Tag: Chris Brown (81-90 of 98)

Jun 27 2010 09:56 PM ET

Chris Brown finally gets his Michael Jackson tribute at BET Awards 2010. Amazing? Yes! Appropriate? Hmmm...

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Chris-BrownImage Credit: Matt Sayles/AP ImagesAs far as I’m concerned, there’s only been one Michael Jackson tribute. Tonight (June 27) Chris Brown finally got his shot at paying homage to his fallen idol, Michael Jackson, at the BET Awards 2010. Jackson’s brother Jermaine introduced Brown, who popped up on stage in a blue shirt, black slacks, white socks, and Jackson’s trademark black loafers. It was a spot-on pull from Jackson’s look at 1988′s Grammy Awards.

He started of performing Jackson’s Bad smash “The Way You Make Me Feel” and then changed into a sequined black jacket and donned a glittered white glove for Thriller‘s “Billie Jean.”  Brown’s obviously the only singer capable of doing Jackson’s moves justice. He popped, spun, and moonwalked as the “King of Pop” did for decades.

The performance’s most touching moment came when Brown started to sing Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.” Within a few lines he got too choked up to finish the track, bursting into tears. Because last year’s BET Awards happened just days after Jackson died, they were not able to put together a proper tribute to the legend. At this time last year Brown was also dealing with the repercussions of his assault charge for violence against his ex girlfriend Rihanna. Even though a Chris Brown tribute to Jackson seemed obligatory, I’m not too sure it would’ve been appropriate for the embattled talent to make the awards ceremony. A year later, people may still question BET’s rationale.

Did you see Brown’s tribute? You glad he got to perform for Michael? How did he do? Weigh in below.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix)

More from EW.com’s Music Mix:
How will you mark the anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death?
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Twelve unseen Michael Jackson portraits to be auctioned
Katy Perry holds No. 1 spot on Billboard‘s Hot 100

Jun 8 2010 12:14 PM ET

Chris Brown denied entry to the U.K. due to criminal record

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Chris Brown has postponed a tour of the U.K. after his visa was denied, Reuters reports. The decision was related to the singer’s felony assault conviction last year, in which he pleaded guilty to beating then-girlfriend Rihanna in February 2009. “We reserve the right to refuse entry to the U.K. to anyone guilty of a serious criminal offence,” a rep for Britain’s Home Office told Reuters. “Public safety is one of our primary concerns.”

Brown had planned to perform in Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, and London this week. Reuters says he has the right to appeal the Home Office’s decision. Brown’s label did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

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Feb 25 2010 03:10 PM ET

Chris Brown defends Tiger Woods: Is this supposed to be helpful?

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Chris-BrownImage Credit: Rob Kim/Retna LtdSay what you will about Tiger Woods’ PR strategy right now, but somehow I doubt it includes getting co-signs from the likes of Chris Brown. “I think people always deserve a second chance,” Brown said yesterday in a Detroit radio interview spotted by MTV News. “I hope [Woods] gets back on the field and does his thing, ’cause he is the best at it…Whatever [Woods'] personal life is, and this goes for me and him, his personal life is his personal life. Nobody has the right to place judgment or make any judgment on anybody else’s personal life when they’re not directly involved with them.”

Forget Tiger for a moment. Maybe this is just me, but the more I hear Chris Brown talking about second chances this way, the less inclined I am to think he himself deserves one yet. It’s been a little over a year since he brutally attacked his then-girlfriend Rihanna, a misdeed that MTV says Brown called a “hiccup and a major mistake” in that radio interview. Really, Chris? Hiccups are what happen when you drink too much soda. We all know what Chris Brown did that night; he pleaded guilty in a court of law to assaulting Rihanna. That’s not what I call a hiccup. That’s abuse, and it’s a felony, and implying that “nobody has the right to place judgment” on it is seriously problematic.

Why is Chris Brown even talking about Tiger Woods’ sex scandal, anyway? I recognize that he probably didn’t choose to be asked this question, but if ever there was a time for a “no comment,” this was it. Using the Woods story as an excuse to offer up some self-serving musings on his own actions was simply an awful idea. I can’t see how these remarks will help either Woods or Brown rehabilitate their respective images.

I’ve asked Brown’s label if they have any further comment on this mess. In the meantime, what do you think of Brown’s decision to weigh in on Tiger Woods?

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

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Dec 16 2009 11:31 AM ET

Boyle, Bocelli score another spectacular sales week. But how did Chris Brown do?

