andPOP » Graffiti

Chris Brown’s Desperate Message to Fans

Angelina Irinici — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:18:24 +0000

Chris Brown is going downhill and has taken desperate measures. According to MTV News, after Brown’s dwindling sales from his new album, Graffiti, he has issued a message to his fans this week. The message asked to help revive his music career since he pleaded guilty to felony assault on Rihanna last year.

SayNow.com is a site that allows people to share recorded messages. Brown allegedly said it is hard to promote his new album since radio stations are not playing his songs. In an earlier message, he asked fans to keep in touch with him while on tour by dialing a special 877 number.

A spokeperson for the 20-year-old singer did not respond to MTV News’ request for comment, nor had confirmed the messages are definitely Brown.

In a message uploaded Wednesday morning, Brown asks fans for their help. “Hey, what’s up, y’all? CB. I ain’t never really did this but right now I’m just calling ya’ll, I need all of my fans’ help,” he said in the 90-second clip. “I need all the fans that I have, I need y’all’s help. It’s crazy because a lot of radio stations … some radio stations aren’t playing my records. They’re not being that supportive and I wouldn’t expect them to.”

He stressed how important his fans are to him, and without them he seems a bit on his own.

“It’s on the fans and what you guys do [whatever is] in y’all power to bring me back because that’s all I need, is you guys,” Brown continued. “Nothing else will do that except for the fans. There’s nothing else that I can do. I’m doing everything that I need to do. I’m doing me as a person and I’m a better guy. But it’s on y’all.

“My singing and my music is all great, but I do it for you guys and everything else but it won’t be possible if I’m not relevant on the radio and it won’t be possible for me to be an artist if I don’t have any support from people that give me an artists outlet. I can’t be an underground mixtape artist!” he laughed. “I just want all my fans to help me. I love y’all. Peace.”

The R&B singer’s album Graffiti was released in December and hasn’t gained much positive feedback. Singles include: “I Can Transform Ya,””Crawl” and “Sing Like Me,” however “Transform Ya” is the only single getting radio play. The album sales are at just over 250,000 copies, not so good for Brown since his last album, Exclusive, sold nearly 2 million copies.

Seems that Brown is doing just about anything he can for his fans as he had a small “Fan Appreciation” tour that ran from October through December. He played in modest theatres that were a lot smaller than arenas he used to play in when he was on tour with Bow Wow.

Back in November a number of radio programmers told MTV News that they weren’t afraid to play Brown’s songs in lieu of the issues with previous girlfriend, Rihanna.

“Transform Ya” got plenty of play and was popular among fans, however programmers have started to cut back on his music. As of now, Brwn does not have any songs in the top 50 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

Chris Brown Tweets Bye to Twitter

Sara Harowitz — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:16:09 +0000

Chris Brown has deleted his Twitter account just days after he used the site to lash out at retailers he accused of “blackballing” his newest album Graffiti, reports rollingstone.com.

“I wanna thank all my fans for their support,” Brown wrote in his final tweet on Dec. 14. “I love yall. Goodbye!”

Brown’s anger towards retailers initially focused on a Wallingford, Connecticut Walmart store, but the R&B singer expanded his rant to make a larger statement about how the industry views him after he pleaded guilty for physically assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna.

Representatives for several big retailers have said that Brown’s CD is actually “overstocked” at most stores, with Graffiti dramatically underselling the 150,000-175,000 copies it was expected to sell in its first week. One large chain said the album is selling at only 40 per cent of original expectations.

Brown’s last disc, 2007’s Exclusive, sold 294,000 copies in its first week, which is likely to more than double Graffiti’s debut week sales. “Not only am I carrying it, I am over-carrying it, because it isn’t selling,” the head of purchasing at a large retail chain told Billboard.biz. “I wish I could return it.”

Brown’s Twitter page now reads, “Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!”

In the past few months, Brown has repeatedly tweeted and then deleted posts, often after he’d written something that could be viewed as a remembrance or regret about his relationship with Rihanna. However, this is the first time Brown has actually deleted his account. But with the tempting reactivation button at the ready, there’s no saying Brown won’t pop back into the 140-character world one day.

Chris Brown Tweet-Assaults The Music Industry

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:09:45 +0000

If you haven’t already gotten sick of the Chris Brown debacle, it doesn’t look as though this pop star is planning to lay low or neutral anytime soon.

Brown tweeted in frustration on Friday (December 11) about major stores, and the fact that he believes they are “blackballing” his new album, Graffiti. According to mtvnews.com, Brown tweeted “I’m tired of this sh–. Major stores are blackballing my CD. Not stockin the shelves and lying to customers. What the f— do I gotta do…”

The star, who is used to making public apologies lately, would not back down on his twitter accusation. He sent another message out implying that he would not be taking back what he said, though it had already infiltrated the Internet and was rapidly spreading. He even ended the note with an eloquent invitation for the music industry to kiss his ass. Stores have been hesitant to promote Brown’s newest album in note of his recent assault against then-girlfriend Rihanna in February.

Of course, Brown had to shout out to his fans. “Thx again to my real fans. U don’t go unnoticed. Love y’all,” he tweeted following his disparaging remarks. His label, Jive Records, was not available for comment at press time with MTV News.

Chris Brown Transforms His Image With New Single

Stephen Baldwin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:52:29 +0000

The music video for Chris Brown’s new track “I Can Transform Ya” was released on MTV this morning. The song features two versus form Lil Wayne and chorus and beat contributions from Swizz Beatz. The track will appear on Brown’s new upcoming album ‘Graffiti’.

The original yet still catchy song is a great debut to launch the singer’s comeback after serving community service time for assaulting Rihanna earlier this year.

The video is filled with Brown’s characteristically cool modern dance sequences on a classic white background, and quick, colourful transforming graphics.

“I Can Transorm Ya” coincidentally debuts less than a week after the release of Rihanna’s “Russian Roulette” premiere.

Graffiti is set to release on December 15.

Label Says Chris Brown’s New Songs Are Old Demos

Ilan Mester — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:34:01 +0000

In May, Chris Brown posted a video online where he announced he’s working on a new album called “Grafitti.” Brown also said he planned on releasing a new single sometime in the summer. However, music is coming out before Brown intended.

“Countering misleading reports of ‘new’ Chris Brown music: there are no ‘new’ songs from Chris Brown currently being promoted by Chris or his record label,” said a representative for Jive Records in a statement. “There are several old demos circulating that are being falsely promoted as new material from Chris.”

According to MTV News, two singles have been released featuring Brown. These include “Not My Fault” and “Smash” .

Brown’s next LP has no official date of release according to MTV News.

After Brown’s alleged altercation with pop star Rihanna, he has been sentenced to 180 days of community service and five years’ probation.