Tappahannock’s Chris Brown named Billboard’s top artist for 2008

NEW YORK -- The accolades keep coming for Chris Brown -- this time, the native of Tappahannock, Va., has 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 yesterday.

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 18-year-old Brown says he's still not used to all the accolades.

"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.

Rounding out the top five were Alicia Keys and Taylor Swift.

Billboard named Flo Rida's "Low" as the year's top song, followed by Leona Lewis "Bleeding Love," Alicia Keys' "No One," Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" and "Apologize" by Timbaland featuring OneRepublic. Brown had three songs in the top 10: "With You," "Forever" and "No Air" with Sparks.

The rest of the charts are available on Billboard.com.

-- The Associated Press