Sunday Feature: It's Time To Change The Rihanna/Chris Brown Narrative

Yup, Rihanna posted this on Instagram last night...

 If you have read my Hot Mess Alert from last night, or just happen to be on Twitter, you know that Rihanna posted a photo of a shirtless, presumably sleeping Chris Brown on Instagram.

Mind you, she famously told Oprah a few months ago that she and Brown were "just friends".

Sure, okay.

Now, you're probably wondering (especially if you are a fan of either of the two) why it matters to me, or anyone for that matter, what they do in their private time. As they say in their new duet off of Rihanna's album Unapologetic, it "ain't nobody's business."

Actually, when you do things like post photos on Instagram or tweet slick messages or pop off at the mouth on Twitter, then it does become the public's business, because you are doing those things in public.

It's obvious at this point that Rihanna simply doesn't care what anyone thinks about her relationship with the man who shockingly and famously beat her face in four years ago. Fans, experts, and even random people on the street supported her and vilified Chris Brown for the incident. The effects of that vilification have lasted so long that people in Sweden have boycotted his concert there, posting the infamous police photo of Rihanna after the beating on buildings. Back in 2008, I made a promise to never support Chris on this site again, in support of the battered pop princess.

Well, no more.

Don't get me wrong. I still think what Chris Brown did was inexcusable, and his insistence on behaving like a petulant, immature brat with a tattoo complex is absolutely pathetic to me. But at this point, the ball has been in Rihanna's court, and she has dropped it. She was given a restraining order to protect herself from him, she removed it. She exploits the abuse for 2009's Rated R and Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie". Chris found himself a new girlfriend, and Rihanna still found a way to slide herself back into his life. She records two remixes with him that didn't need to exist. She then foes on Oprah and proclaims him as a victim, as if she beat him in the face in a blind rage. And now, on her album release week, she publishes a half-naked photo of him to her social media followers.

Some can argue that her behavior can be explained by Chris Brown's "hold" on her, a symptom of the domestic violence that two have shared. I find that hard to believe now; I don't think Chris Brown is smart enough to be that emotionally manipulative. Others will call it love, but that's over-romanticizing a truly disturbing situation going on.

I think it's time that Rihanna takes some responsibility for her part in this public, four year-long soap operatic fiasco that the world has been subject to. Good for her for being so secure in herself that she doesn't give a single damn what anyone thinks, but maybe she should consider, for a second, the message she is sending to people, and it's a bad one. Maybe she should think about what Oprah once said about her situation: "If he hits you once, he will hit you again." Maybe she should watch any Tyler Perry movie since 2006.

What she does, it's time for her, and us, to realize that whatever happens from this point onwards is all on her. I hope that Chris Brown doesn't ever get as angry as he did that night in 2008, but if he does, it was Rihanna who put herself in the position to be in his path. I'm not saying she deserves it, but she does, this time, share some of the responsibility for its occurrence, because she had a way out. Hell, she was out. She walked right back in. She made her bed, literally, and she's going to have to lie in it.

Good luck to them both, but if something happens between the two of them, I won't vilify Chris Brown. I will just shake my head and simply say, "I told you so".

Hot Mess Alert (Thanksgiving Edition): Justin Bieber in Overalls, One Direction vs. The Wanted, and Rihanna Instagrams Shirtless Chris Brown!

Time for some good heaping servings of ratchet!

Honestly, any of these moments of hot messery deserve their own post, but considering we just celebrated the day of the turkey, why not stuff a whole bunch of turkeys into one post?

HOT MESS #1: One Direction's Zayn Fights With The Wanted's Max George

It's the battle of the boybands! One Direction member Zayn Malik got snippy on Twitter yesterday, calling The Wanted's Max George a "geek" for posting a picture with Usher on his Twitter. Max quickly responded, and it all went to hell from there, featuring cameos from Tom Parker and Louis Tomlinson. Some of the zingers? Zayn: "Mate, if I had a face like yours my hair would be the last thing I'd worry about" and "Let's not chat about vocal ability, boys." I have to say, as someone who enjoys a dragging session or two, Zayn took this one hands down. Can't we all just get along? Check out the Twitter beef below.

