''Exclusive'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American singer

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

. It was released on November 6, 2007, by CBE and

Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

. The record serves as Chris Brown's second studio release under his CBE

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

, as well as with Jive. The record also serves as the follow-up to his multi-platinum selling debut album, ''

'' (2005). ''Exclusive'' is an R&B record that also borrows from

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

and

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

. Lyrically it revolves around

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

. The album was commercially successful worldwide. It debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 295,000 copies in the first week. The album was supported by five

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, three of which—"

Kiss Kiss Kiss Kiss may refer to: Books * Kiss Kiss (book), ''Kiss Kiss'' (book), a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl Music * Kiss Kiss (band), an American indie rock band * Kiss Kiss (Japanese group), a Japanese girl group * Kiss Kiss (Chris Brown so ...

", " With You" and "

Forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama, based on the novel by Judy Blume * '' ...

"—achieved top-three positions on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also charting highly on other charts worldwide. The album earned a quadruple platinum certification by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in the United States. ''Exclusive'' received generally positive reviews from critics, that praised Brown's performances. On June 3, 2008, ''Exclusive'' was re-released as a double-disc

deluxe edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...

, titled ''The Forever Edition'', which includes 4 more songs, including the singles "

" and "

Superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans, humanoids or other beings with abilities and other qualities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. ...

", and a bonus DVD featuring behind-the-scenes footage from his tour and his

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

Background

In 2006, following the success of Brown's self-titled album, the singer started to work on his sophomore album, developing its concept along with Tina Davis and

Mark Pitts Mark Pitts is an American record executive and talent manager who has served as President of RCA Records since 2021. He also co-founded the record label ByStorm Entertainment with Wayne Barrow in 1998, through which he has signed artists includin ...

. Brown co-wrote half of the tracks along with different writers, including

Sean Garrett Garrett Robin Hamler (born March 30, 1979), known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American record producer and songwriter. He is known his songwriting work on a series of commercially successful R&B and hip-hop songs, beginning with Ush ...

James Fauntleroy James Edward Fauntleroy II (born May 16, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Inglewood, California. He is best known for his songwriting work and guest performances on songs by high-profile artists including Travis ...

Johntá Austin Johntá Moore Austin ( ; born June 28, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for his production and songwriting work on hometown native Jermaine Dupri's record label, So So Def Recordings during the mid-2000s. As a recordin ...

and

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

. The musical direction aimed for ''Exclusive'' was different to the

hip hop soul Hip hop soul is a subgenre of contemporary R&B music, most popular during the early and mid 1990s, which fuses R&B or soul singing with hip hop musical production. The subgenre had evolved from a previous R&B subgenre, new jack swing, which had ...

-influenced sound of the previous album, being worked as an R&B album appealable to a wider public. Originally, Brown intended to name his album ''Graduation''. However, after discovering that

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

planned to use the same title for his third studio album, which was set to be released that year, Brown respected West's decision and changed his album's title to ''Exclusive''. Brown explained to

MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

: "at first I was naming it ''Graduation'' because I was 18, but then Kanye was like, 'I heard Chris is naming his album ''Graduation''. I'm naming mine ... .', I was like, I'll change mine because I respect his reason more with ''

College Dropout Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves. Canada In Canada, most ind ...

'' and ''

Late Registration ''Late Registration'' is the second studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released on August 30, 2005, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. West recorded the album over the course of a year during sessions held a ...

'', all that, so it kind of went with his. So I was like, I don't need mine to be ''Graduation'', you know, I'll change mine to ''Exclusive'', because I'll make an album exclusively for my fans". The album was originally set to be released on August 28, 2007, but was delayed until November of that year.

Singles

The album's lead

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, " Wall to Wall" was released on May 29, 2007. The song was produced by

, written by Walter Scott. The single reached at number 79 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, due to no digital release for this single. "

"; a collaboration with a fellow American recording artist

T-Pain Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...

, was released as the album's second single on September 11, 2007. Following the non-success of his first single, this single became a big success in the United States. The song reached at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and number 6 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

, also reaching the top ten in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. " With You" was released as the album's third single on December 4, 2007. The song was produced by the production team

StarGate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

. The single became his second successful single in the most international music markets. It has since become one of the highest-charting singles of Brown's solo career, entering the foreign music markets, where his previous efforts have failed to these charts. It has reached the top ten; including in Australia, Canada,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, New Zealand, and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The re-release of its first single from ''The Forever Edition'', called "

" (produced by

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977 or 1978), known professionally as Polow da Don, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career as a recording artist in the late 1990s, leaving college to pursue a career with ...

). It was released on April 29, 2008. The song debuted at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, due to its high digital sales. However, it dropped quickly due to the lack of sales during these following weeks. The song then re-entered the top ten again, after airplay increases and has peaked at number 2.

Critical reception

''Exclusive'' received generally positive reviews from critics, scoring 69 out of 100 based on 11 reviews on

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. Andy Kellman of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

praised Brown's singing ability while reviewing the album and noted that its material " ushesall the right target-demographic buttons". Rob Sheffield from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' said that “Brown seals the deal with ''Exclusive'', an all-grown-up album on a level with

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

's '' Justified'' (2002),

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

's ''

Good Girl Gone Bad ''Good Girl Gone Bad'' is the third studio album by Barbadian singer, Rihanna. It was released on May 31, 2007, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Rihanna worked with various producers on the album, including Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Neo ...

