Chris Brown: Snapshot

Chris Brown: Five Fun Facts

1. "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."
2. Chris Brown celebrated his 18th birthday in 2007 with two parties in New York. "And I brought myself a Lamborghini," he told Jet.
3. 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.
4. 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."
5. 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

May 05

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

November 29

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

December 07

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 nominee Carrie Underwood. "I was actually under the weather when I first heard it," Brown, who performs at the Grammys in February 2007, tells Canada's National Post. "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!"

Read More on Chris Brown's Life

Chris Brown: Special Feature