Throughout the 2000s, Norwood experienced career and commercial turbulence. In 2002, she starred in the reality series Brandy: Special Delivery. Her third and fourth albums Full Moon (2002) and Afrodisiac (2004) were released to commercial success. She served as a judge on the first season of America's Got Talent and began a recurring role on The Game before being involved in a widely-publicized car accident in 2006. After several lawsuits stemming from the accident, Norwood's fifth album Human was released in 2008. In 2010, she returned to television as a contestant on the eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars and starred in the reality series Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business with younger brother Ray J. She held a recurring role on Drop Dead Diva in 2011 and released her sixth album Two Eleven the following year.

Within pop music, Norwood has become known for her distinctive sound, characterised by her peculiar timbre, voice-layering, throaty riffs, and beat-driven R&B. She has since been signed to both Epic Records and RCA Records, where she has acquired a catalogue of hits with singles such as "What About Us?," "Full Moon," and "Put It Down" being her most successful. She has sold over 8.62 million copies of her first five studio albums in the United States, and over 30 million records worldwide.