Chris Brown could have become the Michael Jackson of the 21st century

drop. In breakdance, this is the moment when the dancers drop to the ground performatively, a figure, a dance figure, which serves as the starting point for further movement sequences. Chris Brown likes the drop. It is part of most of his choreographies and the choreographies of Chris Brown are undoubtedly among the best choreographies that show business still has to offer in 2023. Brown has mastered the art of making even complex sequences of movements look very simple. As if it wasn't a big show at all. As if he actually stumbled straight over his feet, only to then artfully catch himself again.

It's Wednesday evening and the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin is full to the last seat. The audience is mostly female, usually very scantily clad and the entire show is leveled at almost the decibel level of the actual music. The audience is an audience befitting Chris Brown, to a show that is exactly that: loud, colourful, very sexy and a little bit too much of everything. Brown is currently on a European tour, the "Under The Influence" tour, and you can't help but think that with this show he wants to prove once again who he actually is, what he actually sees himself as: the uncrowned King of Black Music.

Brown, in business since 2005, plays like someone with something to prove. The show lasts two and a half hours, is divided into four sections, at the end there are almost 50 songs on the set list and yes, this show is a show that is also an example of his career, of the ambition, of the megalomania, of the need for it wanting to please everyone. And in the end also for the tragedy of a man who is standing on a stage framed between two oversized fantasy monsters and is demonstrating a talent with which he was never able to achieve what he should have achieved.

There are quite a few people in the music industry who claim that Chris Brown had the potential to be the Michael Jackson of the 21st century, the biggest superstar on the planet, and as megalomaniac as that thought sounds, it's true. Discovered by a talent scout at a gas station in upstate America when he was 13, Brown combines the qualities it takes to be the biggest pop star on earth today. He's an outstanding singer, a terrific dancer, an above-average rapper and gifted with a stadium-filling charisma. That was quickly noticed. His first albums sold millions. The music industry was at his feet. The fans anyway.

But then came the drop. The real drop. Chris Brown tripped. Not about the competition, but about himself. A "physical altercation" (to put it kindly) with pop star Rihanna ended his soaring streak in 2009. The pictures of his then-girlfriend with a split lip and a black eye went around the world and made sure of it that his career did not come to a standstill, but was slowed down quite a bit overnight.

After a self-imposed musical break, he still managed a veritable comeback with one of his most successful albums ever. But as it is, when you trip over your own feet, you stumble, you lose your footing, and the Rihanna incident became the prelude to a whole series of other scandals. Chris Brown, it quickly became apparent, had a real anger problem, and no matter how hard he tried to make things look easier than they actually were, no one missed the impact, which was so hard that no show in the world could beat it could cover up.

And yet: Chris Brown is still a superstar, that can be measured purely quantitatively. His streaming numbers, his video views, the sold-out shows or even just the number of stars who work with him speaks for itself. It just doesn't live up to its potential. Someone else sits on the throne of black music today. drakes If it were all down to talent then Chris Brown would be Drake today and it's very obvious that Chris Brown is very aware of that too. For ten years Brown has tried everything to earn his position back. His ambition is also his biggest problem. In Berlin he not only plays his biggest hits. He plays all his hits, he doesn't want to disappoint anyone anymore, doesn't want to leave out anything, he wants to show off all his talents, although actually the blank would be his best formula for success.

In 2019 Chris Brown released his album "Indigo". It could have been an album of the century. There are few records in the history of R'n'B that have been able to capture their very own, irreproducible vibe, such a warm and unmistakable sound as unerringly as Brown has managed to do here. But because that wasn't enough for him, he still put the obligatory club hits on the album. And because that wasn't enough for him, then a few more songs where he wanted to prove his rap talent. In the end, the brilliant "Indigo" with 32 songs was so crowded that it was no longer a masterpiece, but seemed arbitrary. A few months later, Brown seemed so annoyed that he released an extended version of the album - it was now almost 3 hours long.

Brown has mastered the art of making difficult things look simple, but he suffers from giving in too much to his ambition and coquetry. In the end, he even lets the audience vote on the songs he could still play on stage. When there is disagreement between two songs, he simply performs both. And so he stands there, the uncrowned king of black music, the man who could have been a Michael Jackson of his generation, stands there cheered but lonely on stage, framed by two oversized fantasy figures - and one almost feels sorry for him, that even in the greatest moments of his career he has to share the stage with his monsters.