HOT MESS #2: Rihanna Instagrams a Shirtless Picture of Chris Brown

She may claim her relationship with Chris Brown is "nobody's business", but she obviously feels its the business of her followers on Instagram. Just a few hours ago, she posted a photo of her on-off boyfriend lying on a bed, shirtless, with his ass in the air, surrounded by Simpsons memorabilia. Seriously? It's pretty much an open secret that the two superstars are at least friends with benefits, but to flaunt it, especially after all the claims to leave them alone (and the Oprah interview). Then, to post this the week of her album release? It all screams "publicity stunt", and a tacky one at that! Here's some advice to Rihanna: if it's nobody's business, you might want to consider hopping off all kinds of social media, because then you are begging us to care.

HOT MESS #3: Justin Bieber Wears Overalls to Meet The Prime Minister of Canada

No, just no!

No, I didn't type this out wrong. Yes, you are looking at a picture of Justin Bieber wearing overalls to meet the highest government official of Canada. Overalls. I'm sorry but do they have even have farms in Canada? Is Justin Bieber a six-year old, because that's the last time I wore overalls? Is this the 90's, where overalls as a fashion statement was partially acceptable? Is he seriously trying to emulate Chris Brown, who wore recently overalls in Brandy's "Put It Down" video? So many questions, not enough time to drag him for the answers.

It's "Nobody's Business", but Rihanna and Chris Brown Slay Their New Duet!

When I first heard that Rihanna was featuring Chris Brown on a new song from new album Unapologetic, I cringed.

Despite its catchiness, the now infamous "Birthday Cake" remix was cringeworthy, especially considering the new lyrics and the fact that Chris Brown was dating someone else while singing about "licking icing off" Rihanna's cake. Now that he's (presumably) single or (presumably) back with Rihanna, the two are free to flaunt their love affair for the world to see and, most importantly, listen.

And that is where this new song comes in. It is titled "Nobody's Business", which is obviously bating all of their detractors. But instead of being obnoxious about their relationship (I guess they had their fill on Twitter), they actually recorded a standout track on a pretty excellent album (more on that in a later post).

"Nobody's Business" is a bop-tastic, disco flavored dance track, borrowing many elements from Michael Jackson's 1988 smash "The Way You Make Me Feel". In fact, it wouldn't be misplaced on the recently released 25th anniversary version of Bad. The track is quite the clever remake, making an 80s classic send fresh for today's audience. Maybe it's the MJ influence, or the awesome production, but there is something very charming and youthful about this song. It makes you forget the ugly and public history of their relationship, recasting them as two happy kids in love without a care in the world. It's the only way they could get away with rhyming "infectious" and "Lexus". Chris Brown, after the relative disaster that was his album Fortune, delivers a particularly spectacular, MJ-esque performance that definitely stands out as his best in a while.

"Nobody's Business" is probably the first successful, positive attempt for both singers to refocus the public's attention from their tempestuous on-off relationship to their music. It works masterfully. It is one of the best tracks on Unapologetic, and one of the best either have released in their careers. I can't believe I'm typing this, but it could actually be a smash.

My Five Most Anticipated Music Releases of 2011

The new year has arrived, which means a flurry of new music from our favorite artists. Here are the five albums that I will be checking for in the coming twelve months.

5. F.A.M.E. - Chris Brown
If you took away some of the more annoying elements (like his whining about the media and his undeserving braggadocio), Graffiti could have been a great album. However, the past is the past and he is raring and ready to drop his newest album, F.A.M.E., which is an acronym for For All My Enemies (commence the eye-rolling). The excellence of "Yeah 3x" definitely has me interested in what he's going to  produce and whether he can reclaim his chart glory.

4. Yet to be titled - Leona Lewis
Despite the flop that it was, Leona's sophomore album Echo was truly amazing, showing the British diva exhibiting some artistic growth. Her third album is due out this year, with a single in the spring, so I am really excited to see what she can come up with. Hopefully, it won't be a dreary Ryan Tedder ballad and will instead be a bit more uptempo ("Outta My Head" was the biggest missed opportunity ever)

3. Yet to be titled - Britney Spears
Britney Spears is an American institution at this point. Anything she does can garner at least a third page headline worldwide. Her upcoming album, with the release of the first single reportedly this month, is itching to return her to the top of the pop heap. After the #1 success of "3", and the excellent reception of her past two albums Blackout and Circus, it isn't crazy to expect the best from pop's inimitable princess.

