Rihanna, girlfriend (2008 to present; off and on)
Karrueche Tran, ex-girlfriend (2011 to 2012)
Jasmine Sanders, ex-girlfriend (2010)
Influenced by greats from Donnie Hathaway to Michael Jackson, Brown nabbed two Grammy nominations (Best New Artist and Contemporary R&B Album) with his 2005 self-titled debut album. But his follow-up, Exclusive, solidified his spot in the industry – and in the hearts of female fans.
Brown eventually went off the market when he began dating fellow R&B stunner Rihanna. But the fairy tale was shattered after he allegedly beather in 2009. The incident, which ended their relationship, resulted in Brown being sentenced to probation, community service and a domestic violence course.
Eventually, Brown rebounded from his personal drama by returning to music, releasing two hit albums, 2010's Graffiti and 2011's Grammy-nominated F.A.M.E., which earned the singer his first Grammy Award for best R&B album in 2012.
Chris Brown:Five Fun Facts
- "I just dance all the time. I can't stop," Chris Brown told PEOPLE. "I think I just got the…I guess the old people say, 'Ants in your pants.' So I get busy all the time…dancing like there's no tomorrow."
- Chris Brown celebrated his 18th birthday in 2007 with two parties in New York. "And I brought myself a Lamborghini," he told Jet.
- Before Chris Brown signed a record deal with Jive, music executive L.A. Reid urged Usher to call Brown to woo him to their label. "I was like, 'Thank you, bro. I'm still not signing with [Reid],'" Brown told EW in 2007.
- Chris Brown has been a performer since his days as a toddler. "[I've been dancing] since I was 2," Brown told Oprah Winfrey. "My mama can tell you – ever since I was little watching Michael Jackson on the TV screen and imitating him."
- Chris Brown told PEOPLE that his biggest insecurity is his height: "I'm 6'1''. If I get too tall, it'll be hard to dance because there's so much more to do to move your body."
Chris Brown:Biography
- 1989
A Little Dancing Brown
Clinton Brown and Joyce Hawkins welcome their son Chris. Influenced by King of Pop Michael Jackson, Brown begins teaching himself to sing and dance at a young age. "I was 11 [in my house] and watching Usher perform 'My Way,' and I started trying to mimic it," Brown tells PEOPLE in 2005. "My mom was like, 'You can sing?' And I was like, 'Well, yeah, Mama.'"- 2005
Chris' Music Debut
After signing with Jive Records at 15, Brown's self-titled debut album is released. "I hope I can be the next Michael Jackson," Brown tells EW. "He made music that's for every age. It's right in the middle so everyone can have it." On the strength of such hit singles as "Run It!" and "Gimme That," the album peaks at No. 2 on Billboard's 200 albums chart, eventually selling 1.9 million copies in the U.S. and more than three million worldwide.- 2006
Grammy Acclaim for Chris
Brown receives a pair of Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best New Artist, where he is in the company of fellow new artist nomineeCarrie Underwood. "I was actually under the weather when I first heard it," Brown, who performs at the Grammys in February 2007, tells Canada's NationalPost. "But at the same time, I was so amped and excited." The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is also impressed: "I love Chris Brown. He got down on the Grammys and he's as bad as he wants to be. He's definitely Numero Uno!"2009 Chris Brown Acts Up!
Brown makes his film debut in Stomp the Yard and a three-episode stint on The O.C., where he plays Will Tut, a new kid in the rich Orange County scene, opposite Mischa Barton's onscreen sister, Kaitlin Cooper (played by Willa Holland). "I wanna be a mogul," Brown tells PEOPLE. "I wanna be a singer, actor, entrepreneur, have a clothing line, be an executive everything." In November, he also has a supporting role in the holiday film, This Christmas.
