris Brown - Exclusive About.com. Accessed [[April 26], 2008.
  4. ^ Chris Brown Exclusive Rolling Stone. Accessed April 26, 2008.
  5. ^ Exclusive - Music Review - Entertainment Weekly Entertainment Weekly. Accessed April 26, 2008.
  6. ^ Chris Brown To Release Exclusive: The Forever Edition June 3rd ‘’Chris Brown To Release Exclusive: The Forever Edition June 3rd’’. Accessed May 30, 2008
  7. ^ Apple - iTunes - iTunes Top 10 Songs Apple. Accessed May 5, 2008.
  8. ^ a b Billboard Charts ‘’Billboard Charts’’. Accessed May 30, 2008."
  9. ^ Hot 100 Singles
  10. ^ BET Official Website ‘’BET Official Website’’. Accessed May 30, 2008."
  11. ^ Katie Hasty, "Jay-Z Leapfrogs Eagles, Britney For No. 1 Debut" Billboard. November 14, 2007.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Chris Brown - Exclusive - aCharts aCharts. Accessed January 7, 2008.
  13. ^ a b United World Chart United World Chart. Accessed May 30, 2008
  14. ^ Forever Edition MTV ‘’MTV’’. Accessed May 30, 2008
  15. ^ http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=281;1;-1;-1&sku=814552
  16. ^ Forever UK Exclusive The Forever UK Edition Exclusive: The Forever UK Edition. Accessed May 30, 2008
  17. ^ a b Forever AUS Exclusive The Forever Australian Edition Exclusive: The Forever Australian Edition. Accessed May 30, 2008
  18. ^ CD: Exclusive (with Exclusive BET DVD)
  19. ^ HipHopDX - Hip-Hop/R&B Album Sales: Week Ending 6/1/08
  20. ^ [1] ‘’ARIA Charts’’. Accessed May 30, 2008
v • d • e
Chris Brown
Albums
Chris Brown · Exclusive
DVDs
Chris Brown's Journey · BET Presents: Chris Brown
Singles
Feature singles
Filmography
Tours
Up Close and Personal Tour · The Beyoncé Experience · The Exclusive Holiday Tour
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