History Music / BobbyBrown

Brown laid low for a better part of a year working on what eventually became ''Don't Be Cruel''. Working with storied hitmakers such as [=LaFace=], and Teddy Riley, the album adopted the sound of a new style of R&B: NewJackSwing. Released on June 20, 1988 (directly competing with New Edition's ''Heart Break'', which was released ''the very same day'', no less), the album proved to be Brown's breakthrough. It peaked at number one on both the Billboard pop and R&B charts for six and eleven non-consecutive weeks, respectively,[[note]] ''Don't Be Cruel'' had its pop chart streak temporarily interrupted by Music/GunsNRoses' ''Appetite For Destruction'' in February 1989, before they knocked it off the top spot for good in March alongside Debbie Gibson's ''Electric Youth'', and the album popped in and out of the R&B chart's top spot multiple times, directly competing with releases from Freddie Jackson, Music/PublicEnemy and Music/MCHammer.[[/note]] and spawned five Top Ten pop hits, including the number-one single "My Prerogative". Brown was nominated for numerous American Music Awards, Grammys, and Soul Train Awards, and was also featured in ''Film/GhostbustersII'' and its soundtrack, giving him a sixth pop hit with "On Our Own", which was only stopped from reaching number-one by {{Music/Prince}}'s "[[Film/Batman1989 Batdance]]" and Music/RichardMarx's "Right Here Waiting". In between all of this, Brown embarked on a 120-day world tour to promote his album. he quickly gained a reputation as R&B's resident bad boy, as he often simulated performing sexual acts during his live shows, which often got him in trouble with the police.

Despite the ups and downs of his career and life, Brown is still highly respected for helping pioneer the NewJackSwing sound and helping shape ContemporaryRAndB into what it is now. Two miniseries about his life and career were released in 2017 and 2018: ''Series/TheNewEditionStory'' and ''The Bobby Brown Story''

* RedBaron: "King Of Stage". Whitney Huston had also dubbed him the "Prince of R&B" and many fans know him as the "King Of New Jack Swing", a title he shares with Teddy Riley.

---> '''Bobby:''' ''(to his barber)'' Man, what the hell?! You got me lookin' like ''Gumby''!

Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969, Boston, MA), is an American R&B singer/songwriter, dancer, and actor. He's best known for his time with Music/NewEdition, his landmark 1988 release ''Don't Be Cruel'' and a tumultuous 14-year marriage to Music/WhitneyHouston. [[NamesTheSame No,]] [[Music/FrankZappa he didn't fuck anyone named]] [[Music/SheikYerbouti Freddie]] (as far as we know).

The early nineties continued to be busy for Brown. He contributed vocals to Ralph Tresvant's "Stone Cold Gentleman", Glenn Medereios' "She Ain't Worth It", which earned Brown his second number-one single, and Bell Biv [=DeVoe=]'s "Word To The Mutha!", which reunited all of the original New Edition members on record plus Johnny Gill, who had joined the group in 1987.

* VocalEvolution: His singing voice got noticeably deeper as he got older, thanks to a combination of puberty and drug use. This eventually hurt him, as he can't hit the high notes on some of his old songs anymore.

* DomesticAbuse: To former wife Music/WhitneyHouston. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement And that's all we're going to say on the matter]].

* IWasQuiteALooker: He was a handsome young man during his prime. Drug and alcohol abuse soon took its toll on him, and he eventually became fat and out of shape.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Bobby had shades of this and GreenEyedMonster during his first two New Edition runs, as he was allegedly jealous of Ralph Tresvant's popularity. Repeated instances of performing out of turn and suggestive performances lead to his exit in 1986. While he seemed to mellow out after going solo, a reunion tour ten years later proved to be disastrous when Bobby rejoined. Old beefs with fellow group members continued like nothing happened, and Bobby deliberately extended his solo set multiple times, leading to a fight with Ronnie [=DeVoe=] that caused him to leave the group for ''another'' decade.
* {{Jerkass}}: Marriage to Whitney aside, Bobby was often known for his rude behavior during his heyday and even his New Edition companions often had a hard time dealing with his attitude.

