Brown’s personal narrative following his 2009 felony assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna has been a mixed bag, at best. He spent much of 2010 seeking redemption and the greater part of last year making numerous missteps in the media, including Twitter rants, garnering criticism from GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation; a violent meltdown backstage at “Good Morning America”; and the leak of a nude photo.
His fourth album, 2011’s “F.A.M.E.” -- an acronym for both “Fans Are My Everything” and “Forgiving All My Enemies” –- helped bolster his comeback after the critical disappointment of 2009’s “Graffiti,” his first release following the assault.
The disc was his first to debut at No. 1, and with Grammy-nominated singles “Deuces” and “Look at Me Now” (the latter up for two rap nods this year) and a slate of sexually explicit grooves and supercharged backbeats, "F.A.M.E." returned Brown to radio prominence.
Brown competed against another pair of comeback kings, El DeBarge and R. Kelly, with soulful songstresses Ledisi and Kelly Price also in the field. Last year the award went to John Legend and the Roots’ collaborative album of brawny R&B/soul classics, “Wake Up!”
Despite nominations in five of the last six years, Brown hadn’t taken home a trophy until tonight.
After the Recording Academy eliminated 31 award categories, much of the grousing came from R&B purists. R&B categories were cut from eight to four by the new rules and there were complaints that there was now little or no distinction between contemporary and traditional R&B.
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