Chris Brown's "Heartbreak On A Full Moon:" A Complete Guide

Breezy's back.

The oft-disputed king of Urban Soul/R&B has returned to making headlines for his music instead of injecting himself into the news cycle for his out-of-control Twitter fingers. Between side-eying RiRi's Instagram posts and putting "Honey" R&B newcomer Kehlani on blast for allegedly cheating on his BFF Kyrie Irving, Brown has remained steadfast in his commitment to continually test the loyalty of Team Breezy. The 45-track Heartbreak On A Full Moon is Brown's first studio collection released since 2015's "Royalty" and the mammoth effort has already earned the singer an impressive career milestone. Along with snagging the top spot on the iTunes charts, HOAFM has gone gold in its first week despite the fact that the RIAA only credited the hitmaker for sales spanning three of the seven days (Apparently, Brown missed the must-release-on-Friday memo). Brown smashed the current trend of massaging album lengths, dwarfing Drake's 22-track "More Life," Lil B's 27-count on "Black Ken" and beating Future's 36-song two album effort by nine tracks.

With enough pop flavor, chill R&B, and trap beats to satisfy any subset of the far-reaching population of Chris Brown fans, this hot new album is a unquestionable testament to the singer's dedication to his craft, a positive translation of his self-professed obsessive behavior. Increasing his album track count by an impressive 30% with just one release, even the staunchest detractor can find a track worth a second listen on the two-disk collection. While the songs can get a bit repetitive with the common uses of auto-tuned vocals and Top 40-style hook fodder, HOAFM is an album certainly worth setting aside the full 2 hours and 40 minutes needed to digest Breezy's latest musical opus. There is arguably a solid hour of standout songs that pull their weight and help soften the blow of the other repetitive tracks that add to the album's bloat factor and do nothing more than prove Brown knows his way around a hook.

Top Tracks

Don't have the time to sit down and decide for yourself which songs are worth a second listen? We've got you covered. Sit back, and let Breezy strap you in and drive you down an R&B road of sex, limitless stacks, and a carousel of women who have a tendency to mix pills and alcohol. 