'' (2007) or even

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

's ''

King of Stage ''King of Stage'' is the debut solo album by American R&B singer Bobby Brown. Following his exit from New Edition, and at 16, Brown signed a solo deal with the group's label MCA Records, which had earlier promised Brown a solo deal if he decided ...

'' (1986)", ending up saying "it's hard to imagine he doesn't have an album's worth of hits here". Mark Hammers of ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' in a positive review said that "If there was ever a record created to turn an R&B singer into a superstar, it's Brown's sophomore effort". ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

''s Iyana Robertson stated that on ''Exclusive'' Brown is "tapping more electric up-tempos, swimming deep in

waters and annihilating the pop arena". ''

HotNewHipHop ''HotNewHipHop'' (HNHH) is an online publication that covers daily news about hip hop and pop culture, including streetwear, sports, and Sneaker collecting, sneakers. In addition to its editorial content, HotNewHipHop also produces the video seri ...

'' in a retrospective review commented that "''Exclusive'' undeniably cemented Chris Brown's foothold in the music industry as more than a fleeting teenage sensation. Its release heralded the arrival of a versatile artist capable of sculpting his youthful exuberance into a more polished, varied sound." Neil Drumming from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' rated the album a B− saying 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 Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

) falling back on that ol' guitar noodling, or

milking his vocoder. Ease back, people, and let the boy sing". However, Sal Cinquemani of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' criticized the unoriginality of the album, writing, "...there's still nothing very 'exclusive' about ''Exclusive'' at all." Michael Arceneaux of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' wrote, "''Exclusive'' seems aimless, an album where Brown is doing what he's told versus being the anchor of his own ship." The album ranked number 34 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.

Awards and nominations

At the

2008 Grammy Awards The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonie ...

, ''Exclusive'' was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration The Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance (awarded as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration until 2017, and Best Rap/Sung Performance from 2018 to 2020) is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and original ...

" for "Kiss Kiss", a collaboration with

. However, the award was given to the 2007 single, "

Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

" by

featuring

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

. The album also nominated for an

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

in a category for "Best Album", while Brown himself won for "Best Male Artist". At the 2008

BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...

, the singer 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 "No Air" is a song by American singer Jordin Sparks with Chris Brown. The song was written by James Fauntleroy II, Harvey Mason Jr., Troop (band), Steve Russell, Erik Griggs and Damon Thomas. It was released in the United States on February 11, 2 ...

", his duet with

Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the American Idol (season 6), sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. He ...

. At the

American Music Awards of 2008 The 36th Annual American Music Awards were held on November 23, 2008 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The nominations were announced on October 11, 2008. Performers Presenter ...

Brown won for

Artist of the Year ''Artist of the Year'' is a television competition shown on the Sky Arts channel (formerly known as Artsworld and Sky Arts 1) which aims to find the best portrait and landscape artist every year. Overview Through several rounds of regional comp ...

. On June 22, 2008, Fearne & Reggie revealed on their UK's chart show

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

, that all three tracks from the album ''Exclusive'' have appeared on the top forty. Two of which on the top ten, including " With You" (at number 35), "

" with

(at number 2), and "

" (at number 5).

Commercial performance

''Exclusive'' debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 294,000 copies in the United States. As of March 2011, the album has sold 1,973,000 copies in the United States. In 2021, the album was certified

quadruple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

(RIAA) for sales of over four million copies in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 31 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and eventually peaked at number three on the chart. It spent a total of 52 weeks on the chart. On September 5, 2008, the album was certified platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) for sales of over 300,000 copies in the UK.

Track listing

''The Forever Edition'' includes a DVD with a documentary titled "Chris Brown on Tour", which is a montage of performances from his Up-Close & Personal Tour and behind-the-scenes footage. It also features a cameo appearance from

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress. Dubbed by critics as the " Princess of Hip-Hop Soul", she is known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Bor ...

, who held her own sold-out ''Just like You'' tour. Two versions of ''The Forever Edition'' were made available; the first included the DVD, and the second did not. Only the CD edition was made available in the United Kingdom, while most other countries had both editions available.Forever AUS Exclusive The Forever Australian Edition
''Exclusive: The Forever Australian Edition''. Accessed May 30, 2008 Notes *(co.) signifies a co-producer. Sample credits *"Picture Perfect" samples "A Quiet Place" written by

Ralph Carmichael Ralph Carmichael (May 27, 1927 – October 18, 2021) was an American composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music. Early life and career C ...

, as performed by

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as D ...

BET bonus DVD

BET Presents Chris Brown is a DVD originally packaged with Exclusive, exclusively at

Wal-mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

. The release features BET highlights, performance highlights, and music videos from throughout Brown's career at that time. It also includes an interview where Brown talks about the making of ''Exclusive''.

Production

Executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

Clive Calder Clive Ian Calder (born 13 December 1946) is a South African-British billionaire record executive and businessman primarily known for co-founding the Zomba Group with Ralph Simon, and its subsidiary Jive Records. As of October 2021, Calder has ...

and Phineas Kelly * Album mastered by Chris Athens at Sterling Sound, NYC * A&R administration: Shay Young * A&R coordination: Leticia Hilliard * Production coordination: Cara Hutchinson, Brian Gately * Clearances: David Schmidt, Kobie "The Quarterback" Brown, Donato Guadagnoli, Mattias Eng * Art direction and design: Courtney Walter * Photography: Dave Hill and Mark Mann * Styling: Mike Bogard for Blynn Group

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
Exclusive
' at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

*
Exclusive
'' at