2. Yet to be titled - Beyoncé
This decade's answer to Whitney took a much deserved break in 2010, which for her meant starring in the year's best music video and touring the world. However, 2011 marks the return of the woman who brought us the iconic "Single Ladies". Speculating about the content would be quite frankly pointless, since everything Beyoncé touches goes multi-platinum anyway. It would just be best to sit back with your iPod headphones in and enjoy.

1. Born This Way - Lady Gaga
Either the hype will elevate her to megastar status, or destroy her already impressive career. Either way, everyone is already talking about Lady Gaga's outrageously-anticipated third album Born This Way. In fact, she even pissed off fans when she revealed they wouldn't be able to hear her self-proclaimed best record until May. MAY!

What album are you looking forward to the most? Do you think any of these releases are going to flop, disappointment, or excel?

Chris Brown Issues Official Apology After Twitter Rampage

Yesterday, singer Chris Brown and Raz-B were engaged in a vicious, homophobia-laced battle on Twitter. Facing considerable backlash, Chris sent celebrity website TMZ an official apology:

Yesterday was an unfortunate lack in judgment sparked by public Twitter attacks from Raz B, who was bent on getting attention.  Words cannot begin to express how sorry and frustrated I am over what transpired publicly on Twitter. I have learned over the past few years to not condone or represent acts of violence against anyone.  Molestation and victims of such acts are not to be taken lightly; and for my comments I apologize -- from the bottom of my heart. I love all of my fans, gay and straight. I have friends from all walks of life and I am committed, with God's help, to continue becoming a better person.

As I have said many times before, I really don't think Chris has the innate maturity yet to handle websites like Twitter, where he faces criticism on a regular basis. While Raz-B's comments were uncalled for, Brown had absolutely zero reason to respond, and when he did, he took it too far. Kudos to him for apologizing quickly, but I really think he needs to continue with whatever therapy he is doing. Or, he simply needs to grow up.

Hopefully, he takes his new tweet to heart:

Since new years is coming up my resolution is to shut the hell up and and vomit on every track I touch!!! #tiredofplayinggames!!!

As for Raz-B, with all of these allegations and everything going on in his life, he is in desperate need of therapy and mental support.

I'm glad that this whole mess is over.

Chris Brown Begins Damage Control....

After the epic hot mess that was his Twitter fight with B2K member Raz B, Chris Brown has already begun damage control for his homophobic slurs that he tweeted. He tweeted:

BTW... i love all my gay fans and this immature act is not targeted at you!!!! love

I doubt that all of this will be resolved with a simple post-fight disclaimer. Whether he meant it to be insulting to his fans or not, the fact is, he said it and it was wrong.

As I wrote in my last post, the whole thing didn't need to happen. Smh.

Twitter / @Chris Brown : BTW... i love all my gay f ...

Chris Brown Attacks B2K's Raz B with Gay Slurs On Twitter

Chris Brown goes in on Raz B on Twitter,
but were Brown's insults
 about his sexuality too much?

R&B singer Chris Brown and former B2K member Raz B were embroiled in a war of words on Twitter this afternoon.

Actually, it was more of a gunshot from Raz B and nuclear missiles from Chris Brown.

Raz B was inexplicably tweeting Rihanna multiple times, trying to seduce her. Amongst those tweets was one where he accused her ex-boyfriend and batterer Chris Brown of disrespecting her. While his tweets have me questioning his mental stability, I don't think they were anything too horrible, although a bit rude and unnecessary.

Clearly, Chris disagreed with my take.

So, what exactly did he say? Check out all the tweets after the jump:

Download of the Day 10/27: "Yeah 3X" by Chris Brown

The drama that is his private and personal life has overshadowed his important role in the latets pop music shift to dance. In 2008, before Gaga dominated the airwaves, he was bringing blended electropop and R&B to the mainstream with "Forever", arguably one of the best pop songs of the past five years. When Taio Cruz, Usher, Jay Sean, and more jumped on the bandwagon, it didn't seem as authentic as "Forever" (especially when Usher did it).

So when Chris Brown released "Yeah 3X", the first single from his upcoming album F.A.M.E., it definitely felt like a return to form of sorts. With the wondrous aid of time on his side, hearing Brown play the fun-loving partygoer is a lot easier to swallow, especially with the epic-sounding club arrangement. The chorus is painfully catchy, and the whole production is just fun. Songs like this really make you realize how much Chris Brown was missed in the pop world.

