# 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 to leave New Edition. His first solo album was released in 1986.
The album spawned the singles "Girlfriend", "Seventeen", and "Girl Next Door". None of the singles were major US Hot 100 hits, however, Brown had a number-one R&B hit with the first single, the ballad, "Girlfriend".

## Production

The album was produced by Larry Blackmon and John Luongo; Brown and Luongo produced the title track. Brown was unhappy with the production, and elected to go with proven producers for his next album.

## Reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
AllMusic wrote that "as enjoyable as the Blackmon-produced tracks are, top honors must go to 'Seventeen' -- a riveting account of a teenage mother who turns to drugs and prostitution -- and the unapologetically sentimental, '70s-like soul ballad 'Girlfriend'." The Los Angeles Times called the album "an ill-conceived mess" marked by a "lack of focus, inconsistent production and mostly inferior material." The Boston Globe deemed it "a versatile blend of street funk, rap and ballads."

## Track listing

Notes
* signifies an associate producer.

## Personnel

* Bobby Brown – lead vocals, background vocals and vocal arrangements (9)
* Dina Andrews – production coordinator (9)
* Sue Ann – background vocals (8)
* Jerold Aquon – Simmons overdubs (1)
* Richard Aquon – background vocals (1)
* Maurice Bailey – scratching (5)
* Smooth Bee – background vocals (5)
* Olie Bowlds – background vocals (1)
* Robert Brookins – keyboards, drum programming, and background vocals (8)
* Patrick Buchanan – guitar (2)
* Kevin Choken – guitar (8)
* Emilio Conesa – guitar (1)
* Kirk Crumpler – bass synthesizer and keyboards (1)
* Michael Denten – engineer (1)
* Merv DePeyer – keyboards (3, 7)
* Angel Eve – background vocals (5)
* Gary Hellman – engineer (5, 6)
* Paul M. Jackson Jr. – vocal arrrangements, rhythm arrangements, engineer, guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, drum programming, and background vocals (9)
* Tomi Jenkins – background vocals (2, 3, 7)
* Marlena Jeter – background vocals (4)
* Jilliann – background vocals (7)
* Mathew "Krash" Kasha – engineer (2, 3)
* Khris Kellow – arrangements, drum programming, and keyboards (5, 6), background vocals (6)
* Keven Kendrick – keyboards (3, 7), bass guitar (7)
* Marva King – background vocals (4)
* Debbe Kole – background vocals (6)
* Ruben Laxamana – assistant engineer (1)
* Victor Lee-Love – background vocals (5)
* Wayne Linsey – synthesizer programming (9)
* Jaee Logan – computer sequence programming and keyboards (1)
* Michael Lovesmith – arrangements, keyboards, drum machine, synthesizers, bass, horns, and background vocals (4)
* John Luongo – arrangements, mixing, and drum programming (5, 6)
* Melicio Magdaluyo – saxophone (1)
* Lance Romance Matthews – background vocals (5)
* Bill Miranda – assistant engineer (6)
* Willie Morris – background vocals (7)
* Taavi Moté – engineer (8), mixing (4)
* Dave Ogrin – engineer (2, 3), mixing (2, 3, 7)
* Lee Peters – background vocals (1)
* Jimmy Preziosi – assistant engineer (9)
* Roland Ramos – percussion (5, 6)
* Eric Rehl – keyboards (2, 3)
* David Rideau – engineer and mixing (9)
* Michael Sauvage – engineer (2, 3)
* Scopin Scott – background vocals (5)
* Lena Seinday – background vocals (8)
* Monty Seward – background vocals (9)
* Louil Silas Jr. – executive producer, mixing (8)
* Andrew Spiegelman – assistant engineer (5, 6)
* Melvin Wells – drum programming and keyboards (2), guitar (2, 7)
* Larry White – assistant engineer, mixing, bass guitar, guitar, percussion, keyboards, Simmons overdubs, and background vocals (1)
* Grady Wilkins – keyboards and background vocals (1)
* Alyson Williams – background vocals (2, 3, 7)
* Mark Wills – engineer (4)
* Jon Wolfson – engineer (2, 3)
* Bernard Wright – keyboards (3)

## Charts

Chart performance for King of Stage :
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
| US Billboard Top Pop Albums | 88 |
| US Billboard Top R&B Albums | 12 |

### Singles

Chart performance for singles from King of Stage :
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Chart positions |
| Year | Single | US Pop | US Soul |
| 1986 | "Girlfriend" | 57 | 1 |
| 1987 | "Girl Next Door" | — | 31 |
| 1987 | "Seventeen" | — | — |