by Gil Kaufman
via mtv.com

Chris Brown wasn't the only one getting misty-eyed at Sunday night's BET Awards during his tribute to Michael Jackson. The King of Pop's older brother, Jermaine, told "Extra" that he was also overcome with emotion during the dance routine, in which Brown paid homage to some of MJ's most famous moves and then attempted to sing "Man in the Mirror" before being overcome with emotion and weeping onstage.

"To see [Chris'] performance, it was very emotional for me, because it was an acceptance from his fans from what has happened to him and also paying tribute to my brother," Jermaine said. "It was just a spectacular moment."

Fans and critics have been split on the performance, which some saw as the bursting of an emotional dam for the singer, making his first major public appearance since he pleaded guilty to felony assault in his assault of former girlfriend Rihanna last June. Others speculated that Brown may have manufactured the tears to gain sympathy from fans who abandoned him in the wake of the Rihanna attack.

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Filed under: Chris Brown • Michael Jackson • Music

by Rochell Thomas
via mtv.com

When Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo and New Edition were performing tributes to Michael Jackson during last year's BET Awards show, Chris Brown was nowhere to be found, even though many felt he was an obvious choice to honor the fallen legend. Brown's assault on Rihanna several months earlier presumably kept him out of the show.

 On Sunday night (June 27), Brown finally got his chance to publicly honor the man he idolized - and while his dancing was flawless, when the time came for him to sing, he simply fell apart.

After being introduced by Jermaine Jackson, Brown beautifully channeled Michael as he danced to "Remember the Time," "Smooth Criminal" and "Billie Jean." Yet when he grabbed a mic to sing "Man in the Mirror," he choked up, visibly weeping.

"I'm gonna make a change for once in my ..." Brown's voice trailed off. He was out of breath and sounded hoarse. Tears stained his cheeks as he paced the stage, holding the microphone by his side. "This ... wind is blowing my ... Who am I to..." He clearly knew the lyrics but they failed to come out.

Brown faded in and out of the song, closing his eyes, grimacing, trying to soldier on. Whether it was the emotion of the moment or the past 16 months, Brown struggled and failed to find his voice, even though the pre-recorded backing vocals played on.

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Filed under: Chris Brown • Michael Jackson

via UsMagazine.com

By continuing to speak out about Chris Brown's violent Feb. 8 attack, Rihanna says she is slowly moving past the ugly incident.

"It's relieving," the singer, 21, says in the January issue of GQ. "Because it was built up for so long, and all these thoughts and emotions have been running through my mind for the past eight months. And now it's like I finally get to let go and move on."

Although she says doesn't like "talking about it" a lot, "every time I do, it's better; it's easier each time."

She says she finally decided to speak out about the incident because "I wanted to move on. And I knew that was the only way I could have done it. And I wanted people to move on with me. 'Cause the last big thing they know about me is That Night. And I don't want that to be what people define me as."

Although pal Jay-Z gave her "advice and guidance," she says "nobody" helped her move past the incident.

"I didn't really want to be around anybody, for them to stare at me and stuff, and feel sorry for me. So I just — I stayed in the house a lot. Then I started to get cabin fever. I was like, I'm going crazy in here," says the singer, who just dropped her latest album, Rated R.

Returning to the studio was therapeutic, she says. 

Looking back, Rihanna says the biggest lesson she learned is that "love is blind."

"It took a lot of strength to pull out of that relationship," she says. "To finally just officially cut it off. It was like night and day. It was two different worlds. It was the world I lived for two years, and then having the strength to say, 'I'm gonna step into my own world. Start over.'"

She says the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional pain.

"The bruises fade away," she says. "But the thing that stays with you is the emotional scars."

Asked if she'll ever be friends with Brown again, she says, "Maybe in like ten years, you know? But it's not something that I'm depending on. I'm not depending on his friendship."

Her message to women in abusive relationships?

"Stop blaming yourself for that outcome," she says. "There's nothing you can do, ever, to excuse a man's behavior like that."

Filed under: Chris Brown • Rihanna

via PopEater.com

Chris Brown is still feeling sorry for his assault on Rihanna, the embattled R&B singer told 'Good Morning America' reporter Robin Roberts, saying that his smiling demeanor shouldn't be misconstrued as a lack of sincerity behind his apologies. "I'm really hurting inside and it's kind of like devastating to me," he said in the candid interview.