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Bobby outlived Bobbi Kristina, his only child with Whitney, who died three years after her mother at only 22. His son Bobby Jr. also passed away five years later, aged only 28.

* ReallyGetsAround: If his having 7 children by at least 4 different women is an indication.

* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: Up until Music/ChrisBrown took the title in recent years, Bobby was ''the'' example of this trope in R&B, eventually becoming known as "R&B's Bad Boy".

* TraumaCongaLine: Hoo boy. Death seems to love giving this man grief lately.
** First his parents pass away within a year of each other. That would be heartbreaking enough if not for what happened right after.
** Whitney Houston, his ex-wife, suddenly dies in early 2012 by accidentally drowning herself in a bathtub. Bobby gets the news during a New Edition concert and winds up breaking down during a song performance, shouting "I love you, Whitney!" To add salt to the wound, security wouldn't let him into her funeral.
** Three years after Whitney's death, Bobbi Kristina, Bobby and Whitney's only child, is ''also'' found in a bathtub unconscious. After being on life support for several months and being told nothing could be done for his daughter, [[OutlivingOnesOffspring Bobbi was pulled off life support in July 2015]]. In the next several months, Bobby would fall off the wagon again, and he eventually checked himself into rehab once more.
** One of his other children, Bobby Brown Jr., was found dead in November 2020.

1992 saw the release of his third solo album ''Bobby'', and his marriage to Whitney Houston, who he first met at the 1989 Soul Train Awards. Although Brown continued to find success on the charts, he was greatly overshadowed by his wife's success, not helped by her appearance in the 1992 film ''Film/TheBodyguard''. Both Brown and Houston's drug addictions began in this decade, and Brown soon became tabloid fodder for his violent tendencies towards Whitney -- [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement and that's all we're gonna say on that subject]]. Despite the controversies, Brown continued to record and tour.

Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969, Boston, MA), is an American R&B singer/songwriter, dancer and actor. He's best known for his time with Music/NewEdition, his landmark 1988 release ''Don't Be Cruel'' and a tumultuous 14 year marriage to Music/WhitneyHouston. [[NamesTheSame No,]] [[Music/FrankZappa he didn't fuck anyone named]] [[Music/SheikYerbouti Freddie]] (as far as we know).

Brown initially got his start as a founding member of New Edition in 1978. Brown contributed to several of their hits, including "Cool It Now", "Candy Girl," and "Mr. Telephone Man," which he also co-lead. However, alleged jealousy of fellow N.E. member Ralph Tresvant's popularity, along with repeated incidents of singing out of turn and performing suggestive acts during concerts, lead to Brown getting kicked out of the group in early 1986 by management.

Brown laid low for a better part of a year working on what eventually became ''Don't Be Cruel''. Working with storied hitmakers such as [=LaFace=], and Teddy Riley, the album adopted the sound of a new style of R&B: NewJackSwing. Released on June 20, 1988 (directly competing with New Edition's ''Heart Break'', which was released ''the very same day'', no less), the album proved to be Brown's breakthrough. It peaked at number one on both the Billboard pop and R&B charts for six and eleven non-consecutive weeks, respectively,[[note]] ''Don't Be Cruel'' had it's pop chart streak temporarily interrupted by Music/GunsNRoses' ''Appitite For Destruction'' in February 1989, before they knocked it off the top spot for good in March alongside Debbie Gibson's ''Electric Youth'', and the album popped in and out of the R&B chart's top spot multiple times, directly competing with releases from Freddie Jackson, Music/PublicEnemy and Music/MCHammer.[[/note]] and spawned five Top Ten pop hits, including the number-one single "My Prerogative". Brown was nominated for numerous American Music Awards, Grammys and Soul Train Awards, and was also featured in ''Film/GhostbustersII'' and it's soundtrack, giving him a sixth pop hit with "On Our Own", which was only stopped from reaching number-one by {{Music/Prince}}'s "[[Film/Batman1989 Batdance]]" and Music/RichardMarx's "Right Here Waiting". In between all of this, Brown embarked on 120 day would tour to promote his album. he quickly gained a reputation as R&B's resident bad boy, as he often simulated performing sexual acts during his live shows, which often got him in trouble with police.