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At this point, it’s more or less old news to find Susan Boyle‘s I Dreamed a Dream (582,000 copies) and Andrea Bocelli‘s My Christmas (400,000 copies) packing a one-two punch atop the albums chart, and according to Nielsen SoundScan, those two artists have indeed done it again. This brings their combined sales total to somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.5 million records dispensed this holiday.

Down in the realm of mere mortals, the Glee 2 soundtrack debuted in third place with sales of 173,000, just slightly more than Lady Gaga‘s combined total for The Fame and The Fame Monster. Rapper Gucci Mane‘s sophomore effort, The State vs. Radric Davis, came out of nowhere to move 90,000 copies. And young riot-starter Justin Bieber saw the hysteria pay off with a 56 percent jump in sales of My World, to 101,000+.

Parrotheads snapped up 68,000 copies of Jimmy Buffett‘s Buffett Hotel, and Jared Leto‘s Thirty Seconds to Mars slung 67,000 copies of This Is War.

But the person to talk about is Chris Brown, who managed to overcome scandal — or exploit it, depending on your point of view — to sell 102,000 copies of Graffiti and land at No. 7. For a man whose last effort, Exclusive, sold three times that in its first week back in November of 2007, those aren’t huge numbers by any means…but back in November of 2007, Brown hadn’t yet been convicted of assault against his very famous R&B singing ex-girlfriend.

What do you think, Mixers? Did Brown move more or less product than you thought he would? What’s your take on the power of the Glee franchise? And have you caved and bought your copy of the Susan Boyle record yet?

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

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ABBA, the Stooges, Genesis join Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010
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Dec 14 2009 11:00 AM ET

Chris Brown outraged that stores are not carrying his new album; unleashes Twitter tirade

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Singer Chris Brown took to his Twitter page to express his extreme displeasure with stores, including a Walmart in Wallingford, CT, that are not visibly stocking his new album, Graffiti.

“the[y] didnt even have my album in the back… not on shelves, saw for myself,” he wrote in a series of tweets over the weekend. “im tired of this s—. major stores r blackballing my cd. not stockin the shelves and lying to costumers. what the f— do i gotta do.”
He continued: “im not biting my tongue about sh– else… the industry can kiss my ass.
WTF… yeah i said it and i aint retracting s–”

“we talked to the managers and the didnt even know anything. wow!!! but they had alicia keys album ready for release for this tuesday comin … the manager told me that when there are new releases its mandatory to put em on the shelves.. BUT NO SIGN OF #GRAFFITI. BS.”

“no disprespect to alicia at all,” he continued. “just givin an example to whos album is loaded and ready to go next week.”

The debate continues with fan’s responses and re-tweets on his page, but what do you think, readers? Do stores have the right to decide whether to stock Brown’s album, based on personal objections to his actions this year? Should Brown have perhaps waited to release a new record until his public image was less tarnished?

By the way, Billboard predicts that Graffiti will take the third-place spot on the charts tomorrow, with sales of 95,000 to 110,00; that’s no SuBo, but it’s still better than the much-promoted, scandal-free Shakira and Kris Allen did in their recent chart bows.

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Ke$ha: A Music Mix Q&A on her Top 5 hit ‘TiK ToK’ and why she’s no longer welcome in Paris Hilton’s home
Axl Rose issues statement on ‘unprovoked’ paparazzi scuffle
Miley Cyrus song disqualified from Grammy noms
Kanye West responds to EW’s Best of the Decade honor
Lil Wayne’s Rebirth delayed yet again to 2010
Did Eminem call Adam Lambert a homophobic slur?

Nov 18 2009 02:24 PM ET

Chris Brown: Is his career rehab working? The answer might surprise you

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Chris Brown has been going all out to relaunch his music career lately, just a few short months after pleading guilty to felony assault of his ex Rihanna. Right now, all signs indicate that Brown’s career rehab might be working. (Full disclosure: I’ve both reported on and expressed my opinion on various sides of this story.)

“I Can Transform Ya,” the lead single from his album Graffiti (due Dec. 8), has climbed to a peak position of No. 23 after five weeks on Billboard‘s Hot 100. That’s not smash territory yet, but it suggests that a lot of people are ready to hear new music from Brown. “The audience will tell us whether they want to hear it,” says Rob Morris, program director at the Twin Cities region’s KDWB FM, which has begun testing “I Can Transform Ya” in its mix shows. “I’m sure there’s going to be folks who will give us reasons why they don’t think Chris Brown should have a song on the radio. But a song’s a song. Obviously he’s paying for [what he did] in many ways. I think the music that he continues to do is somewhat separate.”

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Nov 13 2009 02:59 PM ET

Chris Brown's 'Crawl' video: He's feeling remorseful about a lost love. Do you care?

