F.A.M.E.

F.A.M.E. (or "Forgiving All My Enemies") is Chris Brown's fourth studio album that was released on March 18, 2011 by Jive Records.
==Tracklisting==
#Deuces (featuring Tyga & Kevin McCall)
#Up To You
#No BS (featuring Kevin McCall)
#Look At Me Now (featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes)
#She Ain't You
#Say It With Me
#Yeah 3x
#Next To You (featuring Justin Bieber)
#All Back
#Wet The Bed (featuring Ludacris)
#Oh My Love
#Should've Kissed You
#Beautiful People (featuring Benny Benassi)
#Bomb (featuring Wiz Khalifa)
#Love the Girls (featuring Game)
#Paper, Scissors, Rock (featuring Timbaland & Big Sean)
#Beg For It
==Album Background==
In September 2010, Kevin McCall revealed that Chris Brown had begun working on his fourth album, and mentioned the recording session he had with Brown, alongside the record producer Timbaland for this album.
On September 18, 2010, Brown announced that the title to the album would be called F.A.M.E.; the acronym of the title has two meanings, "Forgiving All My Enemies" and "Fans Are My Everything."
In 2010, on "Christmas Day", Brown confirmed on his Twitter, that he would be collaborating on the track with Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber.
He even shared some plans of possibly collaborating with Bruno Mars, stating: "ME and BRUNO MARS are doing an incredible record soon ... (like 2011 ELVIS and MICHAEL) gonna be a movie!!!!"
Wiz Khalifa, Asher Roth and Game were listed as artists whom have been working with Brown on this album.
In describing the album, Brown said, "On this album some of the songs are more grown-up. There are songs from all genres: from street records to others that are real soul, 808 heavy that you'll hear in the club, and then others are strictly for the heart; songs that your mom and grandma can listen to and love. Collectively, F.A.M.E. is me giving fans every aspect of who I am as far as my art, my culture, and my concepts."
===Composition===
"F.A.M.E." contains songs of many genres including R&B, pop, hip hop, reggae and euro.
The opening track, "Deuces", which features Kevin McCall and Tyga, is a slow, downtempo R&B track that "tells the story of a failed relationship." Joanne Dorken of MTV UK noted that the song shows off Brown's "silky-smooth vocals."
"Up 2 You" is an R&B ballad, which follows on from the break-up theme. The song was likened to the musical styles of Bobby Brown and Usher.
"Next to You" (featuring Justin Bieber) is a "thumping mid-tempo" pop track. In the song, they both sing about their love for a girl. Sarah Rodman from The Boston Globe wrote that the song "offers one of Brown's most tender vocals to date".
The third track, "No Bullshit", is an R&B song, which features a "classic 90's feel."
The album's up-tempo tracks, "Yeah 3x" and "Beautiful People", both feature electro house and Europop influences.
"Yeah 3x" was compared to his single "Forever" and was likened to the musical styles of The Black Eyed Peas, Usher and Jay Sean.
The fourth track, "Look at Me Now" is a "dirty south-inspired" hip hop song, featuring "fast-rapping" from Brown, Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes. The song was musically compared to Soulja Boy Tell 'Em's "Work" and Cali Swag District's "Teach Me How to Dougie."
The fifth track, "She Ain't You", is a ballad which samples Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" and SWV's "Right Here."
The ninth track, "All Back", is a rock ballad that features "raw vocals and prominent guitar." It was musically compared to Ryan Tedder's work.
Brown revisits his rapping skills on the tracks, "Say It With Me" and "Oh My Love."
Dorken described the former as a "fast-paced track with a dance feel", and likened the song's musical style to Justin Timberlake, because of its "high-pitched chorus."
"Bomb" (which features Wiz Khalifa) contains reggae influences, and was musically compared to Beenie Man's work.
==Chart Performance==
"F.A.M.E." debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 (with first week sales of 270,000 copies), making it Brown's first number-one album on the chart.
It also debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it Brown's third non-consecutive album to top the chart.
The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA and as of May 2012, it has sold 872,000 copies in the United States.
==Critical Reception==
"F.A.M.E." received mixed reviews from music critics.
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, it received an average score of 52, based on 16 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".
Andy Gill of The Independent called the album "equal parts bubblebath boudoir soul and more bullish beat-driven floor-fillers", criticizing its content regarding "paranoia, reproach and bogus regret, along with the standard 'aspirational' bragging about money and sex".
Los Angeles Times writer Margaret Wappler gave it two-and-a-half out of four stars and commented that it "feels strained and sometimes downright desperate", stating "the album leaves not an impression of one singular style but of the great effort required to mix and match so many times".
The Observer's Ally Carnwath wrote that Brown "still sounds hamstrung by a fear of trying anything too edgy".
Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club wrote favorably of the album's "effervescent slow jams and up-tempo R&B struts", but criticized its "oversold ballads".
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote unfavorably of Brown's performance and stated "Mostly, he has a really charmless way with a lyric".
The Boston Globe's Sarah Rodman commented that "only a handful of tracks truly showcase Brown's strengths" and criticized his singing "crudely about sex, emptily about partying, and lazily about romance".
David Amidon of PopMatters found Brown's vocal "apathetic" and panned the songs as "childish and trite".
However, AllMusic editor Andy Kellman gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and complimented its "variety of styles", writing that "it hints that Brown's best is yet to come".
Entertainment Weekly's Brad Wete complimented its "intoxicating hooks" and commented that the album "shines brighter than anything he produced before".
Steve Jones of USA Today found the album "edgier" than Brown's previous work and called it "the strongest album of his career".
BBC Online's Nick Levine viewed that he lacks an "artistic identity", but complimented its "club-pop" songs and stated "despite [...] lapses in taste, and a glut of unadventurous mid-tempo RnB cuts, F.A.M.E. is no catastrophe".
Rolling Stone writer Jody Rosen commented that "Brown has a good nose for production" and called the album "a pop 'n' b album with something for everyone".
Sean Fennessey of The Washington Post called the album "unapologetically defiant", but expressed a mixed response towards its production and wrote that "the transitioning heartthrob vacillates between petulance and punch throughout".
Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson commented that "The cute-to-ick ratio is significantly more favorable than it was last time around", but called the album "good for impressionable ears, but dull for discerning ones [...] a collection of avoidant club jams [...] and indirect overtures of love/lust".
Category:2010s albums
Category:R&B
Category:Pop
Category:Hip Hop