MTV Breakthrough
Although Britney Spears' lackluster performance at theMTV Video Music Awards garners headlines, it is Brown who puts on the best performance. He leaps from table to table, flies over the heads of audience members likeDiddy, and even performs with Rihanna. Afterward,Justin Timberlake says, "Whatever Chris Brown just did, reminded me how much I'm getting older, 'cause damn." Brown later tells EW, "I just had a lot to prove. So when I got out there I was like, 'Lemme show you what I could really do'."
Chris Brown's Exclusive
Brown releases his sophomore disc, Exclusive, which peaks at No. 2 on Billboard's albums chart. His single "Kiss Kiss," featuring T-Pain, hits the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, while his second single, "With You," peaks at No. 2. A Rolling Stonereview states that Brown has grown from Usher's "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."- 2008
Chris Gets Wet with Rihanna
After losing the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy to Rihanna, Brown is romantically linked to the beautiful songstress. "He's one of my closest friends in the industry," Rihanna told Allure in January. "He makes me feel like a teenager. I have to act and think like an adult so much. He makes me feel young again." In February, the pair is spotted awfully close in a pool in Jamaica.- 2009
Brown Allegedly Beats Rihanna
Brown and Rihanna are embroiled in a domestic violence drama that results in Brown, 19, being charged with two felonies in the alleged beating of his girlfriend. A week after the incident, Brown says in a statement, "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired." In June, he'ssentenced to five years probation and 180 days of community labor.
Chris Finally Apologizes
Brown finally breaks his silence, publicly apologizing for assaulting Rihanna. "I am very saddened and very ashamed of what I have done," he says in a video message posted to his official Web site. "I have told Rihanna countless times, and I am telling you today, that I am truly sorry and that I wasn't able to handle the situation both differently and better."
Writing on the Walls
After starting his 6-month community labor sentence in Virginia, Brown releases his third album, Graffiti. But the singer soon becomes upset with retailers for allegedly not selling his album, taking to his Twitter account toexpress his frustration: "I'm 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."'F.A.M.E.' Game
A few months after completing his year-long domestic violence course, Brown releases his fourth album,F.A.M.E. ("Fans Are My Everything"), which EW says "shines brighter than anything he produced before that now-infamous incident." The album earns Brown three Grammy nominations, including best R&B album and best rap song for "Look At Me Now".
Rising to the Bait
Brown appears on Good Morning America, where anchor Robin Roberts asks the 22-year-old singer about his 2009 felony assault case. "It's not really a big deal to me now, as far as that situation. I think I'm past that in my life. Today's the album day, so that's what I'm focused on," he says before reportedly storming out of the studio in a rage. "I'm so over people bringing this past s**t up!!! Yet we praise Charlie sheen and other celebs for there bulls**t," he writes on Twitter after his outburst.
New Love?
After a few months of dating, Brown, 22, steps out with aspiring model Karrueche Tran, 23, at a New Year's Eve party in Las Vegas. Though the pair remain mum on their relationship, the singer does Tweet his love for Tran, whom he uses as a muse for his graffiti-inspired artwork titled, "Falling in Love."- 2012
The Comeback Kid
Brown, 22, returns to the Grammys stage, wowing the crowd with his glow-in-the-dark performance of "Turn Up the Music" and "Beautiful People," before ending the night with a first: a Grammy Award for best R&B album for F.A.M.E.. "People who make mistakes and learn from them are role models too. I'm just happy to inspire growth and positivity," the singer Tweets after winning the award.
Surprise Smooch
Following her win for video of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards, Brown plants a congratulatory kiss on ex-girlfriend Rihanna as she heads back to her seat. The act of affection comes more than three years after the R&B crooner – who took home a Moonman for best male video and best choreography – attacked the singer, and only weeks after she confessed onOprah's Next Chapter, "I truly love him."- 2013
A Couple Again
After playing coy for months about their relationship, Rihanna confirms to Rolling Stone that she and Brown have reunited, and later gushes to Elle about their on-again romance. "You don't have that feeling with everybody so when you have it, you don't want to let go of it," she says. "I would definitely say he is the one I have that kind of relationship with."