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aiting for the lift in Manhattan offices of Jive Records, 16-year-old Chris Brown is openly singing to himself. The singing is sensational, but the song isn't his - it's Usher's "Nice & Slow". Although it's safe to say there will never be another Usher, the comparisons have haunted Brown since the video for his new single "Run It" dropped late last year. Will this teenage R&B singer and dancer be able to step out from the shadow and carve his own niche?
"I would say my style isn't like Usher," comments Brown. "They make the comparisons because we both sing and we both dance. But if it were any other R&B singer/dancer that did the same thing I did or that Usher did, they would be comparing them to us. I'm doing my thing - Chris Brown - and Usher is doing his thing.
Not surprisingly, Brown's success has been steadily and consistantly growing since the release of his first single. This can be attributed to Tina Davis, a former Def Jam A&R once responsible for guiding the careers of Dru Hill and DMX. Davis was so impressed by Brown's audition that when she left Def Jam, she took Brown with her. As Brown explains, "Some producers in Virginia told my father they were looking for talent. From there they hooked me up with some writers and took me to New York. I was in New York for a year and a half and one day they were like, 'Yo Chris we got a meeting at Def Jam!' I went and performed for Tina Davis and LA Reid, who wanted to sign me on the spot. But soon after Tina was sprung off Def Jam, so I asked her if she wanted to be my manager. She accepted and took me to Warner, Atlantic and Jive. All of them gave me deals but we picked Jive."
So what makes this young man so special? Could it be his musical knowledge that seems to be beyond his years? "My style is based around hip-hop, but my singing comes from R&B. I'm influenced by both. I like Rakim and Run-DMC. As far as new school I love Lil Wayne,T.I., Young Jeezy, and Dip Set. And as far as R&B, it's Sam Cooke and Michael Jackson."
R&B has made a big comeback in the US, with Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx and Mary J. Blige all making the top five albums in the last week of the billboard charts of 2005. Now in 2006, we're sure to see a crop of new R&B talent and Brown is at the top of the list. His album is already creating a buzz with the help of megastars like Jermaine Dupri and R Kelly, and he's also on the cover of the next VIBE magazine.
