Fortune is the fifth studio album by American singer Chris Brown. It was released in the UK on July 2, 2012, and in the US on July 3, 2012, through RCA Records. Production was handled by Brown himself and several record producers, including the Underdogs, Polow da Don, Brian Kennedy, the Runners, the Messengers, H-Money, Danja, and Benny Benassi. The album also features several guest appearances, including Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, Nas, Sevyn Streeter, and Kevin McCall.
Originally scheduled for release six months after the release of Brown's fourth studio album F.A.M.E. on March 22, 2011, Fortune was pushed back several times before it was finally given a release date in July 2012. The album’s aesthetics feature heavy use of blue, suggesting a futuristic mood that distances itself from the graffiti imagery of Brown’s two previous albums. The music consists of R&B and pop, containing pronounced elements of electronic music, while the lyrical content concentrates on sex, promiscuity, hedonism, clubbing and romantic love. The album received generally negative reviews from music critics, several of whom panned the lyrical content, though some critics were complimentary towards the production. Despite the negative reception, it was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 55th Grammy Awards.
Fortune had international chart success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 135,000 copies in its first week and becoming Brown's second number one album in the US, as well as his fifth consecutive top ten album. The album also debuted at number one in the UK, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, while fellow top ten positions were attained on charts in Switzerland, Scotland, Japan, Ireland, France, Canada and Australia.
Preceding the release of Fortune was the lead single "Turn Up the Music", which reached number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the UK Singles Chart. "Sweet Love" and "Till I Die" were released as the second and third singles, respectively. "Don't Wake Me Up" was released as the fourth single and reached the top ten in several countries. "Don't Judge Me" was released as the fifth and final single. To promote the album, Brown made several award show and televised appearances across America.
Background and recording Originally, Brown wanted his fourth studio album F.A.M.E. to be a double-disc, consisting of 25-30 tracks. However, Jive Records declined to release the album in that format, leading to a reduction to 13 tracks. Following the release of F.A.M.E., Brown planned a sequel titled Fortune, intended as a new album featuring new material along with songs recorded during the F.A.M.E. sessions, planning on releasing it six months after the previous album. Ultimately, he chose to invest more time into developing Fortune as a standalone project.
Work for Fortune began in mid-2011, with Kevin McCall revealing that he had been collaborating "heavily" with Brown for an upcoming album. Later in September 2011, producer David Banner explained that the idea of the album was to create mostly material that reflected a more club-oriented style that would "change the way people look at R&B". On January 7, 2012, Brown tweeted that there were only two weeks left of recording sessions for the album: "Last two weeks of me finishing Fortune! I'm excited for all the fans to hear my real music". The tweet was soon followed up by another from Brown, with him tweeting: "Dub step records on my album sounding crazy!!!!". However, the tweet was later removed, suggesting that Brown gave away too many details about Fortune, and work on the album continued for some months. Brown later told MTV in June 2012 that with the album he wanted to "give different textures, expressing mostly fun and sex appeal, but also giving pieces of maturity at the same time". He also said that musically he wanted to create "a videogame-inspired, futuristic and electronic atmosphere", showcasing his R&B roots, along with hip-hop and pop flavors.
In addition to recording, it was revealed in January 2012 that Brown was in the studio working on the album with Asher Roth, Nas, Wiz Khalifa, will.i.am, and Kid Sister. In an interview with MTV News, producer Harvey Mason, Jr., half of production duo the Underdogs, who co-produced "Turn Up the Music", spoke more about the album, saying "The Fortune record is F.A.M.E to the next level. He's really being innovative with some of the music, taking pieces of other genres and integrating them into pop and R&B, which I think is really cool. Vocally, he sounds amazing; he's really, really coming into his own as a singer, as you'll hear in the song "Free Run" we did together". Producer Damon Thomas, the other half of the duo, added "The only way I can describe Chris and what he's doin' with this record that he's making is that he's this generation's Michael [Jackson]". On February 29, 2012, Brown tweeted "I hope this album will inspire all my fans to live life to the fullest". During a radio interview with Atlanta's Hot 107.9 in March 2012, rapper 2 Chainz revealed that he will be appearing as a guest vocalist on Fortune, however the track he was featured on did not make the final track listing. In May 2012, producer William Orbit stated that the track "Don't Wake Me Up" that he produced for Madonna's album MDNA (2012) was given to Brown for Fortune, despite Madonna wanting it, because of timing issues.