1996 saw an official New Edition reunion with their sixth album ''Home Again''. Although the album and it's singles were massively successful commercially and critically, the resulting tour proved disastrous thanks to years-old beef between Brown and the rest of New Edition flaring up once more, along with Brown struggling with alcoholism and other drug addiction during the tour. The lowlight of the tour came during a show in La Cruces, New Mexico, where Ronnie [=DeVoe=] attempted to pull Brown, [[{{Jerkass}} who was deliberately extending his solo set]], off stage. The resulting fistfight, which lead to the singers' personal security guards getting involved and guns being drawn, led to the show being shut down. Both Brown and Michael Bivins would leave the tour not long after.

Things continued to slide down hill for Bobby in the following years. His fourth solo album ''Forever'' and its lead single "Feeling Inside" flopped hard, resulting in him getting released from MCA Records. The turn of the millennium saw him returning to contributing guest vocals for other artists, and continuing to be tabloid fodder. After a brief time as reality stars in the show ''Being Bobby Brown'', Whitney Houston filed for divorce in 2006, which was eventually finalized in 2007, ending her fourteen year marriage to Brown.

Despite a second New Edition reunion and a fifth album (''The Masterpiece''), Brown had a particularly nasty TraumaCongaLine between 2011 and 2015. Both of his parents died within a year of each other (his mother in 2011, his dad in 2012) and Whitney had unexpectedly died in February 2012, six days after his 43rd birthday. During a New Edition concert in Mississippi, he broke down into tears during a performance when he got the news, shouting "I love you, Whitney!" To twist in the knife further, Bobbi Kristina, his only child with Houston, died three years later at the age of 22 in eerily similar circumstances. His son, Bobby Brown Jr. was found dead in his home in November 2020.

Despite the ups and downs of his career and life, Brown is still highly respected for helping pioneer the NewJackSwing sound, and helping shape ContemporaryRAndB into what it is now. Two miniseries about his life and career were released in 2017 and 2018: ''Series/TheNewEditionStory'' and ''The Bobby Brown Story''

* AllTakeAndNoGive: ''hoooo boy'', "Don't be cruel". Not only is the girl a greedy entitled bitch, she [[KickTheDog treats him like shit as well]] hence the title.

** ''Bobby'': "Humping Around" runs for 6:18, "One More Night" at 6:28 and both "College Girl" and "Storm Away" run for 6:05.

And as a matter of fact it blows my mind\\

A real life fantasy"

* NewJackSwing: One of the early pioneers, and one of it's marquee artists.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Bobby outlived Bobbi Kristina, his only child with Whitney, who died three years after her mother at only 22. His son Bobby Jr also passed away five years later, aged only 28.

* RecordProducer: He produced the entirety of ''Forever'' by himself and produced Glenn Mederios' "Lovely Little Lady". He's best known for working with super producers such as Teddy Riley, L.A. Reid and Babyface.

** Three years after Whitney's death, Bobbi Kristina, Bobby and Whitney's only child, is ''also'' found in a bathtub unconscious. After being on life support for several months and being told nothing could be done for his daughter, [[OutlivingOnesOffspring Bobbi was pulled off life support in July 2015]]. In the next several months, Bobby would fall off the wagon again, and eventually checked himself into rehab once more.

