Famous Girl

Album: Graffiti (2009)
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Songfacts®:

  • This old-school-style R&B track produced by Ryan Leslie had bloggers and fans chattering as soon as it debuted on the net. This was because it appeared to make several references to the breakdown of Brown's relationship with Rihanna all in verse two. They include:
    1. A reference to Canadian rapper Drake and the rumored romance between him and Rihanna ("While we're on Drake/ Say that you're the best he's ever had") - a romance Drake has always denied. Brown also alludes to "rumors coming" and says he "knows what you keep in shadow." The singer gets more explicit in the chorus, when he croons, "Since I thought I found my woman/ There were other guys who thought the same thing about it/ Like damn, you let me down, down, down/ 'Cause you're famous, girl, for breaking hearts."
    2. Brown suggests that violence between them went both ways ("You were the first to play the game, though").
    3. Brown also sings, "Sorry I bust the windows out your car," possibly referring to reports that he smashed the window of a vehicle during an argument with Rihanna that occurred before the assault in early 2009.
    4. Brown admits, "I might have cheated at the beginning," and cryptically adds, "I was wrong for writing 'Disturbia,' " a reference to the Rihanna track he wrote for her Good Girl Gone Bad album. He then continues, "But I meant it in 'Forever'/ We were supposed to be together/ And I can't let you go." "Forever" most likely refers to his own hit of the same name that spawned a viral wedding video.
  • When MTV News asked Brown who, exactly, is this famous girl ? Is it Rihanna? He declined to specify. "'Famous Girl' is what it is," he said. "I mean, it really doesn't need any explanation. I think what 'Famous Girl' does is just explain how I felt and how I feel about certain situations. So if you want to know what it is, listen to it."
  • In addition to the already mentioned "Disturbia" and "Forever" Brown quotes from several other songs in verse two. They are:
    1. Keri Hilson's "Knock You Down" - ("Keri would've said my love knocks her down")
    2. Keyshia Cole's "Heaven Sent" and Beyoncé's "Halo" in the couplet "Keyshia would've told me I was sent from heaven/ Sorry, B, I don't wear no halo".
    3. Jazmine Sullivan's "Bust Your Windows" - ("Sorry I bust the windows out your car").

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