Rihanna, who just released music videos for her new singles Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova) and Russian Roulette and who is doing everything she can to promote the release of her new album Rated R (due out in stores on November 23), played her first ever concert on a cruise ship off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale, FL last night. Ri Ri played a show on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas cruise ship in an outfit that looked greatly inspired by Malin Ackerman’s Silk Spectre II costume from the movie version of Watchmen:

I understand that the Oasis of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world and Rihanna was on hand to perform and christen the ship for its maiden voyage … but I cannot get over Ri Ri’s yellow outfit … it really does look like a superhero’s costume. She rocks it right tho. I’m certain Royal Caribbean paid Rihanna quite a pretty penny to perform on their new ship so I guess we can forgive her for agreeing to play a concert on a cruise ship. After all, a girl’s gotta make a living.

[Photo credit: INFdaily]

Earlier this month we got our first look at Rihanna’s music video for her second single Wait Your Turn (The Wait is Ova) which was released a couple weeks after we got our first listen of the first single Russian Roulette from her new album Rated R due out on November 23. Today we get our first look at the video for Russian Roulette, here are a few screencaps:

This music video is set to officially premiere on ABC’s 20/20 tonight but, well, you know how things work on the Internets. After the jump, check out the video for Russian Roulette in full …

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Last week Rihanna opened up to Good Morning America in a two part interview and on 20/20 in more extended interview … and this week, Rihanna appeared on MTV to talk further about the assault she suffered at the hand’s of her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. But, it seemed evident from Ri Ri’s chat with Sway on MTV that she does not want to talk about her ordeal for the rest of her life. She made it clear that while she wants to speak out in order to help as many other young women who may be dealing with matters of domestic abuse, she does not want the subject to define who she is:

During her interview with Diane Sawyer, Rihanna revealed that she finally walked away from her relationship with Chris Brown after briefly reuniting because she wanted to set a positive example for her fans. The singer said she didn’t want young girls to think it was OK to return to an abusive situation. But Rihanna also said she doesn’t want to be the “domestic-violence spokesperson,” because Brown’s assault is only one aspect of her story. “One of the big things for me, I always want to help young women and give them insight into life experiences,” she told MTV News on Monday (November 9). “One of those things is going through an abusive relationship like I did. But that’s one thing for me. So I don’t want to be the big domestic-violence spokesperson, because that doesn’t define who I am. But if I can help young women in any way, and that being one of the things they need help with, then I’ll do that.” Rihanna is attempting to move forward following the February assault, when Brown left her battered and bruised in his rented Lamborghini after a pre-Grammy party. He eventually struck a plea deal and was sentenced to 180 days of community labor, weekly therapy sessions and five years’ probation. Brown has already conducted a handful of interviews, including MTV News’ “Chris Brown: The Interview” on Friday. But Rihanna didn’t break her silence until last week’s sit-down with Sawyer. “It was the biggest weight lifted off my chest,” she told MTV News. “If you watch the interview, you see it was a subject that I didn’t talk about for the eight months that I didn’t talk about it, so that was my first real time opening up. I had a lot of tension bottled up. So when I finally spoke about it, it felt really good. More importantly, it felt good that people got something positive out of it, because it’s devastating. It’s not fun to talk about or listen to, but there are a lot of women who are going through it, a lot of teenagers who are scared to talk about it. So I thought it was a good thing that I can be that voice for them and help them get out of that situation.”

I am so happy that Rihanna is feeling relief after opening up about her abuse. I cannot imagine what it must feel like first, to endure something like that and second, to feel the pressure from others to share. I am glad that she is sharing tho, as I’ve said before … her message is one that could greatly benefit other people who may be in her same abusive situation. After the jump, watch Rihanna’s MTV interview in full …

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On Thursday, singer Rihanna spoke a bit about the assault she endured at the hands of ex-boyfriend Chris Brown and then on Friday, she spoke a bit more. Last night on 20/20, Rihanna told her entire story to Diane Sawyer and the 8.2 million folks watching on TV … her story is a harrowing one … but also a brave one. Here are a few screencaps from her powerful interview and some excerpts from her 20/20 interview:

