Royalty (Chris Brown album)
Royalty is the seventh studio album by American singer Chris Brown. It was released on December 18, 2015, by CBE and RCA Records. The album was anticipated by the mixtape "Before the Party", released as its prelude, and serves as the follow-up to his sixth album "X" (2014). The album is named after the singer's daughter, Royalty Brown, whom the album is dedicated to. "Royalty" is mainly an R&B and alternative R&B album, also containing songs with influences of funk, pop and trap music. Its lyrical content was described by Brown as a "representation  of where i was in my life at that point". For the album Brown collaborated chiefly with underground artists and producers, being Brown's record with fewer featurings as well. The album received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, who celebrated Brown's overall performances and most of the record's production, but questioned its consistency, calling it a qualitative step back from his previous solo album "X". The album debuted at number three on the US "Billboard" 200, selling 184,000 units in its first week, marking an improvement over Brown's last three studio albums. It also became  his seventh solo album consecutive top ten debut in the United States. "Royalty" was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined equivalent units of 1,000,000 units. Four singles preceded the album's release: "Liquor", "Zero", "Back to Sleep", and "Fine by Me". Its third single "Back to Sleep" became the album's biggest success, peaking at number 20 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. Brown directed and released eight music videos for the songs of album, serializing them to construct a linear story. Background and recording. In February 2015, Brown said, during an interview for  The Breakfast Club, that he started working on the album going for a funky direction inspired by "overseas" music. During the progression of the album he discovered that he had a daughter and simultaneously broke up with his ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran. That happening made him change the idea for the project, ending up doing mostly R&B songs that he described as "a screenshot of my emotional state at that point". He then wanted to release two different versions of the album, an urban one for the US market, and a worldwide version with pop-funk songs, but he ended  up releasing most of the pop-funk songs on an EP called "Royalty International - EP", keeping for the album mostly urban records. Recording sessions for "Royalty" took place in late 2014 and throughout 2015 at Record Plant in Los Angeles, California. In November 2015, during an interview with Hot 97, Brown explained the significance of the title, named after his daughter Royalty Brown: </ref> On October 16, 2015, the album cover was revealed. On December 4, 2015, the track "Wrist" featuring Solo Lucci, was released as part of the countdown single, with the pre-order of the album  on December 4, 2015. On December 11, 2015, the track "Anyway" was released as an instant grat with pre-orders. The following day on iTunes it was possible to listen the first 30 seconds of every track from the album as a preview. Brown promoted the album doing several radio interviews, and also by performing tracks of the album live in various televised shows, such as "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", "Taraji & Terrence's White Hot Holidays" Power 106 "Cali Christmas" 2015 and at the 3rd iHeartRadio Music Awards. Brown also did three shows leading up to the December 18 release date  of "Royalty", all at relatively small venues for the arena-touring singer, to promote the release. The live shows took place on December 13 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, on December 16 at The Masonic in San Francisco, and on December 18 at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The album was released on December 18, 2015, by CBE and RCA with a standard version with 14 tracks, an international deluxe edition with 4 more tracks, and a japanese and f.y.e. deluxe edition with 2 more tracks than the international deluxe edition. Eventually, on Christmas Day, the EP "Royalty International , was released. The 4-track EP contained the two tracks that were only available on the japanese deluxe edition as well. Singles. The album's lead single, Liquor" was released on June 26, 2015. The song was produced by ToneStith. On September 22, 2015, the music video premiered, sharing along with the music video for "Zero". The song has since peaked at number 60 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. The album's second single, "Zero" was released on September 18, 2015. The song was produced by Riley Bell, Matthew Burnett and Tushar Apte. On September 22, 2015, the music  video was released for "Zero", while sharing along with the music video for "Liquor". The song has since peaked at number 80 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. The song, titled "Back to Sleep" was premiered via SoundCloud on November 5, 2015. It was officially