Chris Brown went a little nuts protecting his precious Rihanna over the weekend, after a Florida photographer got too close with his camera. The drama took place as the couple was leaving the Kiss, Kiss crooner’s private b-day party, when Chris got pissed at the pap for snapping a pic and chased the guy away. His bodyguards also allegedly battled with the photog, and he is alleging that they knocked him to the ground and took his $3000 camera.

We’d say Chris’ defense was a little much - after all, he and Rihanna are just “friends!” But perhaps he went so ballistic because he was protecting his girlfriend. Even though they insist they’re not a couple, no one’s buying it, and Rihanna came pretty close to admitting their relationship truth in an interview with Elle. ” “We’ve always been friends,” she cooed about Chris. “But we’re very close now.”

Sure sounds like it!


Tags: Rihanna Chris Brown Hip Hop, Movies, Music

Chart-topping fox Rihanna has teamed up with Maroon 5 on the band’s song “If I Never See Your Face Again” from last year’s It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. The above behind-the-scenes clip features a scantily clad Rihanna facing off against Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine for what the band’s label head described as a “battle of the sexes style duet.” Check back here next Tuesday to see the sparks fly between Maroon and Rihanna in the video.

There’s also a very interesting guest on the set of the video whose face is blurred out — can you guess who might have been visiting RiRi?


Tags: Madonna Rihanna Music, Video

Why won’t these two just admit that they’re dating? We’ve all seen them cuddling in a pool, and everyone knows that in Hollywood if you cuddle, you’re like practically married. Celebs are crazy like that! But RiRi is refusing to admit that she’s got a man. She told MTV this weekend that she and Chris Brown are seriously, for REALS, just pals. “I won’t say that we’re just friends — me and Chris are really best, best friends,” Rihanna cooed. “We both started our careers around the same time. He is one of the only people in the industry … I trust and hang out with all the time. We are best friends, honestly, like brother and sister. If he was a boyfriend, I would say that.”

Chris echoed her sentiments, asserting, “They keep asking me, ‘What’s the deal?’ I’m like, ‘There’s no deal. No deal.’ We’re just friends.”

FINE! You say there’s no deal, we say you two are passionately in love. We’re all just gonna have to agree to disagree on this one.


Tags: Rihanna Chris Brown Hip Hop, Movies, Music

Apparently, Rihanna’s not concerned about cloudy skies at her shows. The superstar face of Totes has banned the presence of umbrellas at her shows, meaning Ri-Ri’s the only one allowed to dance with the waterproof canopies.

But it’s not jealousy that’s motivating the singer to deprive fans of their umbrella-propped routines; apparently she’s doing it as a safety measure. According to security guards at a March 3rd UK show, “We were told that Rihanna’s song features dancing with umbrellas on stage. We didn’t want the crowd following her actions and someone getting their eye poked out.”


Tags: Rihanna Music

There’s been a whole lot of neon in pop culture lately. First, Kanye West collaborated with Daft Punk on “Stronger,” made a video that combined the look of Akira with the narrative of Guns N’ Roses’ “Estranged,” and then showed up to the Grammys wearing a jacket that was literally so flashy it was designed to light up. Then Rihanna – who will appear on Kanye’s Glow in the Dark Tour — played the Brit Awards fronting new-rave darlings the Klaxons. Now comes French DJ duo Justice’s new video (for “DVNO,” above). It’s the best video we’ve seen since the last time Justice released a video (for “D.A.N.C.E.”). Enjoy the outer-spaciness, kids. After the jump, watch Rihanna playing “Umbrella” at a rave that looks like it was thrown by wayward cast members from Tron.

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Tags: Kanye West Rihanna Justice Daft Punk Klaxons Music

We just had to ask. The reigning pop princess wore this leather contraption in concert last night in Dublin, Ireland. No wonder Chris Brown is all up in her stuff these days - this is some serious dominatrix goodness! Someone grab an umbrella and cover her up.

[All images: Getty]


Tags: Rihanna Hip Hop, Music, Photos

We tried to ignore this one, but the web is still buzzing about the alleged tiff between Rihanna and her mentor, Jay-Z, at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night. The whole thing appeared to go down right as the pair was heading on-stage to accept their award for their collaboration on “Umbrella.” After hugging it out in front of Beyonce (which fueled up those old fling rumors), Riri tried to drag Jay by the arm on-stage. He pulled away, she busted out some attitude, and they then awkwardly accepted their statue with the Jigga translating Rihanna’s speech (see pic above). Check out the video firsthand to see how it all went down. Photos of the two taken later in the night reveal two things - Rihanna was getting frisky with alleged boy toy Chris Brown, and she was lookin’ pretty pissed off at Jay.

So just what is going on here? From what we can gather:
- Jay-Z is pissed at RiRi for dragging him onstage like a manchild.
- Rihanna’s angry that Jay treated her like an idiot during her acceptance speech.
- Beyonce’s steamed that her man embraced his 19-year old prodigy right in front of her.
- The internet is desperate for their to be a sh*tload of drama between these three.

Meanwhile, Chris Brown is furious that we aren’t paying him and his smile more attention! Seriously guys - everyone needs to just kiss kiss and make up. Er, except Rihanna and Jay-Z. They can just shake hands.