* TraumaticHaircut: If the scene shown in''The New Edition Story'' is to be believed, Bobby's famous "WesternAnimation/{{Gumby}}" haircut happened totally by accident. Apparently, during the filming of "Every Little Step"'s music video, Bobby's barber, who was too busy flirting with the girls at the shoot, accidentally cut a chunk of his flat top off at an angle. Bobby was pissed, but he only had a few minutes before the shoot was supposed to start, so his barber hastily cut the rest of his flat top to match the slanted piece.

** His songs on New Edition’s Home Again, as well as Forever, seem to be a transition point. There are times on those albums where sounds the same as he did in the 80’s, but his newer, more rugged voice was starting to creep in.

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Bobby outlived Bobbi Kristina, his only child with Whitney, who died three years after her mother [[ShaggyDogStory at age 22]]. On the other hand, his other children are still alive.

Despite a second New Edition reunion and a fifth album (''The Masterpiece''), Brown had a particularly nasty TraumaCongaLine between 2011 and 2015. Both of his parents died within a year of each other (his mother in 2011, his dad in 2012) and Whitney had unexpectedly died in February 2012, six days after his 43rd birthday. During a New Edition concert in Mississippi, he broke down into tears during a performance when he got the news, shouting "[[TearJerker I love you, Whitney!]]" To twist in the knife further, Bobbi Kristina, his only child with Houston, died three years later at the age of 22 in eerily similar circumstances. His son, Bobby Brown Jr. was found dead in his home in November 2020.

Despite a second New Edition reunion and a fifth album (''The Masterpiece''), Brown had a particularly nasty TraumaCongaLine between 2011 and 2015. Both of his parents died within a year of each other (his mother in 2011, his dad in 2012) and Whitney had unexpectedly died in February 2012, six days after his 43rd birthday. During a New Edition concert in Mississippi, he broke down into tears during a performance when he got the news, shouting "[[TearJerker I love you, Whitney!]]" To twist in the knife further, Bobbi Kristina, his only child with Houston, died three years later at the age of 22 in eerily similar circumstances.

Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969, Boston, MA), is an American R&B singer/songwriter, dancer and actor. He's best known for his time with Music/NewEdition, his landmark 1988 release ''Don't Be Cruel'' and a tumultuous 14 year marriage to Music/WhitneyHouston.

1996 saw an official New Edition reunion with their sixth album ''Home Again''. Although the album and it's singles were massively successful commercially and critically, the resulting tour proved disastrous thanks to years-old beef between Brown and the rest of New Edition flaring up once more, along with Brown struggling with drug and alcohol addiction during the tour. The lowlight of the tour came during a show in La Cruces, New Mexico, where Ronnie [=DeVoe=] attempted to pull Brown, [[{{Jerkass}} who was deliberately extending his solo set]], off stage. The resulting fistfight, which lead to the singers' personal security guards getting involved and guns being drawn, led to the show being shut down. Both Brown and Michael Bivins would leave the tour not long after.

* BreakupBreakout: Excluding splinter group Bell Biv [=DeVoe=], Bobby is the most successful member of New Editon. While all members had successful solo runs, Bobby outperformed all of them between 1988-1992.

1992 saw the release of his third solo album ''Bobby'', and his marriage to Whitney Houston, who he first met at the 1989 Soul Train Awards. Although Brown continued to find success on the charts, he was greatly overshadowed by his wife's success, not helped by her appearance in the 1992 film ''Film/TheBodyguard''. Both Brown and Houston's drug addictions began in this decade, and Brown soon became tabloid fodder for his violent tendencies towards Whitney -- [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement and that's all we're gonna say on that subject]]. Despite the controversies, Brown continued to record and tour.

* DomesticAbuse: To former wife Music/WhitneyHouston. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement And that's all we're going to say on the matter]].

Robert "Bobby" Brown (born February 5, 1969, Boston, MA), is an American R&B singer/songwriter, dancer and actor. He's best known for his time with Music/NewEdition, his landmark 1988 release ''Don't Be Cruel'' and a tumultuous 14 year marriage to Music/WhitneyHouston.