Chris Brown

Chris Brown's career couldn't have started any better — age 16, he made it to the top of the U.S. Hot 100 with his 2005 debut single, "Run It!", and while 2009's globally publicised Rihanna incident overshadowed his stellar beginnings, the fact remains that Brown's versatile, crossover brand of R&B is likely to figure prominently in the charts as the 21st Century progresses. Here, we get to confirm why so many people have compared the young artist to Usher and even Michael Jackson, with 2007's "Kiss Kiss" (featuring T. Pain) and his earth-shaking, powerhouse duet with Jordin Sparks, "No Air", which went top three in the U.K. in '08. Brown joins forces with Ludacris and David Banner, in Next Steps.

In addition the pop-skewed, butter-wouldn't-melt vibe that he mines on tracks like "Pass Out" — a hook-up with Dutch electro-pop princess Eva Simons from 2009's Graffiti — and the more traditional soul side he reveals on "Try a Little Tenderness", Brown has taken pains to cultivate a hard-edged hip-hop slant to his multi-faceted game . . . hence his guest slots with the likes of Nas and the Game ("Make the World Go Round" — a celebratory toast to hustlers, gangstas and ballers), Ludacris ("What Them Girls Like" — an ode to youngs thugs, swag, and Louis Vitton bags) and David Banner (the choppy, screwy pleasures of "Get Like Me").

When Chris Brown arrived mid-way through the '00s, he looked every bit the complete contemporary R&B package — boasting that too-rare triple-whammy of looks, moves and vocals, the prodigously-gifted teenager hit the ground running, and delivered a self-titled debut album featuring production credits for everyone from Dre to Jermaine Dupri: clearly, the powers that be were gambling heavily on Brown, and the platinum-coated rewards quickly followed. Here was a kid who could pull in a broad pop-crossover fanbase while retaining the spark of hip-hop vitality. While the darker side of his machismo threatened to derail his career early in 2009, Brown's talent looks set to keep him on track, and this selection of Essentials reveal an incredibly accomplished star who's just as happy soaking up the limelight as he is sharing prime space on a rap-collaboration or a duet.