In a tremendously moving and articulate interview with 20/20, Rihanna gave her first full-length statements about her assault by Chris Brown in February. Describing the beating she suffered in a car with Brown, the singer said that when he beat her, “He had no soul in his eyes… It was almost like he had nothing to lose.” Speaking to Diane Sawyer, Rihanna said of Brown’s remorse afterward, “He’d say, ‘You hate me, don’t you?’ and I would lie and say, ‘No.’” That was a chilling moment, one among many. Sawyer showed Rihanna online videos of people — fans? — saying that she must have provoked Brown. Sawyer paraphrased their sentiments: “They say, ‘Did she bait him? Rile him?’” Rihanna said bluntly of such questions, “It’s ignorance.” Demonstrating a maturity and thoughtfulness about her experience, Rihanna noted, “With fame comes a lot of things, and the most dangerous is freedom… no boundaries.” At the same time, she said that when she’s shown the pictures of her battered face from that night, “I get very ashamed, angry… embarrassed… You start lying to yourself, blaming yourself… I didn’t want people looking at me. I felt really lonely.” She claimed never to have heard the song Brown supposedly recorded for her called “Changed Man.” When Sawyer showed her the internet apology Brown issued and asked the singer’s reaction, Rihanna said simply, “It sounds like he might be reading off a teleprompter… I don’t know if he understood the extent of what he did.” Rihanna explained the fight’s source: ”I caught him in a lie,” when she saw a text message from another woman. “I wouldn’t drop it, and he couldn’t take that.” She described their love as “dangerous… It was a bit of an obsession.” The awful pressure that is placed upon celebrities to be role models was made clear when she said, “My selfish desire for love could result in some young girl getting killed. I could not be easy with that, responsible for that.” How terrible that this woman should have to bear that weight in addition to what happened to her. That’s one of the biggest flaws of current pop culture — the notion that celebrities must set an example for others. Rihanna went so far as to say to Sawyer, “I’m glad it happened to me, because now I can help young girls when it happens to them.” Sawyer asked if she “hated” Brown. She replied, “I want him to do well, to have a good career… and to grow up.”

I cannot even express how impressed I was with Rihanna’s interview last night … she was thoughtful, sure, honest and bold in her statements. You could tell how uncomfortable she was talking about certain aspects of her ordeal but you could also tell how confident she was that she was doing the right thing. I am so glad that ABC decided to air portions of Rihanna’s interview over two days and one night … the wider her story is spread, the more likely that her message will reach those who desperately need to hear it. After the jump, watch Rihanna’s entire 20/20 interview online …

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Yesterday we saw part 1 of Good Morning America’s interview with Rihanna, her first televised interview since being assaulted by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown back in February, and today we get to see part 2 of GMA’s interview. Today, Rihanna spoke specifically about that fateful night when she was beat bloody and reveals what the circumstances were that led to the assault. Here are a few screencaps from her interview and some excerpts from the piece:

Rihanna is breaking her silence about the night then-boyfriend Chris Brown beat her, telling Diane Sawyer that he had “no soul in his eyes.” “It wasn’t the same person that says I love you. It was not those… eyes,” she told Sawyer in an exclusive interview. “He had … no soul in his eyes. Just blank. …He was clearly blacked out. There was no person when I looked at him.” The February 2009 assault left the 21-year-old battered and bruised, and Brown was sentenced to five years of probation, community labor, and one year of domestic-violence counseling. “All I kept thinking all the time: When is it going to stop? When it is going to stop?” she said. After the attack, Rihanna briefly reunited with Brown, but said that she never forgave him. “I just said to him, ‘I can’t do this.’ I resented him. I resented him so much. And I always put the tough face on and try to, I can do anything face, and just try to play it off. But he knew. He knew it. He kept asking me, ‘You hate me, don’t you? You hate me,’” she told Sawyer. “And I would lie and I would say, ‘No, no. And … I did hate him. … Everything about him annoyed me. So finally … I just said, we can’t … we can’t do this. I cannot continue to do this.” Before the dramatic incident, the couple’s seemingly fairytale relationship began as a friendship. A 16-year-old Rihanna — with a growing empire of endorsements, fashion spreads, and a bank account in the multi-millions — said she was attracted to 15-year-old Brown’s personality, humor and charm. “We were just friends. We always played. So it was … a good feeling to come out of the adult lifestyle and just, when you’re in your room, just be yourself,” she said of their year-and-a-half-long romance. “He was definitely my first big love.” But the starlet said that the deeper they fell for one another, the darker their relationship became, bordering on an “obsession.” “To fall in love with your best friend it … can be scary because the … the emotions get really, they get the best of you. Like it takes over,” she said. “The more in love we became, the more dangerous we became for each other, equally as dangerous.” Rihanna recounted the details of the “ugly” night, describing how she and Brown got in a heated argument over a text message on Brown’s phone. “I caught him in a lie. And he wouldn’t tell the truth … I was being more annoyed at that point in our relationship he had to lie about something so stupid,” she said. “I couldn’t take that he kept lying to me. And he couldn’t take that I wouldn’t drop it. And … it was ugly.”