"Yeah 3X" was released to iTunes this past Tuesday.

Rating: 8 out of 10

New Music Alert: Chris Brown's Comeback Track "Yeah 3x"

Chris Brown is readying an assault on the
pop charts with new single "Yeah 3x"

Chris Brown has been clawing his way back to pop superstardom after assaulting Rihanna last year, with considerable success. Yet, with his new song, he might finally be able to put himself on top again.

Following the sleeper success of "Deuces", the R&B singer is prepping a new album due for release next year titled F.A.M.E. The first single from the album is "Yeah 3x". It is a rave-styled dance track, along the lines of his smash hit "Forever". This song is a lot more instant, with powerful synths pounding in the ears seconds into the song. Frankly, it's an irresistible and fun song that is a return to form for the singer. Another thing worth appreciating is that it is unabashedly pop, unlike some of the similar songs that have been flooding the charts as of late (hello, Taio Cruz). It's like he knows he's lost his mainstream fanbase, and he is willing to fight for them.

With this song, it's a battle he's probably going to win.

Rating: 8 out of 10

UNbelievable! Chris Brown Releases New Single Following BET Awards Breakdown

Was Chris Brown's tears a career ploy? If his new single says anything about it...

You have got to be kidding me!

As I wrote in my Three Steps To Salvage Chris Brown's Career post, the first step he needs to take is to NOT milk his emotional BET Awards performance for what's it worth.

What does he go and do?

Milk it!

As I was perusing the new iTunes releases this morning, I noticed a pretty familiar name, especially considering Sunday: Chris Brown. It was in the What's Hot section, and it was a new single, called "Deuces" (the single also features the b-side "No Bullshit"). I looked at the release date and was shocked to find June 28th, 2010 there. As in the day after he sobbed like a baby on national television.

I'm sorry, but there is no way in hell you can tell me it was a coincidence that Chris Brown released a new single the day after his Michael Jackson tribute. The release of this singles bring forward two thoughts. One, that Chris timed the release perfectly so to benefit from the possibility of a re-ignited career. That appears to be true. Two, that his tears on the show may actually have been a PR cry for sympathy, believing people would be more open to buying his new music if he showed how emotional MJ and the whole night was making him.

Newslash, Chris. You got it terribly wrong.

If his breakdown was an act to garner sympathy and sales, then Chris Brown is a damn fool. Using the memory of Michael and the emotions it still inspires in people is tantamount to spitting on his grave and is absolutely shameful. I was one of the people who gave Chris the benefit of the doubt, believing he finally understood why his career fell to hell, but he didn't even wait 24 hours before proving me wrong.

For fans of Chris Brown who want to purchase the single, you can buy it with the link below. I know I certainly won't.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/deuces-single/id378611185

Career Rehab: Three Steps To Salvage Chris Brown's Career

After a career-shifting performance at the BET Awards, is Chris Brown ready for pop glory again?

Last year, I wrote a post offering fallen pop prince Chris Brown advice as to how he could save his damaged career. Of course, he followed none of my advice and proceeded to dig a hole so deep that he might as well be dead in the industry. I mean, he's doing underground mixtapes with Tyga, for heaven's sake.

Now, after a pretty spectacular showing at the BET Awards and public favor beginning to turn his way, let's try this again. Here are three simple steps for Chris Brown to successfully put the past behind him and rehab his image and career.

STEP 1: DON'T MILK BET AWARDS PERFORMANCE
People are already believing that Chris Brown's emotional breakdown during his MJ tribute was a well-played PR ploy to garner sympathy. I would like to believe that he was being earnest, but it would be easy to change my mind, especially if he goes around talking about all the time. While I'm sure the media will be clamoring for a quote about his tears, the smartest thing Chris could do is to remain quiet and allow the performance to speak for itself. Chris has a bad habit of incoherence and talking way too much, and I just know he would put a foot in his mouth. And then, any good feelings he would have garnered would be right out the window. In fact, he'd be hated more for using the memory of Michael Jackson to boost his own popularity. Career suicide that would be.