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The video for Chris Brown’s “Crawl” has hit the Web after premiering on The Wendy Williams Show this morning. Filled with shots of a bespectacled Brown looking remorseful as he sings about a lost love, it’s the second promotional clip he’s released in advance of Grafitti, due Dec. 8.

By centering this clip on an ex he can’t stop thinking about (played by Cassie), Brown is practically begging for us to read it as a statement on his former relationship with Rihanna — you know, the relationship he hastened to an end by brutally assaulting her in February. So what, if anything, is he actually saying with this clip?

Mostly, just that he feels sorry for himself. “Everybody says we’re through/I hope you haven’t said it too,” Brown complains. “So where do we go from here?” I’m pretty sure a roadside trash pick-up site and an anger-management counseling session are where you’re supposed to be going, Chris. We see none of that — the real aftermath of his breakup — in this video, of course. Instead we get Brown moping around a hotel room, a snowy street, and, finally, a CGI desert, mouthing self-help platitudes about crawling before you fly. Excuse me if I’m not ready to sing along just yet.

Do you find Brown’s latest video as uncomfortable to watch as I do, or am I being too harsh? Check out “Crawl” below, then let us know what you think.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

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Chris Brown, “I Can Transform Ya” video: Too soon?
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Solange covers the Dirty Projectors, delivers a little bit of awesome
Timbaland on Miley Cyrus: She’s the next Justin Timberlake

Nov 5 2009 09:05 AM ET

Chris Brown moves up album release and talks about Rihanna on MTV: 'Why did it happen?'

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chris-brown_lWhile ABC teased Diane Sawyer’s interview with Rihanna this morning, MTV has released details of a news special, Chris Brown: The Interview. In the show, which airs this Friday at 6pm ET, Brown will talk about his attack on Rihanna and tell MTV correspondent Sway, “My thoughts [when I look back on the incident] is like, ‘Why did it happen? What was I thinking? What is wrong with you?’” Brown also admits that the assault was triggered by “anger” and discusses how therapy has helped him assess his actions.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Brown confirmed to EW that the release of his new album, Graffiti, has been pushed up a week to December 8.

What do you think of the fact that both Rihanna and Brown are talking about the incident in the same week? Is it good that the subject is getting such a public airing?

More from EW.com’s Music Mix:
Rihanna’s Diane Sawyer interview, part 1
Taylor Swift on ‘SNL’: Let the Kanye yukks begin
Allison Iraheta exclusive: Songwriting and production credits for her debut album
‘This Is It’: Michael Jackson soundtrack tops the albums chart in a busy week

Photo credit: Mark Mann

Oct 27 2009 11:23 AM ET

Chris Brown, 'I Can Transform Ya' video: Too soon?

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He’s sorry. Sort of. But should Chris Brown really be making slick, boastful videos with lines like “Ciroc and lime, give it a lil time / and she can transform like Optimus Prime,” while the ink is practically still wet on his sentencing agreement?

Today, the 20-year-old R&B star released a snazzy-looking clip for the song “I Can Transform Ya,” featuring Lil Wayne and Swizz Beatz, and it feels … kind of gross. Watch below:

Kanye “the GIF that keeps on giving” West notably bowed out of several recent public appearances after his now-infamous episode and continues to lay low, and the only charge he’s facing is chronic interruption; one would think a slightly longer grace period is in order for the man convicted of felony assault against Rihanna only two months ago.

But maybe I underestimate the speed of America’s forgiveness cycle? Tell me below in the comments section…

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

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Oct 22 2009 04:17 PM ET

Chris Brown: Do you appreciate his 'Fan Appreciation' tour?

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chris-brown_lYesterday, Chris Brown announced that he will embark on a month long “Fan Appreciation” tour of small venues as a way of saying thank you to his followers in the months following his attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna. The singer also appeared on Angie Martinez’s Hot 97 radio show and admitted that his behavior was “not okay in any way” and that he had “let a lot of people down,” including his fans.

Apparently, it will take more than that before he is forgiven by a lot of EW commenters. After we wrote about the tour, which starts in Houston on November 14, one reader hypothesized that the singer’s reputation was so damaged that this was really just a way of covering up the fact that he can now only play small venues. Another found the timing of the announcement to be “interesting.” given that Rihanna also previewed her new single this week. Finally there were a couple of suggestions about possible slogans Brown might feature on his tour t-shirts, which I don’t care to repeat.

Do you agree that Brown should have waited longer before trying to get his career back on track? Or is he right to go on tour as a way of thanking his fans, many of whom are indeed highly supportive?

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

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Photo credit: Seth Browarnik/startraksphoto

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