Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Singer Chris Brown earned a glowing probation report six months after he was sentenced to "labor-oriented service" for assaulting his pop star girlfriend, Rihanna, the judge said Thursday.
Brown, 20, sat silently in court Thursday afternoon as Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg reviewed his probation report.
"It looks like you're doing really, really well," Schnegg said.
The police chief in Richmond, Virginia -- where Brown is being allowed to complete his sentence -- reported that he had worked 32 days of hard labor, she said.
Schnegg said when she sentenced Brown that she wanted to see him do "actual physical labor, as opposed to some type of community service."
The report on his court-ordered
domestic violence counseling said he had completed 17 out of 52 groups sessions, she said.
The agency running the sessions reported "you are participating and doing a very good job," the judge said.
The judge rewarded Brown by signing an order allowing him to again travel outside the United States for concerts.
When Brown returns to court on May 11, 2010, for his next probation progress report, he will be "way over halfway there" to completing his sentence, she said.
Brown was sentenced in August to serve five years probation and to spend more than 1,400 hours in "labor-oriented service" for the assault conviction.
(CNN) -- It's been 12 months since the private lives of Chris Brown and Rihanna spilled out into the Los Angeles streets following a violent argument while driving home from a pre-Grammy party.
According to a sworn statement by Los Angeles Police Detective DeShon Andrews, Brown punched her in the face numerous times, put her in a headlock, bit her fingers and ear and threatened to kill her.
Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in June and lost several public endorsements. In August, he was sentenced to five years' probation in addition to 1,400 labor-oriented community service hours.
One leaked photo, a few soul-baring interviews and two questionable album covers later, both of the young singers now find themselves at uniquely different points in their careers.
Rihanna steered clear of the spotlight for several months, re-emerging in New York City last spring, boldly walking the red carpet at the Costume Institute Ball, with a new look and a new album to begin promoting.
"There's no restriction on
Rihanna, but he [likely] can't go anywhere without his judge's permission," said RollingStone.com deputy editor Caryn Ganz. "He has to appear for court appearances to prove that he's doing his community service," noting that the legal issues don't make it any easier for the star to move forward with his career.
Brown did release a pop-inflected album, "Graffiti," on December 7, which has sold a little more than 250,000 copies. He also sold out stops on his fans' appreciation tour, but those performances were in smaller venues than he'd played previously.
"In the immediate aftermath of the incident, there was all of this 'dead' talk -- nobody will work with him, he'll never be able to sell another record -- and that's turned out to not be true," she said. But, Ganz noted, "Rihanna is clearly doing better than he is, both in sales figures and public reception."
To date, Rihanna's literal take on being "Rated R" has sold more than a half-million since it dropped November 23. She's also taken to the stage again, performing everywhere from NBC's "New Year's Eve with Carson Daly" to the "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon. "Rated R" is her fourth studio release; it entered the Billboard Hot 200 chart at No. 4, and sold more in its first week than "Good Girl Gone Bad."
Brown's last album, "Evolution," sold more in its first week at 294,000 than "Graffiti" has in its seven weeks on the shelves, Ganz said.
(CNN) -- Days after Chris Brown took to his Twitter page accusing stores of "blackballing" his new album, "Graffiti," the singer's account was deleted after he left a final message to his fans.
"I WANNA THANK MY FANS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT," said Brown's final tweet, posted Monday afternoon. "I LOVE YALL. GOODBYE!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Over the weekend, Brown went on a tirade after he visited a Wal-Mart store in Connecticut and didn't see his album on shelves.
"The didnt even have my album in the back ... not on shelves, saw for myself," he tweeted.
Brown said he spoke to the manager, who had no answers.
"the manager told me that when there are new releases its mandatory to put em on the shelves. BUT NO SIGN OF #GRAFFITI. BS," he tweeted.
He continued to say that Alicia Keys' new album was stocked and ready for release, though it wasn't due out until Tuesday.
Fans began instantly replying with unverified stories about their attempts to buy Brown's CD. The singer began retweeting, or forwarding the tweets out, some of which claimed when fans asked when the shelves would be restocked they were told "never," and allegations that managers said they didn't support "woman-beaters."
News of his outrage spread quickly and many media outlets began reporting on his complaints.
Brown began using
Twitter as a way to connect to his fans after he pleaded guilty and was sentenced for beating his then-girlfriend
Rihanna.
From
abc
In an exclusive interview, music superstar Rihanna sits down with Diane Sawyer revealing publicly for the first time what happened last February with singer and ex-boyfriend Chris Brown.
"He was definitely my first big love," she told Sawyer.
The incident resulted in the couple's seemingly fairytale relationship being shattered and Brown being sentenced to community labor, five years of probation and one year of domestic-violence counseling.
"...This happened to me...it can happen to anyone," Rihanna said.
The interview is scheduled to air on "Good Morning America" on Thursday, Nov. 5 and Friday, Nov. 6 at 7 a.m. ET, and on "20/20" on Friday, Nov. 6 at 10 p.m. ET.
During the in-depth interview, Rihanna also talks candidly about growing up in Barbados, her family life and how she has been doing over the last nine months.
From
NBC
Chris Brown is back in the spotlight -- but this time, it's not for committing a crime.
The R&B singer who beat girlfriend Rihanna after a fight earlier this year debuted his first video since the assault Tuesday, premiering "I Can Transform Ya" on music network MTV.
The video features Brown and his dance troupe decked out in all black shaking it against a stark white background. Girls in futuristic Spandex costumes, ninjas brandishing samurai swords and spinning, chrome motorcycles also make an appearance in the space-age clip.
