It also became his seventh solo album consecutive top ten debut in the United States. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 184,000 units in its first week, marking an improvement over Brown's last three studio albums. The album received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, who celebrated Brown's overall performances and most of the record's production, but questioned its consistency, calling it a qualitative step back from his previous solo album X. For the album Brown collaborated chiefly with underground artists and producers, being Brown's record with fewer featurings as well. Its lyrical content was described by Brown as a "representation of where i was in my life at that point". Royalty is mainly an R&B and alternative R&B album, also containing songs with influences of funk, pop and trap music. The album is named after the singer's daughter, Royalty Brown, whom the album is dedicated to. The album was anticipated by the mixtape Before the Party, released as its prelude, and serves as the follow-up to his sixth album X (2014).
It was released on December 18, 2015, by CBE and RCA Records. Royalty is the seventh studio album by American singer Chris Brown.