[Images: Getty]


Tags: Beyonce Jay-Z Rihanna Chris Brown Hip Hop, Music, Photos

We are desperate for the day that Chris Brown comes out to the public about his alleged relationship with his much-older manager. We’ve been following this rumored love affair for months, and it seems to be the worst kept secret in the music biz. Chris was spotted sitting right next to his glammed-up lady-friend at the Grammy Awards last night, smiling up a storm. But that school boy look (complete with a back pack?!) doesn’t fool us for a second, you dirty dog. Chris has been linked to Rihanna recently, but we think that’s just a front to hide the real romance that’s going down. After all, you didn’t see him getting close with the pop starlet during the awards ceremony, but maybe he was just embarrassed by her outfit choices. You tell us - which woman do you think Chris is REALLY dating?

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Chris Brown Sexin’ Up his Manager?


Tags: Rihanna Chris Brown Hip Hop, Music

* Amy Winehouse has been a denied a visa and will not be attending this Sunday’s Grammy Awards. The singer, who recently entered rehab and was planning on attending the ceremony, will perform via satellite. “I’m really sorry I can’t be there but I appreciate that I’m being given a second chance via satellite,” Amy told UsWeekly.

* Hayley Williams and her band Paramore are headed to the Grammys, but don’t think they’ll forsake their punk roots and go glam for the event: “We’ve never worked with a stylist before, so this is a different world from what we’re used to. We don’t want to abandon our background — like I come out there wearing a gown. We’re going to have fun with it.” Williams thinks the band, up for the Best New Artist Grammy, has a shot at winning. “It’s possible we could win — we made it this far.”

* Kanye West, up for eight nominations at Sunday night’s award show, is planning an emotional tribute to his mother, who died this past November due to complications from plastic surgery. Ye will perform “Stronger” and “Hey Mama.”

* After paying tribute to ’80s smashes by New Order and Michael Jackson on his year’s multi-single-spawning release Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna will perform with The Time, who you might remember as Prince’s musical competition in Purple Rain. The band, formerly led by Morris Day, will be reuniting for the occasion. Let’s hope they do “Umbrella,” (originally written for a certain out-of-control pop star).

Be back here on Sunday night at 8 p.m., where we’ll be dishing on all the performances.


Tags: Amy Winehouse Kanye West Rihanna Paramore grammys, Music

Each year the act of predicting which artists will take home a Grammy becomes one of pop music’s great guessing games. Someone picks a category, and everyone becomes a pundit. That includes us. We want your comments, too. Do you think our choices are right? Watch the show with us this Sunday night, and join our LIVE BLOG commentary right here at 8 pm.

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Beyonce: “Irreplaceable”
This screed about how the value of self-important men begins with a set of instructions: “To the left, to the left/ Everything you own in a box to the left.” Wonder how Jay-Z took that line?

Foo Fighters: “The Pretender”
Moderate rock, Dave Grohl-style: loud, passionate, dynamic, classic, and prog. Don’t forget the mildly rousing refrain of “Who are you?” But, sorry, it’s still boring.

Rihanna: “Umbrella”
Barbados’ answer to Madonna returned with a Jerry Bruckheimer-sized blockbuster of a disc, and this song, which stuck in our heads for the entire summer, was the centerpiece.

Justin Timberlake: “What Goes Around . . . Comes Around”
When coupled with Timbaland’s production, Justin’s soft-pop R&B added up to a great big rock opera.

Amy Winehouse: “Rehab”
They tried to make her go to rehab; she said no, no, no. Then she said yes, got some help in London, was denied a U.S. entry visa, and can’t perform at the Grammys. Too bad, since the song so thoroughly sums up the problems of 2007.

SHOULD WIN: “Rehab”
WILL WIN: “Umbrella”

BEST HIP-HOP ALBUM

Common: Finding Forever
Half hard, half hippie. Working the poetic tip, he keeps his political and philosophical ideas up front. Kanye’s production, even when it’s florid, does a great job of selling ‘em.

Nas: Hip-Hop Is Dead
Big indictment from the Queens MC, but Nas is nothing if not a provocateur. Though it’s not a home run, it’s gripping. And that flow of his can still make your jaw drop.

Jay-Z: Kingdom Come
Jigga bounced back, and there were lots of sharp moments, but it also felt like the true glory days of this mic fiend are gone. The American Gangster soundtrack is way stronger.

TI: T.I. vs T.I.P.
Yep, Mr. Split Personality may have been at war with himself, but that tension provided for revealing glimpse into the king of Dirty South’s psyche.

Kanye West: Graduation
Haughty is as haughty does. Hip-hop’s most reliable MC hasn’t given up on positioning himself as hip-hop’s most successful MC. But his bluster has oodles of creativity behind it, no question.

SHOULD WIN: Graduation
WILL WIN: Graduation

“Best New Artist” category after the jump.

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Tags: Amy Winehouse Beyonce Common Jay-Z Justin Timberlake Kanye West Madonna Nas Rihanna Foo Fighters Music

After days of dropping hints, Kanye West has revealed he’s hitting the road on his “Glow In The Dark” tour. Ye showed off his Tron-like transformation in his tour poster on his blog last night, but failed to include tour dates. Also traveling with the College Dropout are Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco and N.E.R.D. This isn’t the first time Kanye’s gotten together with Lupe and Pharrell — the trio formed a rap supergroup this past summer, releasing a single under the name the Child Rebel Soldiers. Hopefully they’ll find some time to work on the rumored album.


Tags: Kanye West Rihanna Lupe Fiasco N.E.R.D.