Brown grew up in small-town Virginia. As a child, he discovered a love for dancing and singing, and, when he was 15 years old, he was signed to Jive Records. His first album, a self-titled release, debuted in 2005. Sales climbed steadily on the strength of the chart-topping single “Run It!” and the quality Brown displayed both in vocals and in dancing earned him early comparisons to stars such as Usher and Michael Jackson.