Exclusive review

Chris Brown's new sides

Two years ago a young Virginia born Chris Brown presented the world with his self-titled debut album and an unforgettable single Run It! Since then the artist has gained a reputation of not only a talented vocalist often compared to Usher, but also that of an outstanding dancer for the greater part of his videos is the means to demonstrate the dancing skills. This year Brown has turned eighteen years old, and it is high time to release a sophomore effort. The singer's new album Exclusive has become a great addition to the number of R&B albums of the year, and is sure to serve a refinement to your collection of this kind of music. Among the producers of the new record there are such stars as Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, T-Pain, Stargate and Sean Garret. On the whole, Exclusive is a significantly more mature work from Chris Brown pleasing both with the vocals and the arrangements and offering some soulful and sensual ballads that reveal the young performer's new sides along with stylish danceable numbers.

A great amount of collaborations on Exclusive

The main peculiarity of Exclusive is certainly the great amount of collaborations that do credit to an artist as young as Chris Brown. The album opens with track Throwed, telling of Chris' creative path, with a great beat and a catchy melody. Single Kiss Kiss featuring T-Pain is one of the record's highlights pleasing with bold lyrics and a contagious beat that is impossible to resist when it makes you move. A romantic song Take You Down is perfect for a date or as an accompaniment for a love confession, and ballad With You reminds greatly of Beyonce's hit Irreplaceable, nevertheless it is a catchy composition as well. Rapper Will.I.Am has added some colors on a danceable song Picture Perfect, and one of Outkast members Big Boi appears on a funny track Hold Up You. Composition Damage tells of a broken heart, and single Wall To Wall is a bachelors anthem, devoted to guys who have a lot of girls around. Brown makes sentimental confessions on a classic R&B song I Wanna Be, and composition Gimme Whatcha Got featuring Lil Wayne is remarkable for a complicated tune. Here the performers are quite frank with their wishes concerning the opposite sex. The Game joins Brown on a tough song Nice, perfect for a dance competition, and Kanye West has refined the closing composition Down with his sultry verses.

To the stage like a duck to water

Self-confident, talented, handsome � what else does an artist need to be to become a star? Of course, Chris Brown must have really wanted to become one for he has been discovered at the age of thirteen already, so no wonder he takes to the stage like a duck to water. This guy definitely is aware of his worth. In all collaborations he is in the foreground, and in most cases the guest star only outlines his performance to advantage. Yet some of the songs could possibly be less successful if sung by Brown alone. For instance, single Kiss Kiss is an absolute hit in many respects due to T-Pain's flawless performance, although Chris, too, does his best here. The point is that there is always a risk of being outshone by a guest star and the young nugget has managed to shy it and undoubtedly does dominate on Exclusive. The height that Chris Brown has reached to date is only a subtle dream for many at his age, and his story should be an example for those who have doubts about one's abilities. Exclusive is only the small part of what he can do, and most probably we will hear from him again in the nearest future.