• Lost And Found: "Lost And Found" gives HOAFM a solid foundation to build off of, with its muted production and auto-tuned vocals providing Brown with some nice texture as he waxes poetic about a femme fatal addicted to the high life. CB successfully dampens the nasally whine from the split-verse autotune by utilizing a lower register on the chorus. Emotive lyrics like: "Baby, you were the one that I could trust the most, used to think you were beautiful/'Til you would drink too many toasts, what would your mama say if" pepper the track.
• Questions: If you're a fan of Kevin Lyttle's club banger "Turn Me On" you'll love the island-fusion track "Questions." While it's not necessarily a track to sit down and enjoy in the silence, it's perfect for pre-gaming or turning up in the club.
• Heartbreak On A Full Moon: The early-album pleasure theme of constant bump and grind takes a backseat to Brown lamenting his broken heart on the album's title track. Its boom bap beat compliments Brown's clear vocals to deliver a solid, soulful track.
• Confidence: Breezy dives back into that smooth island vibe with "Confidence," a side-chick anthem that has the singer pleading with his lady to keep their "50 Shades" on the DL:"Please don't tell nobody 'bout this affair/Baby, go and dirty whine it up, thank you, baby."
• Rock Your Body: Brown delivers straight dancehall fire with "Rock Your Body." The track is classic dance-friendly Brown, and we're already imagining the slick routine Breezy will churn out for HOAFM tour.
• Tempo: This top 1/3 of the album track offers the R. Kelly-vibe and clean-snare snap that popularized Brown's come-up and characterized his longstanding reputation as a certified Top 40 hitmaker. With serious radio play potential, there's no doubt "Tempo" will endure as an eventual standout single.
• Handle It feat. Dej Loaf & Lil Yachty: Dej Loaf's vocals cut through the echo-heavy production like a knife, and are put to the test to recover the track from Lil Yachty's monotone, robotic verse. Breezy teaming up with the Detroit rapper on the hook propels the track into near-classic territory.
• Everybody Knows: If you're looking for the "f**k me ex" anthem on HOAFM, look no farther than "Everybody Knows." Over a chill-snap snare, Brown doesn't hesitate to pull punches over the women who wronged him with lyrics like: "Before me, you wasn't important (important)/Now you actin' like you earned it (earned it)/Go and smile for the camera (camera)/I hope that all this s**t was worth it (worth it)."
• To My Bed: According to HOAFM, there's no better combination than sippin' Lean and gettin' down. While the lyrics are uninspired (there's little left to the imagination, even in the title) the clean production and ear-catching "I'll freak you right, I will" save the track from drowning beneath the weight of other bangers.
• This Ain't: Breezy flashes his sensitive side amidst the drug-fueled sex romps on "This Ain't." Pleading with an unnamed woman to stop confusing their "f**kin' for lovin," Brown delivers a quasi-ballad with lyrics like: "Wish that I could read your mind 'cause I don't know if you telling the truth/You can tell me every lie, tell me how do I believe you?/'Cause once we get to kissing, you gon' have me finished, and I'll feel something's missing."
• Pull Up: Brown softens the icy stutter of the track's chime-blast beat by limiting the auto-tune to only the last few syllables of each line of the hook on "Pull Up." The singer shows off his studio finesse by sliding in an out of falsetto and vocoder synth- there's no mistaking the selection of the track as a single poised to grab hype for the album's release.
• Party: With Usher and Gucci featuring on "Party," there's no denying the track is a ready-made radio hit. Easily the best-matched feature pair on the album, their distinct styles are backed by the insanely catchy beat and Brown's "How to party, yeah, we know how to party" hype repetition. 
• Sensei: Brown mixes up the clear Future "Mask Off" knockoff with a saxophone-infused trap beat that doesn't shy from copping this surefire formula for streaming/radio play success. 
• Pills And Automobiles (feat. Kodak Black, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie & Yo Gotti): The fourth single off of HOAFM showcases Brown's undeniable ability to blend together catchy rhymes, trap beats, big name features, and killer hooks. With the track worthy of an official video, Breezy's homage to a drugged-out good time is worthy of inspiring countless choreographed dance routines, despite the fact that the featured verses are interjected a bit haphazardly.
• Hurt The Same: If HOAFM can be divided into seasons, Brown sheds the feel-good summer vibes for the breakup-vibe introspection of the winter months with "Hurt The Same." Mixing venom with vulnerability, Brown reminds listeners that sometimes, lashing out is the easiest way to numb the pain.