Yes, that fateful night got very ugly from there :( After the jump, read more of Rihanna’s interview with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America today and watch video of the popstarlet telling her story, in her own words …

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Yesterday we learned that pop star Rihanna would be appearing on Good Morning America today and tomorrow and on 20/20 tomorrow night in order to talk publicly about the physical assault that she suffered at the hands of her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown back in February. In part I of her interview this morning, Rihanna talks a bit about the physical violence she endured and expresses embarrassment for enduring it for as long as she did. Here are a few screencaps from her interview on GMA with Diane Sawyer and some deets about this part of their interview:

Pop sensation Rihanna is speaking out about the night her then-boyfriend Chris Brown beat her, saying it was “humiliating” and “traumatizing” to admit the assault took place and that it was “wrong” that she went back to Brown afterwards. “It was a wake-up call. It was a wake-up call for me. Big time,” Rihanna told “Good Morning America’s” Diane Sawyer in her first television interview discussing the assault. “I will say that to any young girl who is going through domestic violence, don’t react off of love. F love. Come out of the situation and look at it in the third person and for what it really is.” The pop star said it was “embarrassing” that Brown was the type of person she fell in love with. “So far in love. So unconditional that I went back. It’s humiliating to say this happened. To accept that? It’s a traumatizing experience,” she said. Her decision to go back to Brown, she said, was a mistake. “I stayed. I even went back after he beat me, which was wrong,” she said. “But again … I’m a human being and people put me on a very unrealistic pedestal. And all these expectations, I’m not perfect.” The 21-year-old star acknowledged that Brown held her in a headlock twice that night and bit her on the ear and fingers. After months of silence since the February beating, Rihanna decided to speak publicly about the ordeal so she can be a voice to help others who may be in danger of returning to abuse. “It’s completely normal to go back. It’s not right. I learned the hard way, but again, this is what I want people to know,” she said. “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. I couldn’t be held responsible for going back. “Even if Chris never hit me again, who is to say that their boyfriend won’t? Who’s to say that they won’t kill these girls?” she said. “These are young girls and I just didn’t realize how much of an impact I had on these girls’ lives until that happened.” After a nine-month hiatus, Rihanna is back on the music scene with a new hit album, “Rated R,” signaling a return from a time of intense loneliness following the assault. “One of the most lonely times I’ve been was in the past few months because nobody understands what it’s like,” she said. “There are a lot of women who’ve experienced what I did, but not in the public. So it made it really difficult. I just felt like, ‘Oh my God, here it goes, my little bit of privacy.’” In August, Brown was sentenced to five years of probation, six months of community service and one year of domestic violence counseling for assaulting the 21-year-old pop singer the night before the Grammy Awards. Portions of ABC News’ exclusive interview with Rihanna will air on “Good Morning America” at 7 a.m. E.T. Thursday, Nov. 5. Her full interview will air on “20/20″ at 10 p.m. E.T. Friday, Nov. 6.

So many people are so divided on Rihanna’s decision to speak out … hell, people are so divided on the issue of domestic abuse. I personally feel that any time, no matter the circumstance, a person decides to open up publicly to talk about the abuse they endured at the hands of another person is the right time to do so. It is not anyone’s place to put time limits on when someone should open up, it’s not anyone’s place to question the reasoning or to immediately assume there is an ulterior motive … I can’t even begin to fully understand the emotional impact an abused person feels when they are finally ready to talk about their abuse. I fully expect the detractors will have more negative things to say about this new interview but if Rihanna’s message is heard by just one person who learns from that message and saves themselves from an abusive situation then all of this is very much worth it. After the jump, watch video of Rihanna’s interview on Good Morning America and hear her message from her own lips …

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Yesterday we got our first look at Rihanna on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Glamour magazine wherein she opened up for the first time about being physically assaulted by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown and today we get our first look at Rihanna’s first television interview about that very same incident. Good Morning America, helmed by Diane Sawyer, sat down with Rihanna recently to do an interview set for air tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday morning on 20/20 on Friday night. Here is a screencap from Diane’s interview with Rihanna and some info about their chat:

A written excerpt of Rihanna telling her side of story regarding the domestic violence done by her then-boyfriend Chris Brown has been unveiled. Sporting a new hairstyle, the Barbadian singer will do a one-on-one interview with Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” this Thursday, November 5. “This happened to me. … It can happen to anyone,” Rihanna said in answer to one of Sawyer’s questions. She later on admitted that Chris was indeed her “first big love”, the fact that made the whole coping up situation difficult. The interview will also be aired as part of news magazine, “20/20″ on Friday night. This would be the first time for Rihanna to talk about the battery case on national television. Chris has come forward first on “Larry King Live” to address the incident including why he was violent and what was his reaction upon seeing Rihanna’s bloody picture that was leaked few days after the February case. Rihanna will make a return to “Good Morning America” on November 23 for a performance that celebrates the release of her latest album “Rated R” that day. But she will first debut her new music video for the single “Wait Your Turn” on “20/20″ on Tuesday, November 3.

Well, actually, Rihanna already debuted her music video for Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova) online cuz we got to see it in full yesterday. I am very curious to see these interviews with Rihanna … it’s one thing to read what she has to say but quite another to hear her speak. I will deffo be tuning in to watch her on both Good Morning America and 20/20. It cannot be easy to talk about issues of domestic abuse on such a public stage … I do hope that her message that it could happen to anyone will resonate with other people out there in her same situation.

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