STEP 2: CONTINUE MATURING (AND USE TWITTER A LITTLE BIT LESS)
If I am right, and Chris was overwhelmed by the prospect of reviving his dying career, then I am also inclined to believe that he is ready to behave like an adult and not a petulant child. The biggest turn-off about post-Rihanna Chris was his whining, sense of entitlement, and overall childishness. Whether he was accusing of retailers of blackballing his CD or blasting bloggers and fellow rappers on Twitter, Chris was acting not like a man who royally screwed up and was remorseful, but a 5-year old who got his toy taken away for being bad. The biggest step to image rehab is proving you can learn from your mistakes and grow. While it's great that he has Team Breezy enabling his crap, it doesn't really mean much when your album is outsold by Susan Boyle. Grow up, prove it, and mainstream music will take you back.

STEP 3: RELEASE A LEGITIMATE ALBUM NEXT YEAR WITH ACTUAL SMASHES
While Graffiti partially flopped because of the Rihanna scandal (seriously, releasing less than a month after hers?), it was also because the music sucked. Honestly, it wasn't good, especially coming after the massive success of Exclusive. He had pop crossover hits like "Forever", "With You", and "Kiss Kiss", as well as urban smashes like "Take You Down". He needed to come a lot harder than fluff like "I Can Transform Ya". The album itself was also terribly inappropriate for the timing; when the world needed maturity from him, we got child's play. He couldn't have possibly gotten away with a song like "Take My Time", right? With his new album, he needs to grow up musically, while still producing a good pop hit. And by grow up, I don't mean sleaze. How about sharing the struggles that he went through on the road to redemption, a la T.I's Paper Trail? Honestly, pop music needs Chris Brown back. Whether he is ready or not is all up to him, and his producers.

UNbelievable: Chris Brown's Tears During MJ Tribute at 2010 BET Awards

Embattled singer Chris Brown may have finally scored a chance at redemption with an intense and emotional tribute performance for his idol, the late Michael Jackson.

Brown started the performance with a snippet "The Way You Make Me Feel", before recreating dance routines from "Remember The Time" and "Billie Jean". To the surprise of no one, Brown moved excellently, even if his moonwalk looked a bit off (only MJ could really do it justice).

What most people will be talking about tomorrow was Brown's emotional breakdown during what was supposed to be his singing of "Man in the Mirror". Apparently so overcome with emotion, Brown began to cry as he struggled to sing and move around the stage. The backup singers had to pick up the vocals when it appeared that Brown was simply unable to. He would later be comforted by Michael's brother Jermaine as he walked off the stage. He would appear on stage again to accept the "Fandemonium" award. In his speech, he said that he would not let his fans down again.

While the impact of MJ's loss may have been the most obvious cause of his tears, it may have also been the result of the fact that this was as much his comeback performance as it was a tribute. When the BET Awards did the disastrous MJ tribute last year, the biggest complaint was that Brown wasn't invited to partake in the activities. He was still coming off of the Rihanna domestic abuse scandal at the time, and BET probably felt than wasn't the right time (it wasn't). Now, however, was his chance to prove his worth as a performer. The daunting fact must have been truly overwhelming. It made for a surprisingly raw and real moment during the typical mess that BET puts on every year. While there are certainly valid arguments to support the theory that Chris may have been putting on a bit for a new sympathy bid, I belong to the school of thought that this was a real moment. It was actually his most real and genuine moment since the Rihanna incident.

It was certainly one of the night's highlights, and it might just serve as the beginning of the repairing of Chris Brown's tarnished image. While I still believe he is an immature brat who still hasn't conceived of the damage he has done to Rihanna, his young fans excusing his behavior, and himself, I can respect his genuine emotion and his great performance.

Check out the performance below:

My Genuine Advice to Chris Brown

I am a strong supporter of domestic violence victims, and I believe that people who have the ability to put a person through that kind of abuse should be punished.

At the same time, I believe that, in certain cases, second chances ought to be given, especially when a person is young.

This past week, Chris Brown faced the first litmus test of his popularity following his shocking assault of pop superstar and girlfriend Rihanna. He released his album Graffiti, two weeks after Rihanna released her album, Rated R. When it was clear that his album was going to underperform, he went on his Twitter and had what can only be described as a Mariah Carey-style breakdown, where he outright accused retailers of blackballing his record. His evidence? Tweets from four disgruntled fans who were unable to locate the album. This prompted chart publisher Billboard to release a report which not only revealed that his CD was in stock in every major retailer, but it was underselling as well. Shortly after the article was published, his record label reportedly ordered that his Twitter account be deactivated. Then the sales came in; his album came in at #7, selling 101,000 copies in its opening week. It's a considerable difference compared to Rated R, which sold 188,000 copies, a big drop from the 294,000 copies he sold with 2007's Exclusive, and an embarrassing gap compared to this week's #1, Susan Boyle's 580,000-selling I Dreamed a Dream.

