Editing Bobby Brown (section)

=== Solo career ===
Following his exit from New Edition, Brown signed a contract with his former group's label, [[MCA Records|MCA]] (which had earlier promised Brown a solo deal if he had decided to leave New Edition), and also signed with manager Steven Machat, who had also worked with New Edition. The label released his debut album ''[[King of Stage]]'' in 1986. Brown had a number-one R&B hit with the ballad "[[Girlfriend (Bobby Brown song)|Girlfriend]]", but the album otherwise failed to perform well.

Brown laid low for more than a year while working on his follow-up album. With the help of Machat and MCA representative Louil Silas, Brown began working with some of the top R&B producers and songwriters of the time, including [[Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds|Babyface]], [[Antonio "L.A." Reid]] and [[Teddy Riley]]. The producers helped to compose what became Brown's most successful solo album of his career, ''[[Don't Be Cruel (album)|Don't Be Cruel]]''. Released in 1988, the album became Brown's first number-one album on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] on January 21, 1989, replacing fellow [[contemporary R&B|R&B]] singer [[Anita Baker]]'s ''[[Giving You the Best That I Got (album)|Giving You the Best That I Got]]'' at the top spot.<ref name="BB200Jan89">{{cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1989-01-21/ |title=Billboard 200 - Week of January 21, 1989 |work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=January 21, 1989 |accessdate=April 2, 2025}}</ref> 19 years old at the time of this accomplishment, Brown became the youngest male artist to top the ''Billboard'' 200 since [[Stevie Wonder]]'s 1963 live album, ''[[Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius]]'', which reached the top spot when Wonder was thirteen. At the time, Brown became the youngest male artist in history to top the album charts with a [[studio album]]. Singer [[Justin Bieber]] later broke that record in 2010. 

The album launched five top-ten hits on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]],<ref name=":9" /><ref name="topten">{{cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/photos/albums-five-top-10-hot-100-hits-6738611/ |title=The Albums With the Most Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 Hits |date=December 19, 2024 |work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |accessdate=April 2, 2025}}</ref> including the number-one single, the self-penned "[[My Prerogative]]",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/25034/bobby-brown/|title=Bobby Brown &#124; full Official Chart History|website=Official Charts| access-date=25 January 2022}}</ref> which became, along with "[[Every Little Step]]" and the title track, signature hits for the performer. Album sales would eventually reach twelve million copies worldwide, including 7 million alone in the US, making it the [[List of best-selling albums by year in the United States|best-selling album of 1989]]. In February 1990, he won the [[Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance]] for the album's fourth single "Every Little Step".<ref name=":6">{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/bobby-brown|title=Bobby Brown|website=Recording Academy Grammy Awards|date=November 23, 2020}}</ref> ''Don't Be Cruel'' also garnered Brown two [[American Music Award]]s, a [[Soul Train Music Awards|Soul Train Music Award]] and a [[People's Choice Award]].

In 1989, Brown contributed two songs to the soundtrack of ''[[Ghostbusters II]]'', and he also had a cameo role in the film. The first track on that album, "[[On Our Own (Bobby Brown song)|On Our Own]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billboardtop100of.com/1989-2/|title=Billboard Top 100 – 1989|website=Billboardtop100of.com| access-date=25 January 2022}}</ref> became another top-ten single for the singer, peaking at number two. The same year, a remix compilation, ''[[Dance!...Ya Know It!]]'', was released, and found fans in the United Kingdom. Brown embarked on a 120-day world tour to promote ''Don't Be Cruel'' in 1988, with Al B. Sure! opening for him, and New Edition also opening for him on some dates. The tour lasted into the spring of 1991, but not without Brown gaining notoriety for simulating sexual acts onstage, which got him into trouble with local law enforcement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/bobby-browns-cruel-beguiles-fans-but-not-the-cop-who-nabbed-him-for-dirty-dancing-vol-31-no-14/|title=Bobby Brown's Cruel Beguiles Fans—but Not the Cop Who Nabbed Him for Dirty Dancing|last1=Dougherty|first1=Steve|last2=Holmstrom|first2=Rick|date=April 10, 1989|website=People}}</ref> In 1990, Brown performed "Tap into My Heart" at the 1990 [[MTV Awards]], and was set to release the album ''Mystical Magic'', but it was eventually shelved for reasons unknown. In 1990, Brown was featured on the number-one hit "[[She Ain't Worth It]]" by [[Glenn Medeiros]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billboardtop100of.com/1990-2/|title=Billboard Top 100 – 1990|website=Billboardtop100of.com| access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref> making it his second number-one hit on the pop chart, and also collaborated with Babyface for the remix of the latter's single "Tender Lover" that same year. In 1991, Brown collaborated with New Edition member [[Ralph Tresvant]] on the latter's single "[[Stone Cold Gentleman]]", which was a top-five R&B hit.

