CHRIS BROWN GETS CANDID IN GIANT MAGAZINE: Singer talks about abusive stepdad; crush on Ciara; advice from MiJac and more

You saw his show-stopping performance at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards. Now, get up close and personal with singer Chris Brown through a candid interview in Giant Magazine.


The artist, who graces the publication's Sept. 2007 cover, opens up about childhood family drama, his early crush on Ciara, his desire to fill Michael Jackson's shoes and the pressure to stay on top.


Below are excerpts from Laura Checkoway's exclusive conversation with Brown, entitled: "Most Likely to Succeed."


ON HIS ABUSIVE STEPFATHER "(I told my mother) 'I just want you to know that I love you, but I'm gonna take a baseball bat one day while you are at work, and I'm gonna kill him.' He used to hit my mom...He made me terrified all the time, terrified like I had to pee on myself. I remember one night he made her nose bleed. I was crying and thinking, 'I'm just gonna go crazy on him one day...' I hate him to this day."

ON HIS CRUSH ON CIARA "When Ciara came out, I looooved her. This was before her and Bow Wow and before anybody knew me at all. I met her at a show and was just really intrigued. I remember talking to her like, 'Yo, I'm attracted to you and all that.' But I was too young for her. I didn't get the time of day!"

ON THE PRESSURES OF SUCCESS "With a second album, there's a lot of pressure to maintain status. It's like if you're popular in high school, you gotta keep it up - keep the fresh gear on, keep saying the right things. The whole music industry is like high school. I guess prom was the Grammys."

ON MICHAEL JACKSON "Michael Jackson sold twenty-five million albums, so I wanna get to at least twelve. Michael (Jackson) said to me, 'being able to dance and sing; that's rare. Nobody can do it - only you, me and a couple of others. Keep working and dream big.' Michael Jackson told me to dream big!"