Brown, who gave his first post-assault tell-all interview to Larry King shortly after his sentencing, is now throwing his PR team under the bus for his lack of communications following the February beating of Rihanna. Despite wanting to come out and address the situation, Brown says he "had three or four days of PR and people telling me, 'OK, don't say this or don't say this because they're gonna take it this way.' So my head was not really giving me a chance to be me, it was me being me through other people."

When his video apology finally did come out, Brown says "it was genuinely from me but it wasn't projected correctly."

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Filed under: Chris Brown • Larry King Live

By Michael Y. Park via People

Only after she had a revelation about her duty to her fans did Rihanna realize that she had to speak out about how she was a victim of ex-boyfriend Chris Brown's domestic abuse.

And now? Now she's almost ashamed of herself for having gotten into a relationship with him in the first place.

"I fell in love with this person," she tells Diane Sawyer in an interview that aired on Good Morning America Thursday. "That's embarrassing."

WATCH CHRIS BROWN DISCUSS THE INCIDENT ON LARRY KING LIVE

The singer, 21, also hinted that it may have taken "eight or nine attempts" before she could finally leave the relationship.

"It's pretty easy to go back," she says, affirming Sawyer's statement that the average woman makes seven attempts to leave an abusive partner. "You start lying to yourself. The physical wounds go away. You want this thing to go away. This is a memory you don't want to ever have again."

Now a reconciliation is all but impossible – a judge has ordered Brown, 20, not to contact Rihanna (real name: Robin Fenty) for five years as part of his sentence.

Rihanna says she was further humiliated by the public nature of the incident, which included a leaked photo of her battered face.

"I was like, here goes my little bit of privacy," she says.

But she had an epiphany about how her actions after the assault would affect thousands of impressionable girls.

"When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result in some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part," she says. "I couldn't be responsible for that. Even if Chris never hit me again, who's to say their boyfriend won't? Who's to say they won't kill these girls? I didn't realize how much of an impact I had on these girls' lives until that happened."

Filed under: Chris Brown • Larry King Live • Rihanna

By Jessica Herndon via People

Nine months after she was assaulted by Chris Brown, Rihanna finally opens up about the night that left her bruised and bloody.

"This happened to me. ... It can happen to anyone," the singer, 21, tells Diane Sawyer in an interview airing Thursday on Good Morning America and on 20/20 on Friday.

Rihanna says it was particularly difficult because of the special place Brown held in her heart: "He was definitely my first big love."

Both singers have worked to move on. Brown is serving a community labor sentence in Virginia and working on new music for an album titled Graffiti that will drop Dec. 15. Rihanna is shaking things up with her edgy fashion and releasing her fourth album, Rated R, on Nov. 23. The album's first single "Russian Roulette" debuted last week.

Filed under: Chris Brown • Rihanna

Via ETonline

Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z sat down with Oprah Winfrey and disclosed his thoughts about the domestic abuse incident between pop star Rihanna and her former boyfriend Chris Brown.

Jay-Z said he had talked to Rihanna, 21, regarding the incident and explained that this was a situation that she could grow from. "There's a contingent of young people who are going through the same situation and no one is their voice," the rapper said while on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that aired on Wednesday.

"She can be their hero or she can choose not to grow from this," Jay-Z continued.

Brown, 20, pleaded guilty to felony assault in June relating to a domestic violence incident involving his then-girlfriend Rihanna, and was officially sentenced in August. The judge sentenced Brown to receive five years of probation, six months of community labor in Virginia (his home state), and ordered him to not contact Rihanna and keep 100 yards away from her - 10 yards if they both attend a music biz event - for the next five years.

Jay-Z discovered Rihanna about five years ago and recently collaborated with her and Kanye West on his new hit single "Run This Town."

Filed under: Chris Brown • Rihanna

Filed under: Chris Brown • Larry King Live

We're told that Chris Brown's wardrobe last night, specifically his bow-tie, is the top trending topic on Twitter.  So naturally, we want to know what you think about Brown's interesting wardrobe selection.

Who do you think was responsible for Chris Brown's bow-tie?

A) Brown's mother, Joyce Hawkins

B) Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos

C) Brown himself.  He's always liked bow-ties.

D) Someone else.

CLICK HERE to answer.

Filed under: Chris Brown • Larry King Live

You've heard about it, and read about it.  Tonight, you can see Larry's headline making interview with Chris Brown.

Why did he abuse Rihanna, and what during the interview made his mother cry.

And we want to hear from you:

Chris Brown says he'll stay out of trouble, what do you think?

Filed under: Chris Brown • Larry King Live