IMAGINE where you’d like to be at 19 and you can pretty much guarantee that Chris Brown has ticked it off his checklist.

Glamorous lifestyle? You bet.

Platinum selling singles? Yep.

Platinum selling albums? Of course.

Grammy nominations? Naturally.

Hot, R&B artist on his arm? Well … we think so; rumours abound this week that he and Umbrella-star Rihanna have finally got engaged.

But before you weep into your bowl of Rice Krispies and slope off to your unfulfilling temping job, consider too how far the rap star has come.

He grew up in Tappahannock, USA – the state of Virginia’s most crime-ridden area – and reports are that he endured a testing upbringing, one punctuated by family breakdown and domestic violence.

He signed a record deal at the age of 15, leaving school to finish his eponymous debut album after his first single, Run It!, hit the top of the US Billboard charts.

In days when artists find it tough enough to shift albums, Brown sold over 2m copies of Run It!, signalling the greatness in store for him (in a career that has also so far included acting and directing).

Sold-out crowd

This weekend, he is the first big musical attraction of 2009 in Manchester, playing to a sold-out crowd at the M.E.N. Arena.

He will be running through hits from his two chart-topping albums (the second, 2007’s Exclusive) and throwing in some new material, including his latest single, Superhuman.

A series of leaks last year means that tracks from his forthcoming third album (working title: Graffiti) might already be familiar to fans.

Electric Guitar – his Rihanna duet – was the first to leak out, while tracks Froze, Save Me, Back 2 Back and What It Do have followed surrounded by talk that the record will feature appearances from Lil Wayne, T-Pain and Dre, among others.

All friends in high places, proving the Tappahannock boy has certainly gone far.

The best, though, looks set to come.

• Chris Brown plays the M.E.N. Arena on Saturday, January 10. £29.35, £34.25. Call 0844 847 8000.