Brown's next album ''[[Bobby (Bobby Brown album)|Bobby]]'' was released in 1992. Despite its release during the final days of the [[new jack swing]] era it was a success, selling more than 3 million copies, and spawning several hit singles including "[[Humpin' Around]]",<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1992/hot-r-and-and-b-hip-hop-songs|title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1992|magazine=Billboard|date=January 2, 2013| access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref> "[[Get Away (Bobby Brown song)|Get Away]]", and "[[Good Enough (Bobby Brown song)|Good Enough]]". He received his second [[Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance]] nomination for "Humpin' Around".<ref name=":6" /> He received his third [[American Music Award]] in January 1993. However, sales of ''Bobby'' did not match its predecessor. The song, "[[Something in Common]]", a duet between Brown and then-newlywed wife [[Whitney Houston]], in which they shared songwriting credit while Houston was credited with vocal arrangement, became a hit in the UK, peaking at No. 16. Despite the fact that the song did not receive a commercial single in the United States, the song became a hit on the ''Billboard'' pop and R&B radio airplay charts.

In 1994, dance producers K-Klass remixed "[[Two Can Play That Game (song)|Two Can Play That Game]]" from the ''Bobby'' album; it would become Brown's biggest single in the UK, peaking at No. 3 in 1995.

Four years later, he would release his fourth solo album ''[[Forever (Bobby Brown album)|Forever]]'', in 1997.  The album's only single, "Feeling Inside", was not successful. Brown would contribute to wife Whitney Houston's 2002 album, ''[[Just Whitney]]'', co-producing the moderately successful hit, "[[Whatchulookinat]]", while contributing vocals to their duet, "My Love", off the same album. The latter duet reached the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' [[Adult R&B Songs]] chart. ''Just Whitney'' was a hit, going platinum in the United States and selling over 2.5 million units worldwide.

Prior to the release of ''Forever'', Brown had been in negotiations with rapper [[Tupac Shakur]] to sign with Shakur's new label Makaveli Records, or with the proposed label [[Death Row East]]. However, Shakur [[Murder of Tupac Shakur|died]] before that could take place. Leaving MCA following ''Forever'', Brown laid low for several years, appearing as a featured artist in 2001 on two tracks from ''[[The Benzino Project]]'', and in 2002 he was featured in a duet with rapper [[Ja Rule]] on the song "[[Thug Lovin']]". Brown was signed to [[Murder Inc. Records]], but that label had already begun to dissolve, so Brown's tenure with them was brief. In 2006, Brown added vocals to [[Damian Marley]]'s song "Beautiful" on Marley's album, ''[[Welcome to Jamrock]]''.

In 2008, Brown planned to release a book titled ''Bobby Brown: The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But'', written by author Derrick Handspike.<ref name=":7">{{cite web|url=https://www.essence.com/news/author-reveals-why-bobby-brown-backed-ou/|title=Author Reveals Why Bobby Brown Backed Out of Tell-All Book Deal|date=December 16, 2009|website=Essence}}</ref> When controversial comments that Brown made about his ex-wife, Whitney Houston, were leaked to the media, he backed out of the project.<ref name=":8">{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1584747/bobby-browns-autobiography-claims-whitney-houston-introduced-him-to-hard-drugs/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629055622/http://www.mtv.com/news/1584747/bobby-browns-autobiography-claims-whitney-houston-introduced-him-to-hard-drugs/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 29, 2014|title=Bobby Brown's Autobiography Claims Whitney Houston Introduced Him To Hard Drugs|last=Kaufman|first=Gil|date=April 3, 2008|website=MTV|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> Handspike released the book after Houston's death in 2012.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bobby Brown: The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But|last=Handspike|first=Derrick|publisher=Over The Edge Books|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4675-1944-1}}</ref>

In 2010, Brown was featured in a duet with singer [[Macy Gray]] on the song "Real Love" on Gray's album ''[[The Sellout (album)|The Sellout]]''. About this project, Gray explained to ''[[Essence (magazine)|Essence]]'',<ref>[[Essence (magazine)|''Essence'' magazine]]</ref> "Actually, he came to the studio, since he doesn't live far, and knocked out his recording in two hours. We're friends, and his one-year-old son is my godson. His [[fiancée]] is one of my best friends in the whole world. I met Bobby a long time ago, but we really got to know each other through her."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.essence.com/entertainment/music/macy_gray_talks_new_album.php#ixzz0sGFCSUeH|title=Macy Gray on 'The Sellout' and Finding Bobby Brown|author=Hillary Crosley|access-date=September 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625041320/http://www.essence.com/entertainment/music/macy_gray_talks_new_album.php#ixzz0sGFCSUeH|archive-date=June 25, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On June 5, 2012, Brown released his fifth album, ''[[The Masterpiece (album)|The Masterpiece]]'', which debuted at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' R&B album chart.<ref name=":9" />

On February 14, 2017, Brown performed at the Valentine's Day Music Festival with [[Keith Sweat]], [[Avant (singer)|Avant]] and [[El DeBarge]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Penrose|first1=Nerisha|title=Where are the Six Members of New Edition Now?|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/new-edition-members-where-are-they-now-7669914/|magazine=Billboard|date=January 30, 2017|access-date=January 4, 2022}}</ref>