released as the album's third single on November 9, 2015. The song was produced by Vinylz and Boi-1da. On December 14, 2015, Brown uploaded and released the music video for "Back to Sleep" on his YouTube and Vevo account. The video begins, after the conclusion of Brown's "Fine By Me" music video. The  song has since peaked at number 20 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 making it Brown's highest-charting single from "Royalty" in the United States. "Fine by Me" was released, along with the pre-order on iTunes on November 26, 2015. On the following day, it was officially released as the album's fourth single. The song was produced by The Monsters and the Strangerz. The video begins at the end of his video "Zero", and shows a clip from his other video "Liquor". Other songs. The track "Wrist" featuring Solo Lucci, was released as part of the countdown  single, with the pre-order of the album on December 4, 2015. On December 15, 2015, Brown uploaded the music video from the song. The track "Anyway" was released as an instant grat with pre-orders on December 11, 2015. It was produced by BLAQTUXEDO and features guest appearances from Tayla Parx. The music video for "Picture Me Rollin’" was uploaded and released on December 17, 2015. Scott Disick, French Montana, Cal Scruby, Kid Red, ASAP Ferg, and ASAP Rocky, all make their cameo appearances in this video. On December 18, 2015, Brown uploaded the music video for "Little More  (Royalty)" on his YouTube and Vevo account. The song has since peaked at number 91 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. Music video series. Brown directed and released eight music videos for "Royalty", serializing them to construct a linear story. Plot. Chris Brown is first seen drowning his sorrows at a bar alone when a mysterious woman buys him a drink and gives it to him after slipping a drug into it. After reluctantly drinking it, Brown loses control of his senses and leaves with the woman to her home, but Brown is under the effect of the drug and  sees everything in a psychedelic way as his eyes turn temporarily neon green ("Liquor"). After the night spent with the mysterious woman, Brown then takes a taxi home, only to find a girl he has been seeing throwing his clothes off a balcony because she did not know where he was. Rather than get into an argument, Brown decides to gather his boys and go out. Afterwards, he starts dancing in an alley and moves his way into a laundromat with his crew before taking the stage at a downtown theater and meeting up with Dan Bilzerian ("Zero"). After Brown  leaves his crew, another woman catches his attention. He follows her to a building containing a high tech fighting arena. Suddenly, an old man's face appears on the screen and tells Brown that he owns the substance that was slipped into his drink back at the bar and wants it back via Brown's blood. Realizing he was tricked in the first place, Brown is forced to fight the old man's henchmen, but easily dispatches them with his heightened physical abilities derived from the drug and escapes, though the old man tells the second woman to follow him  ("Fine By Me"). Brown then calls his girlfriend and heads over to her place, where they make love through the night ("Back to Sleep"). Brown wakes up and goes for a walk, but is caught by the old man's henchwoman who drugs him again with a dust-like substance. In another trance-like sequence, Brown is dragged into another dark room by the henchwoman, inter-cut with clips of him and rapper Solo Lucci performing and dancing to "Wrist". She seduces him as he is tied to a chair, then tries to slit his throat, but Brown glitches out  of his trap and the henchwoman is bound to the chair in his stead, allowing his escape. Brown calls his girlfriend again to try to explain everything, but she is fed up and claims she is "done", ignoring any further calls from him. She then meets another man who asks her out on a date while she works out with her friends, but the man stands her up when they are supposed to meet. Brown sees his dejected girlfriend walk into a club and with his crew's encouragement, reconciles with her inside the club and leads a dance number  ("Anyway"). While Brown and his girlfriend leave, the man from earlier bumps into them and upon hearing the man call his girlfriend "love", Brown punches him, which leads to another argument resulting in Brown's girlfriend leaving him for good. While Brown sulks, another of his friends (Scott Disick) calls him, inviting him to go to a house party that coincidentally takes place at his own house, which Brown reluctantly accepts as "Picture Me Rollin'" starts to play. While Brown cheers himself up at the party, the old man himself appears and confronts Brown, saying "we can do this the  easy way or the hard way". Brown's friends, including Disick, French Montana and ASAP Rocky, step in and toss the thug out while Brown escapes. Brown is then seen tossing in his sleep inter-cut with flashbacks from the earlier videos, in addition to new footage of his girlfriend struggling to accept her