• Other N****s: Breezy comes through with "Other N****s," which serves as a breath of fresh air after the similar-sounding previous tracks  blend together as one massive "one that got away" number. Switching up the blame from his ex to the men that broke her heart before, Breezy sings: "Now I blame it on them other n****s/It ain't you, girl, it's them other n****s."
• You Like: Brown returns to the pop-style that made him famous in the mainstream with the up-tempo electro-beat banger. "You Like" is a get-ready-in-front-of-the-mirror jam that will soon infiltrate "night out" playlists everywhere.
• Paradise: While Brown's front-facing vulnerability comes off as trite and manufactured in songs like "Nowhere" and "Tough Love," his heartache is actually available in "Paradise." The lyrics have a certain poetic duality, serving as an ode to Brown's desire to shed his womanizer ways: "I've been looking for love in all the wrong places (all the wrong places)/And I've been looking for you in other girl's faces, it's time that I faced it (in other girl's faces)/I messed up with you" and also a frank recognition of his public fall from grace: "I fell out of paradise (I fell out of paradise)/And now all I do is cry, oh (and now all I do is cry)/It hurts when you fall out of paradise (fall out of paradise)/It cuts me just like a knife, oh (it cuts me just like a knife)."
• Even: After the first listen, "Even's" repetitively catchy "Remember the time" will be stuck in your head for days, drumming the beat on the steering wheel- and that's not a bad thing.
• High End: The slow drag of "High End's" downtempo beat allow for a mumble-rap battle between Young Thug and Future as Breezy weaves in an out of their features with a hybrid rap-singing addition. The trio attempts to outdo each other in a brag contest centered around boasting their high end lifestyles and purchases. While it's not a Privacy-styled banger, it's no surprise that CB chose this track as a single with such big name talent present. 
• Tell Me What To Do: Brown ditches the vibrato and embraces some serious note-reaching singing in "Tell Me What To Do." Between his impressive falsetto in hitting the track's high points and belting out lines like: "You can't get away from me/Girl, I'm about to put in overtime," Breezy reiterates that he just wants his lady to get hers.
• Frustrated: If you’re a fan of pop-styled Brown, “Frustrated” is a sure-to-be Top 40 jam that will set the turn up to overdrive in the club. Unlike previous tracks, CB’s use of autotune doesn’t seem out of place when the vocals mesh perfectly with the chill house/electropop beat.
• Enemy: The regretful ultimate cheater's anthem of "Enemy" smoothly slides right into place following several uptempo tracks. Brown attempts to win his woman back with: "She was just one night, she was just one night/Baby, you were my whole life, you were my whole life."
• If You're Down: "If You're Down" joins forces with "Bite My Tongue" and "Frustrated" as the standout pop tracks from the album. If you like the choreographed-dancing, chorus-heavy section of Brown's discography, "IYD" is the track for you.
• Bite My Tongue: If you're one to eagerly skip over Brown's hip-hop collabs, "Bite My Tongue" was made for you- the pop, slow-grind of the club scene fan. The alarm whine and futuristic pre-hook vocal blips set this track apart as one of the album's most polished production efforts.
• Run Away: R&Banger Brown does his musical reputation proud with "This Way," an unlucky-in-love refrain that contains an unexpected and well-placed "Fast Car" Tracy Chapman sample. Soulful and sweet, Brown's emotive voice stand true behind his lyrics.
• This Way: Finally! A breakup track that doesn't nudge the listener to have a full on, shower-cry session. This surprisingly upbeat, high tempo track is a perfect cut-up of the toned-down latter third of the album and offers a bright perspective on moving on, in: "Baby, you make me this way/I got you to thank, I got you to thank."
• Emotions: Brown's signature vocal runs are put to the test with "Emotions," and you'll certainly be hard-pressed to get the number sequence out of your head. Signature Breezy smooth listening at its best: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5 A.M., why do you keep playing with emotions? (Oh, A.M., playing with, playing with)/5, 4, 3, 2, 1 A.M., baby, why you playing with emotions? (Oh, why?)"
• Grass Ain't Greener: Brown ditches his brash grandiosity on the album's close, a solid track choice to seal the lengthy collection. "Seems like ain't nothing cool about being real/No one's honest about what they feel/Take a hoe and try to treat her well/She'll be back up at the club again," Brown sings with emotion in his voice- easily one of the most believable songwriting efforts completed by the singer.