"I Can Transform Ya," the first single off of Brown's new album "Graffiti," features Brown telling a lucky lady he can "transform" her life.
"I can change your life, make it so new, make you never want to go back to the old you," Brown croons in one lyric.
Angry fans on MTV.com weren't buying Brown's claim.
"The only thing Chris can transform is a woman's face," one fan wrote.
"Did people forget he beat up a woman?" another wrote in all caps.
But some faithful Brown believers said they were ready for his return to the main stage.
If you’ve got an extra 45 bucks and want to attend an event that is sure to leaver Twitter enthusiasts with blisters on the fingertips, Chris Brown makes his return to the stage on Tuesday night at the IZOD center. Fabolous, Ginuwine, and Diddy’s boys, Day26, will also be appearing on the bill. In addition the Dream, Keri Hilson and a few other favorites from 105.1 FM are performing. But you probably don’t even know who 105.1 plays because you just listen to Bodega radio right? Right. No Chris Brown here.
Powerhouse
Tuesday, October 27th, 7:30PM
IZOD Center
$40-$200
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Up until now, I’ve been hesitant to weigh in on this Chris Brown Rihanna thing. Lord knows we’ve had enough commentary from famous (Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres, Robin Givens etc.) and not so famous people everywhere. And while everybody is entitled to their opinion, it seems like this has turned into a very bizarre sideshow where sanctimonious and judgmental people actually get off on calling Chris Brown a savage wife-beater and Rhianna a weak-willed battered woman. Here’s a thought – maybe we should actually wish the best for both of them – whether that’s a reconciliation, counseling or an amicable parting. Or even just a one finger wave and the promise that if they never see each other again it will be too soon! What I don’t like is the idea of this quick judgment, without all the facts by random armchair psychologists.
Other than the obvious gossip mongering, I don’t have a problem that people are talking about it. I actually think this is a really good opportunity to talk about the realities of domestic violence amongst the teen and young adult population. As Oprah said on her program last week – this is a “teachable” moment. But it’s the harsh judgments and the name-calling that makes it seem like people just want them to fail.
Have you ever heard that phrase ‘misery loves company’? This was so evident when Diddy went on the ‘Ellen’ Show. She asked him about the appropriateness of him lending the couple his house in Miami to talk and potentially work things out. Now even if we don’t agree with their decision, how can them getting together to talk things out be a bad idea? After all Chris and Rihanna (allegedly) had a very public physical altercation - why is seeing them come together a bad thing? Don’t we encourage couples to try to work things out? Either on their own, with a religious advisor or professional counselor. Barring a pattern of physical abuse, don’t we want a young couple going through a rough patch to try to make it work? Why do we as a society delight in seeing them brought so low? It seems like folks are so determined to think the worst of both of them.
Now obviously, I don’t condone a woman or a man using physical violence to solve their issues. I have a young son and daughter and I teach both my kids (especially my little girl) to keep their hands to themselves. In general, it just isn’t smart to start a fight with someone who might be able to whoop your ass (which is why most women should not pick a fight with a man). My son is a little older – he’s at the age where he’s encountering bullies - and I struggle with the balance of teaching him to defend himself (and his little sister) while not making him into one of the bullies.
Finally on to the issue of Rihanna being weak for taking Chris back. I’m sure most people have heard of Battered Woman’s Syndrome but you may not be sure of what it really means. Battered Woman’s Syndrome is a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and it describes a pattern of psychological and behavioral symptoms found in women living in battering relationships. According to Dr. Lenore E. Walker, the nation's most prominent expert on battered women, a woman must experience at least two complete battering cycles before she can be labeled a "battered woman". So by this very scientific definition, there must be a pattern of abuse. Now if it’s proven that this is not the first time that she has been a victim of abuse before then she should absolutely not take him back. Hell, even if this is the first time she has suffered violence at his hands she may not want to take him back! But that is a very individual decision. We have to stop putting all our drama, hang-ups and judgments on this young woman. At worst, we are helping to destroy her already fragile self-esteem and at best we are just being cruel. While she is a public figure, I am not counting on Rihanna to be my daughter’s role model or Chris Brown to be my son’s. My husband and I will happily fulfill those roles for our children. But I will use this as a ‘teachable moment’ to show my kids what situations to avoid at all costs.
Oprah is the latest celebrity weighing in on Rihanna and Chris Brown's domestic drama. And she's taking action, too.
"Chris Brown and Rihanna, if I was your friend, I would call you up and I would say, 'Give it some time, get yourself some counseling, take care of yourself,' " Winfrey said during a live, roundtable discussion Friday on her talk show. "'Heal yourself first.''
"And also, love doesn’t hurt. I've been saying this to women for years: 'If a man hits you once, he will hit you again.' "
From
People
The pretty boy CB is just about done
Over the weekend CB released his first statement. Now it is time to discuss the falllout from this episode. This is more interesting to us than the gossip aspect of it all.
This episode should serve as a lesson to all established and up and coming artists.
Nice piece in the
LA Times about this idea
Although Rihanna has not been accused of doing anything wrong, some companies may shun her as well, she said.
"The reason why she has been used as a celebrity endorser is that she represents something very positive and in particular a strong female role model, and when she is associated with a situation like this it can have an impact."
I know everyone and their mom is posting about the Chris Brown disaster. I had to indulge myself in some gossip or should I say '
bossip'
Supposedly it was Chris' infidelity that caused Rhianna to spaz.
But I like
this story more. Apparently Jigga man is ready to add to CB's woes.
All gossip aside, I want to analyze the true effect this will have on CB's earnings.
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