With his singles effectively doing nothing and low expectations for next week's sale projections, it is very safe to say that Chris Brown's career is in free-fall. I'm sorry fans (and the crazy delusional fans who actually believe that Rihanna deserved what Brown did to her), but there is no getting around the fact that he is in serious trouble, and fast action is needed to salvage what is left of his career. Just last year, he essentially ran pop music. Now, pop music will barely touch him.

Although I believe in his karmic retribution, I don't enjoy seeing a person crash and burn. So, in the most objective way possible, here is the advice I give Chris Brown to save his career.

First, he needs to grow the hell up. The Twitter meltdown he had last weekend was pathetic. Considering his idol is Michael Jackson of all people, it boggles the mind that he would think that the general public (not the rabid fans I mentioned earlier) would welcome him back with open arms after he assaulted one of the biggest stars in the world. People are not automatically forgiving, and just because they aren't flocking to the stores on your behalf doesn't mean record stores across the country are blackballing him. If people really wanted his record, they would've bought it. Speaking of the album, my biggest issue with it was the lack of maturity it presented. Songs like "Lucky Me" and "Famous Girl" are simply unacceptable after what he has been through. He tries to present this adult image in his booklet, but he sounds just as juvenile as he did on his debut. He actually regressed from Exclusive, if that's possible.

Instead of releasing an album in the same year as his domestic incident, he should have taken the time to write material that shows he has grown as a person. Even if he didn't reference the incident, he could've come a lot harder than the hip-hop fluff he was offering, like "What I Do" or "Wait". His fans deserved better.

He needs to take time off; a lot of time off. His image was damaged before he started doing interviews, but he basically but a gun in his head with the disastrous Larry King appearance. Every interview following that was incoherent and completely ineffective. He kept trying to explain the incident, but failed to provide any details or reason for what happened. He didn't offer any wisdom that could help teens in similar situations, which would have made the tragedy a teachable moment, as Oprah said. Speaking of the most powerful woman in the world, what was thinking calling her ungrateful? Just because he did her a favor doesn't mean she owes him any kind of loyalty. She's Oprah, for heaven's sake. That little problem, piled on top of overdone, pointless appearances and discussions of the assault, and the release of the album dealt a serious blow to his public image. He has come off, despite his intentions, as completely oblivious about the scope of his actions and as an undeserved victim of the ridicule he does deserve.

So, after his next single flops, he needs to quit the music business for a time. He needs to go home and lay low. He needs to not be on television apologizing unconvincingly. He needs to learn exactly how his actions affected not only Rihanna, but other women and men. He was a role model, and whether he wanted that title or not, he needed to respect it. He needs to take responsibility for himself, instead of blaming everyone and their mother for it. He needs to allow us to either forget or forgive the accident instead of forcing it, which he was doing.

When I mean quit, I mean no guest appearances on tracks, no TV appearances, no radio, no promotion, no nothing. After this sabbatical, which I suggest lasts throughout 2010 and maybe some of 2011, he should come back with a lot of real, honest R&B and pop material. I'm not saying he can't be fun (I love his songs like that), but he just can't carry himself the way he did with Graffiti. Hopefully, the music he comes back with will be good enough to recapture the public's interest.

I'm sorry if my advice came off as harsh, but he needs a hard dose of reality, as does his fans. The career Chris Brown had before is long dead. He needs to build a new one, and the only way he can do it is with what I recommended: growth and time. If he takes the advice, then his career will eventually heal.

If not, then he can say goodbye to the pop dominance he had just eleven months ago.

U.S. Album Chart Update: Susan Boyle Owns Again; Brown, Timbaland Fail Miserably

Reality TV sensation Susan Boyle has snagged the top spot of the Billboard 200 again, while this week's biggest and most controversial release falls incredibly short.