Music and lyrics Primarily, Fortune is an R&B and pop album. The album also includes elements of club music, such as EDM and dubstep. Following the dance-pop opener "Turn Up the Music", Fortune opens up with synth-rap infused songs like "Bassline", "Till I Die" and "Mirage". The album continues alternating R&B songs like "2012", "Sweet Love" and "Strip" with pop tracks like "Stuck on Stupid", "4 Years Old" and "Party Hard". The album's electronic elements are highlighted by the autotune vocal editing of different tracks, but mostly appear throughout its production. Notable examples include the house-driven track "Turn Up the Music"; the blend of electro synthesizers with R&B music on "Wait for You" and "Sweet Love"; the electropop production of "Remember My Name"; the pronounced EDM characteristics of "Don't Wake Me Up" and the dancehall-infused "Trumpet Lights"; and the dubstep instrumentation of "Key 2 Your Heart" and "Bassline".
Lyrically, Fortune includes several songs about sexual encounters, most notably "2012", "Tell Somebody", "Biggest Fan" and "Sweet Love". The character that Brown portrays for the majority of the album is a narcissistic one, who brags about his favorite qualities, as well as his lifestyle, emphasizing how these things ensure him the attraction of women. Romantic adventures are spoken by Brown throughout the album on tracks like "Free Run" and "Stuck on Stupid", where he sets aside his braggadocio, to open up about his love for another. Other episodes of vulnerability on the album are "4 Years Old", where he reflects on how his richness and fame can't compare to the thought of love, and "Don't Wake Me Up", which finds Brown clinging to a past love, which he can now only experience while he's asleep. As well as explicit sex, vanity and genuine love, the lyrical content of Fortune also focuses on clubbing, main theme of songs like "Turn Up the Music", "Trumpet Lights" and "Till I Die".
Artwork The album's official cover (standard version) was revealed on February 29, 2012. The cover art was shot in January of the same year by the photography team Steven Gomillion and Dennis Leupold. On the album cover, a light shines down on Brown, who poses against a blue backdrop, dressed in a blue "sleek, slim-fitting suit with a skinny tie and thick black framed glasses", while the word "Fortune" appears behind him in different languages. Brown and his art director Courtney Walter came up with the idea of using hieroglyphics for the album's title. In an interview by telephone with Erik Parker of CBS Local, Gomillion said Brown "knew before the last album came out what this one would look like. He thinks so far ahead". Regarding the use of the color blue, Gomillion said "The funny thing about that blue is it basically just happened. It matched the suit and it gives a kind of futuristic vibe. You'll see blue throughout the [album] packaging". Sarah Brotherton of MTV News wrote that the cover shows "a more mature, sleek side" to Brown. Becky Bain of Idolator noted that Brown "seems to have finally dropped his beloved graffiti imagery and is going for a futuristic vibe". A reviewer for Rap-Up described it as a "slick cover". Alex Loinaz of E! Online compared Brown's look to that of actors Keanu Reeves in The Matrix films, and Colin Firth in A Single Man (2009).
Release In January 2011, Brown told fans on Twitter that he was planning on releasing his then studio album, F.A.M.E. (2011), as a double disc because he recorded too many songs for one disc and therefore planned on releasing a second disc titled, Fortune. However, during a listening party for F.A.M.E. on March 14, 2011, Brown announced that he would be releasing the Fortune disc in six months. He later decided to prolong its working, consequently postponing its release. In May 2011, the songs "Fools With You" and "Treading Waters" leaked on the internet, with Brown revealing his intention to put those tracks on the album, by tweeting: "Another song from Fortune was leaked! I'm not leaking the records! Hope y'all like it!". In July, another track that was supposed to be on the record, titled "Open Road (I Love Her)", was leaked, with the singer later tweeting: "If the whole song doesn’t leak then it’s going on Fortune! I have so many songs that I’ve recorded in my opinion that are sick. I just really hope people appreciate the diversity on Fortune". On August 23, 2011, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, Fortune is now being released on the RCA Records brand. During an interview with Rap-Up magazine in September 2011, Kevin McCall revealed that the album was being pushed back for an early 2012 release. Then two months later, Jive Records France announced via Twitter that the album would be released in March 2012. On October 27, 2011, Brown announced via his official Twitter account that "Strip" and "Biggest Fan" would serve as the two lead singles from Fortune. However, "Biggest Fan" was not released as a single, and "One Of Those Nights" featuring will.i.am, was planned to be released as the following single on January 31, 2012, but ended up never being released. Following the online premiere of "Turn Up the Music" on January 26, 2012, several websites, including MTV News and Billboard magazine, reported that this would be the lead single from the album, while "Strip" served as a buzz single. In February 2012, the initial tracklist of the album was announced. On March 1, 2012, RCA Records confirmed that Fortune would be released in the US on May 8, 2012, as both standard and deluxe editions. A delay was announced in April. The official track listing for both the standard and deluxe editions of Fortune was revealed on May 29, 2012. The album was set to feature fourteen tracks on the standard edition, with an additional five tracks on the deluxe edition. On July 3, 2012, Fortune was released through RCA Records.
Promotion