X is the sixth studio album by American singer Chris Brown. It was released on September 16, 2014, by CBE Entertainment and RCA Records. The album serves as the follow-up to his fifth album Fortune (2012). Brown for the album worked with several producers, including RoccStar, Danja, Nic Nac, Diplo and others. The album also features guest appearances by various urban artists, including Kendrick Lamar, R. Kelly, Akon, Nicki Minaj, Usher, Trey Songz, Tyga, Rick Ross, Brandy, Lil Wayne, Jhené Aiko and Aaliyah.
The release date of the album was delayed several times due to RCA's choices and the singer's legal problems throughout the last months of 2013 and the first half of 2014. Initially, the album release was set for July 16, 2013, then for August 20, 2013, then for May 5, 2014, and finally released on September 16, 2014. X was preceded by five singles: "Fine China", "Don't Think They Know", "Love More", "Loyal" and "New Flame". The album's fourth single "Loyal" became its most successful, by peaking at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 10 in the United Kingdom. Pushing the promotion for the album further, Brown performed and appeared at several televised music events and music festivals across the United States.
The working of the album started in 2012 and ended in August 2014. The album's aesthetics feature a black and white imagery, handled by Brown himself along with art director Courtney Walter. X is an R&B album, also containing songs influenced by disco, soul and hip-hop. Its lyrical content focuses on falling in love, internal conflict and sexual desire. The album divided reviewers: while most praised the album’s sound, others criticized the songwriting and album's length. At the 2015 Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for the Best Urban Contemporary Album, while "New Flame" was nominated for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song.
Commercially, the album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 selling 146,000 copies in its first week, becoming his first album to miss the summit of the chart since Graffiti (2009) and his third album to go to number two on the chart overall following Exclusive (2007). It also became his sixth consecutive top ten debut in the United States. By the end of 2015, the album had sold 404,000 copies in the United States. It has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Background
On November 8, 2012, in an interview with Power 106's (KPWR) at Los Angeles, California, Brown debuted the dance-pop track titled "Nobody's Perfect". The song was supposed to be the first single for his upcoming sixth album, under the working title of Carpe Diem, which was due to be released in 2013. However the single was never released, Brown changed idea on the concept for the album, and after concluding his Carpe Diem Tour in the last days of 2012, Brown's next studio album started to develop. MTV News confirmed the development of the album, with Brown collaborating with producers, such as Timbaland, Danja and Diplo, among others.
On March 26, 2013, Brown announced the release of X, in various interviews and listening sessions. In an interview with Ebony, Brown spoke of taking his music in a different direction and changing his sound from the pop-infused and sexually explicit one of the previous album Fortune, to a more mature, soulful and vulnerable theme for the album. He said during an interview for Rolling Stone:
During the same interview for Rolling Stone, Brown explained the significance of the title: { { blockquote|It's the Roman numeral for 10. 5/5/89 is my birthday: 5 plus 5 is 10, and this is my tenth year since I got into music. 'X' is the 24th letter in the alphabet, and I will turn 24 when this album comes out. 'X' is also a metaphor, as in 'ex-girlfriend': it implies you're progressing and moving on in life, not holding on to the past and your old ways. Sputnikmusic described this reasoning as "numerological" and "idiotic", and in any case the album missed the intended date.
Recording and production
In March 2013, Brown spoke about working with artists and producers, such as Pharrell Williams, Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar, Ludacris, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Wiz Khalifa, Timbaland, Diplo, Danja and RoccStar. On July 4, 2013, Brown confirmed different guest features on the album, including Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Wiz Khalifa, B.o.B and Kelly Rowland, among others. However, various artists announced didn't make the cut for X. At the same time, the production would be confirmed by Timbaland, Diplo, Polow da Don, Danja, Pharrell and Drumma Boy.