Boyle sold a staggering 582,000 copies this week to top the U.S. album charts, bringing her 3-week total to 1.8 million sold. With two weeks left in the year, she is close to surpassing Taylor Swift as the best-selling album of the year. She is expected to remain at #1 next week, even with stiff competition from Alicia Keys' fourth album The Element of Freedom.

Chris Brown, who sparked controversy over the weekend by accusing retailers of blackballing his album on Twitter (ironically, Billboard proved him false and afterwards, his Twitter was deleted) enters at #7 on the charts with Graffiti, selling around 101,000 copies. His last album Exclusive came in at #4, with sales of 294,000 copies.

Timbaland, the mega-producer who saw massive success with 2007's Shock Value fails to match it with the sequel. Shock Value 2 comes in at #32 with sales of 39,000 copies. The former came in at #5 with sales of 130,000 copies, and went on to go platinum.

U.S. Chart Update: Susan Boyle To Reach 2 Million, Chris Brown's To Debut Low

Susan Boyle has proven to be an unstoppable force with her debut album, and this week will be no exception. The Scottish singer is expected to sell an astonishing 600,000 copies in her third week of release, bringing her US total to nearly 2 million.

Meanwhile, this week's big release, Chris Brown's Graffiti, is expected to sell, at most, 100,000 copies this week. This is significantly lower than the first-week sales of his last album Forever, which opened with 298,000 copies. It is also lower than Rihanna's Rated R, which opened with 181,000 copies two weeks ago.

So much for all that promo, Chris. If Rihanna and Gaga can't overcome Boyle, no one can.

Album Track Spotlight: "I.Y.A." by Chris Brown

If you read my review of Chris Brown's album already, then you know that I listed "I.Y.A." as one of the album's highlights (which are a few and far between, in my opinion).

"I.Y.A" can be best described as the chilled-out cousin of "Forever", Brown's best single. It is a mellow, synthy jam with the standard romantic sentiment of wanting to be the one you love. Brown's voice is AutoTuned to death (you can argue whether he needs it or not), but it works in an understated way with the slick production, courtesy of Free School. As I wrote in the review, its very reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys, which is never a bad thing since they happen to be brilliant masters of synth-pop.

"I.Y.A." (coupled with "Crawl") should have been the backbone for the album he should have made; a fun, but mature R&B/pop record that shows that, like his female counterpart who shall not be named out of respect for Breezy's fans, he has an artist's ability to grow with every experience.

While the album ultimately failed in that pursuit, this song seems to show that it is possible.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Album Review: Chris Brown's Graffiti

So, I just finished listening to Chris Brown's new album Graffiti, due out next week, and it is quite unimpressive.

After listening to each track at least twice, here are some basic notes on Brown's post-Rihanna album:

- Anyone looking for Rihanna allusions, you'll be hard-pressed to find them. In fact, "Crawl" notwithstanding, Brown completely ignores the incident.

- That may be a lie, because his song "Famous Girl" seems to be about his pop star ex. It's a song about a girl being "famous" for breaking hearts. He also name-checks a bunch of artists and songs. One of them is Drake (an alleged Rihanna beau). He apologizes to Beyonce for not wearing a "halo", and he even suggests that he should've never written "Disturbia". One could say that they are reading too much into the song, and it very well could've been written before that incident. Then again, it's still in the tracklisting, and it's not like it couldn't have been removed, and I don't think Chris Brown is that stupid. Or maybe he is.

- Besides the first two singles, there are only three single-worthy songs on this album. Besides the second single, there are only two good songs on this album. Everything else is standard R&B fluff filler.

- One of the single-worthy songs (not the good one) is called "So Cold". It sounds like it would be a radio hit, but its really bland and decisively not as good as "Crawl".

- One of the good songs is "Pass Out", featuring Eva Simons. It's the album's "Forever"; an electropop song featuring a sample of Eric Pyrdz's "Call On Me". The only problem is that it's not as fun as "Forever", and it's a hell of a lot creepier. Creepiest lyric: "Can't wait 'til you pass out". The song would be the best song of the album if the sample was used better (they cut out the thumping beat that makes the song a club banger. Big mistake Breezy).

- The other good song is "I.Y.A.". It stands for "in your arms", and it's another electropop song, leaning more on the Pet Shop Boys side of things than you would ever expect. For that reason, it's the second best song on the album (behind "Crawl"). It's a very classy effort, which is curious since...