pregnancy. He then wakes up in his bed and finds a toddler, revealed to be his own daughter Royalty, sitting next to him. Initially confused, he realizes the previous experiences were likely a dream and begins to play with Royalty in a musical montage ("Little More  (Royalty)"), proclaiming his fatherly love for her and how she brings out the best in him. The video series ends as the same green flash in Brown's eyes from earlier appears for a second in Royalty's eyes. Critical reception. "Royalty" received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Allmusic editor Andy Kellman expressed a mixed response saying that the album "is not a farther away from the X-rated material full of carousing and belligerence that have dominated his work since "Exclusive", as the cover might've suggested", calling it a qualitative step back from previous solo album  X. "Los Angeles Times"s Mikael Wood expressed a positive response, and complimented its music as "a convincing bad-guy energy that’s all the more potent for its sweet, often luscious textures". Lewis Kromer of "Pitchfork" defined it as "delightful", saying that "Royalty" is "an unapologetic alt-R&B adventure through very libidinal encounters, double cups, and Brown's hidden tear-dropping emotional struggles". "Complex"s Michael Arcenaux expressed a negative response, describing the album as a "mistake" and calling it a "directionless mess", saying that "Chris Brown has all the components to be excellent, he’s a decent singer with a  nice tone, a proven songwriter, and an excellent performer, but, unlike what he did on "X", on his seventh studio album lacks a cohesive vision". Mike Pizzo of "Las Vegas Weekly" said that on the album Brown "doesn’t attempt to make a cohesive album, but looks to solidify his position by producing another handful of well-performed radio-ready cuts, attempting to satisfy multiple audiences at once" saying that its strongest moments are "the groovy 80s-inspired of "Fine by Me" and "Zero", and the g-funk song "Picture Me Rollin'". Brad Wete of "Billboard" praised the album's  songs about lovesickness: "“Proof”-like cuts prove Brown can make quality songs about relationship dynamics", but he was conflicted towards its sexually-driven cuts, saying "Admittedly, a rich 26-year-old bachelor’s life is full of romps with women and wild nights. Fame, access, and talent bring those with ease. This seems to be an art imitating life thing. But if and when Brown ascends to the next level, it likely will be because he starts talking about the morning after. It’s time for him to wake up." Marcus Dowling of "HipHopDX" on his review stated that "In studying  Brown as a vocalist, the trappier productions of "Liquor" and "Who's Gonna" offer the best places to appreciate Brown's exemplary vocal instrument", and expressed the same concepts of Brad Wete's review, saying that "While showing progression on "Royalty", Chris Brown still is quite far from being the best man and artist that he can be." Thomas Hobbs of "The Guardian" gave his different views on the album's sound, saying that "While the few electro-pop numbers sound forced, the predominant trap&B records really showcase Brown's ablity on the mic, but his best comes out  on the disco-funk explosive up-tempos". Commercial performance. "Royalty" debuted at number three on the US "Billboard" 200 selling 184,000 equivalent copies (162,000 in pure album sales) behind Justin Bieber's "Purpose" and "25" by Adele. It was the second best-selling album of the week. The album was the sixth Brown's solo album to debut at number one on the "Billboard" Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. "Royalty" was also streamed 17.3 million times in the first week. The album debuted at number 23 on the UK Albums Chart and number-one on the UK R&B Chart, becoming  Brown's fifth number-one on that chart. The sales for "Royalty" mark an improvement over Brown's last three studio albums, with the former two peaking higher, but selling less, while the latter than a collaboration with Tyga; which has sold 51,000 copies. Despite having greater first week sales than his three previous albums, this is his third-lowest peak position for one of his solo studio albums. In its second week, the album remained in the top ten at "Billboard" 200, fell to number 8, selling 55,000 equivalent copies (36,000 in pure album sales). In its third week , the album dropped down to number 12 on the chart, selling 29,000 equivalent copies (17,000 in pure album sales). In the fourth week the album fell to number 14 on the "Billboard" 200 chart, selling 23,000 equivalent copies (12,000 in pure album sales). The album sold 19,000 copies (10,000 in pure album sales) in its fifth week. As of March 2016, "Royalty" has sold 360,000 copies in the United States. "Royalty" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined album sales, on-demand audio, video streams, track sales equivalent of 1,000,000 units. Track listing. Credits  adapted from the album's liner notes. Notes Sample credits Personnel. Credits for "Royalty" adapted from Allmusic.