Chris Brown

Chris Brown's career couldn't have started any better — at age 13 he was scouted by a production team who visited his father's gas station; at 15 he was signed to Jive Records; the next year he made it to the top of the Hot 100 with his 2005 debut single, "Run It!" . . . and his versatile, crossover brand of R&B is likely to figure big-time in the charts as the 21st century rolls on. Here, we get to confirm why so many people have compared Brown 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," a monster global hit in '08.

Brown joins forces with Bieber and Banner, in Next Steps.

In addition to the pop-skewed, butter-wouldn't-melt R&B vibe that he mines on tracks like "I Love U" — a hook-up with Ester Dean from the Deluxe Edition of 2009's Graffiti — and the soulful romantic balladry he perfects with Keri Hilson on "Superhuman," Brown has taken pains to cultivate a hard-edged hip-hop slant to his multifaceted game . . . hence his guest slots with the likes of Twista ("Make a Movie" — a celebratory toast to D.I.Y. bedroom cinema) and David Banner (the chopped, screwed pleasures of "Get Like Me"). And when Justin Bieber comes calling, looking for a Never Say Never guest slot, Brown is happy to oblige: check out the remix of "Up."

When Chris Brown arrived midway 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 prodigiously 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 fan base while retaining the spark of hip-hop vitality, and this selection of Essentials reveals an incredibly accomplished star who's just as happy soaking up the limelight as he is sharing prime space on a rap collab or a duet.