Tracks To Skip

 Wondering which songs aren't worth streaming? Here are the flops from Heartbreak On A Full Moon:

• Privacy: Have you ever pondered the possibility of Chris Brown running out of ways to glorify seedy, grungy sex with cringeworthy lyrics? While Breezy has been lauded as the king of subtle intrigue when it comes to bedroom jams, he definitely missed the mark with "Privacy." Brown leaves little to the imagination with lines like: "Licking your private parts (Boom shakalaka, hahaha)/And I know you love your privacy."
• Juicy Booty: If Chris Brown was eager to shed his woman-beater toxic persona with his recent "Welcome to My Life" documentary, it certainly didn't show with the addition of "Juicy Booty," featuring Jhene Aiko and R. Kelly. With its tone-deaf release amidst a current watershed reveal of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry, Brown's collab with R. Kelly alone raised a few eyebrows. "When you're in front and I'm behind, can I get you back? (Ooh)/And when you come (when you come)/Don't forget that ass, ass," Brown and Kelly croon (together!) on the bridge. 
• Roses: "Roses" is nothing if not repetitive. Along with comparing his partner's vagina to a dog: "I bring the noise, I'm tryna go 'til you can't feel your toes (feel your toes)/Make that poonpoon up a dog bring it back to life" Brown never breaks from barraging the listener with claims of how badly he needs raw sex.
• Sip: By track 10, we get it. Brown can have sex all night long, EVERY night and it’ll be the best she’s ever had- right? In case the listener was still capable of doubting Brown’s alleged prowess at this point, he brought it home with oversexed lyrics over an uninspired beat: "We don't even need no foreplay/Even when we sober/We get drunk off love then have sex all day."
• Hope You Do: It's the uninspired, repetitive lyrics that lands "Hope You Do" in the "tracks to skip" column. The song's saving grace? The well-placed sample of Donell Jones’ “Where I Wanna Be."
• Summer Breeze: "Summer Breeze" acts as a repetitive mashup of all of Breezy's most forgettable tracks. With clunky metaphors for sex acts like: "Left hand on the steering wheel other hand up on your waist (on your waist)/Hit her with that oh my God, I think she wanna taste my DNA, oh ah (DNA)" the track can't help but fall flat.
• No Exit: Amidst a sea of testaments to the dripping-wet (literally) glory of one-night-stands, "No Exit" feels like a cardboard plea for real love. Sorry Breezy, but you can't sing about how you're a changed man - "So don't be worried by my ex chick, I know that you heard them stories (no, stories)'Bout all them games we use to play, but that ain't me now, I'm different, babe (I'm different, babe)" - in between gloating about the notches on your bedpost.
• I Love Her: Simply put? Too much "Island-Style Drake" and not enough CB. If you're not aware of the track distinction, it can be swapped with any other R&B track on this list and the changeover wouldn't be noticed.
• Nowhere: How many times can Chris Brown exploit a finger-snap beat? He'll make you count with "Nowhere," a can't-quit-you song that has an angrily repetitive chorus-hook hybrid.
• Tough Love: "Tough Love" is a yawn-inducing track that offers a barely-there separation from chorus and verse, and is definitely worth a skip. With no radio, emotional, or lyrical appeal- we're left wondering if the sleeper beat was only included to pad out the track list.
• Covered In You: There's sexy, turn-it-up-to-drown-out-headboard-thumping music and then there's cringe-worthy lyrical depictions of the beast with two backs. "Covered In You" is unfortunately the latter with lines like: "Hold on to me tight, yeah/And if you feel any pressure, that's alright, alright/There's a leak in your Levi, it's on the verge of caving in/But I'm prepared if it breaks, baby, so whenever you feel it coming, don't fight."
• On Me: On the first listen of "On Me," you're tempted to check the track title just to make sure you definitely haven't heard it before. With a generic trap beat interspersed with snap breaks to signal the hook's intro, there's nothing memorable in the song, from start to finish. The addition feels lazy, at best.
• Yellow Tape: Brown's "Tired of fake loving, fake Hollywood, ain't 'bout s**t" testament to the vapid nature of the glitz and glamour of the industry comes off tone-deaf from the singer with such a storied past. 
• Reddi Wip: "Reddi Wip" is a canned, generic-style song that has none of Breezy's usual charm, and comes off as more of a cover track than an original effort. 
• Hangover: Even through CB flexes his rap muscles on "Hangover," the song could easily be attributed to any other soft hip hop artists currently sitting on the charts. Forgettable, at best.
• Only 4 Me: Even the track's strong features, Ty Dolla $ign and Verse Simmond, can't save "Only 4 Me" from falling victim to the churn of pop music banality. Forgettable lyrics like "She shake it like a freak, oh/Only for me, me, me, oh" only further the track's descent through the cracks of the album.