Chris Brown

Teen R&B'er Chris Brown's sophomore album was originally titled Graduation, quite a logical choice for an 18-year-old trying to transition from being a heartthrob for tweens to an artist for their big sisters. Unfortunately, that title was already reserved for Kanye West, so Brown went with Exclusive, which is less evocative and less accurate, considering the record's mass appeal and its numerous guest stars (the aforementioned West, as well as T-Pain, The Game, Lil Wayne, will.i.am and Big Boi).

Less "cute" than his debut (and intentionally so), Exclusive shows greater musical breadth and places less emphasis on Brown's dance moves. Nonetheless, Brown still comes off like a boy you could bring home to your parents, even when he's boasting about all the ladies he attracts with his newfound stardom (on "Wall to Wall"). And while his vocal skills aren't tops, Brown sings with sweetness and seeming sincerity.

Across 16 tracks there are bound to be forgettable ones: "Damage" is a slow, unthrilling ballad, and "Nice," the inevitable Scott Storch track, gets off to a strong start, then subsides into the same old thump, plus strings. Still, the quality of the cuts is generally high. "With You" might pull the same trick as Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" with its combination of acoustic guitar and hand claps, but it's a good trick, and all four Underdogs-produced songs ("Take You Down," "Help Me," "I Wanna Be," and "Lottery") are genuine crowd-pleasers—layered and hummable, with fun details. Growth can be painful, but it seems easy enough here.

—Hillary Brown
11.19.07

The instant number one hit "Run It!" proved to be no fluke. Two other songs from Chris Brown's debut album were moderate to major hits, enabling the entertainer to become a popular music star with platinum sales, not just a brief crush for thousands upon thousands of tween-aged females. Brown's second act, released almost exactly two years after his first, takes a "don't fix it if it ain't broke" approach, offsetting the innocent and age-appropriate material with a handful of songs that are squarely placed within lil' Lothario territory. When he works with Johnta Austin and Stargate, out comes young courtship fodder that is boyish enough to be reinterpreted by squeaky clean American Idol contestant David Archuleta ("You're my sweetheart and I'm so glad that you're mine"); switch the collaborators to Jazze Pha and Lil Wayne, and you get come-ons like "You like 28s on a Hummer/'Cause you the number one stunner" and "That's it, babygirl/Put it on my zipper." The two modes have had a popularity-maximizing effect, to say the very least. Falling into the relatively edgy category, the T-Pain collaboration and lead single "Kiss Kiss" duplicated the chart success of "Run It!," and perhaps only someone as likable and harmless as Brown could get away with "And I get a little mannish, and you see the bandanna hangin'/That means I'm like a bandit." You've got to credit Brown and his songwriters and producers for cranking out another handful of easy to remember hits that cover the bases, from upbeat and carefree numbers to go-to mixtape ballads that push all the right target-demographic buttons. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide