I guess Ne-Yo can hang his hat on this nod here. The accolades keep coming in for Chris Brown — this time, he’s been named Billboard’s top artist of 2008.
“It’s bigger than what I can ever imagine. It’s unexpected totally, so it’s a surprise,” Brown said in an interview Thursday.
It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise for Brown. He not only nabbed the Billboard honor in 2006, he had a great ‘08, with solo hits like “With You” and “Forever” as well as successful collaborations, like the Jordin Sparks duet “No Air.” Last month, he won three awards at the American Music Awards, including artist of the year. But the 19-year-old says he’s still not used to all the praise!
“I’ve had a good year but I still feel like a little insecure in those parts. I’m like, `There’s little ol’ me getting an award’ — that’s incredible,” he said.
The artist’s rankings are determined by album sales as well as digital downloads, radio airplay and Internet streams. The No. 2 artist was Lil Wayne, who had a huge year thanks to hits like “A Milli” and “Lollipop”; No. 3 on the list was Rihanna, whose hits included “Take A Bow” and “Disturbia,” which was co-written by boyfriend Brown.