- ...this album is stunningly immature for someone who just went through a traumatic, career-derailing experience. There is a "Take You Down" knockoff called "Take My Time", which is quite laughable. "Sing Like Me" is an Asian-influenced midtempo that is about he can make a girl "sing" like him (it also features an unfortunate reference of the Spanish word for vagina). "What I Do" sounds like a T-Pain throwaway.

- "Crawl" is the best song on the album.

- While I can appreciate Brown wanting to put the focus back on the music, he had to be a fool thinking he could pull off the same kind of boastful R&B/pop fluff from his past LPs. For a man who had to grow up big time in the past few months, he still sounds like the kid from "Run It" trying to impress the ladies with his swag. It's ironic that his first single is called "I Can Transform Ya", when it's clear he can't even transform himself.

- By the way, Rihanna's album is much better than Chris'.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Download of the Day (11/28): Crawl by Chris Brown

Chris Brown is a douche.

Worse than that, Chris Brown is an incoherent douche (in my opinion, if you are going to be a douche, at least have the decency to properly articulate yourself, which he clearly cannot do, if his interviews are anything to go by).

Still, that does not take away from his ability to release a cracking pop single.

"Crawl" is the second single from Brown's upcoming album Grafitti, and it is a huge step forward from the borderline misogynistic lead-in "I Can Transform Ya". Instead of ignoring the massive, battered elephant in the room like he did the last time, Brown alludes to the incident that nearly derailed his career. "Crawl" is a sweeping blend of R&B and pop balladry about redemption and trying to recover a damaged relationship. Some will take the song as a sappy attempt to win people over, but it sounds like a genuine musical effort from the pop star. The unconvinced should pay particular attention to Brown's emotional vocal performance. He stretches his range like never before, and the results are pretty astonishing. It is easily his best vocal yet, and you can feel the regret and hope coming through the speakers in waves.

As for the production, it is the best he's put out since last year's monster hit "Forever". The simple, sonic intro with just Chris' voice is very effective, and the rest of the song sounds nothing like he's done before. When you separate the lyrics from the obvious context they will be placed in, they present a very sweet, even romantic sentiment. Of course, putting the context back, it comes off as calculating. Still, you can't blame him for trying.

So yes, Chris Brown is an incoherent douche. Chris Brown also knows how to be a true pop star.

I believe in second chances, and if he continues in the right direction (unlike his asinine upcoming 20/20 interview), he might just "crawl" back to the top of the pop charts.

RATING: 8 OUT OF 10

Did Chris Brown Get Off Too Easy?

R&B singer Chris Brown can breathe a sigh of relief today; he will
avoid jail time for assaulting his pop star ex Rihanna before the
Grammys. Instead, he will do community service in his home state of
Virginia, be on probation for five years, stay 50 yards away from
Rihanna, and be officially recognized as a felon. That is thanks to
his hotshot celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, who struck a plea bargain
before today's hearing, which was supposed to see Rihanna testify.

I'm sure Breezy's fans are cheering in the streets right now, but did
he really deserve the leniency for such a serious assault. He already
has been let off by a majority of the media, his fans, and
celebrities, and there are some who thought he would finally receive
"justice" in the eyes of the law.

Honestly, while Chris does deserve a little more than garbage cleanup
and som anger management classes, I'm not particularly for him in the
slammer. My hope is that he gets SERIOUS help for his anger issues
(therapy seems like a necessity at this point) and learns from his
major mistake. I know he is, but he should consider this a serious
gift. He should also focus his energies on his new album, which is due
later this year.

Of course, through that, we'll see how many people really support him.

-- Sent from my iPhone

The Reason Why Chris Brown Is Banned From This Blog Until Further Notice

TMZ.com has released a picture of Rihanna's extremely visible injuries sustained by Chris Brown's attack.

When I first saw them, I couldn't speak.

It's unfathomable that someone who has portrayed himself as an upstanding human being could be responsible for this:

As of right now, Chris Brown is done in my book. Neither him nor his music will be featured on this blog unless it pertains to the domestic violence case, effective immediately.

Fans of Chris Brown, if you defend this, after seeing this pictures, I suggest you follow Brown's statement and get some therapy, because clearly you don't understand the seriousness of violence of this scale, and that is inexcusable, almost as much as Brown's actions.

My thoughts are with Rihanna as she recovers from this tragic ordeal.