The latest Rihanna single cover has the singer topless. A strategically positioned arm prevents the shot from becoming a Playboy cover. It's the latest racy promotional move for Rihanna's new album Rated R.

Rihanna's seen here at JFK airport where she's heading to London to make an appearance on X Factor. The singer is seen donning her favorite cap again. While I love casual Rihanna, I loved the dress that she wore to the 2009 Glamour Women of the Year Awards. That was divine.

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Initially hesitant to speak out about Chris Brown's assault on her, Rihanna says that her personal pain helped her delve into the creative process of conceiving and recording her new album, Rated R.

The singer tells People, "I'm usually a very guarded person, so having to go in and reach your emotions and personal things to say, it was very vulnerable." More specifically, she says the feel of the music derives from "personal experiences mixed with rock and hip-hop."

Set heartache to a catchy beat and I'm totally on board.

Gallery Info: Rihanna visits MTV's The Alexa Chung Show in NYC.

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21-year-old  Rihanna, put away her black leather for the occasion of the Glamour Women of the Year and instead donned a long, white, floor-length stunner of a white gown. The pop star took to the stage to accept her prize for Woman of the Year joked as she entered the stage from a side entrance, "I couldn't possibly make it up here in this dress. As usual, I decided to wear the tightest dress I could find."

However, the "Umbrella" singer soon became emotional and admitted to the crowd, "I am shaking right now. I am so nervous. But I am overwhelmed and honoured over this honour." She added, "It was a real honor to be named Glamour's Woman of the Year, especially because I think of myself as just becoming a woman. I just turned 21 this year." The young Barbados native then read through her prepared list of thank yous, which included Jay-Z, Glamour editor-in-chief, Cindi Leive, her mother and grandmother.

Of going public about her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown's assault on her earlier this year, the singer said, "It was like a weight lifted off my chest and now I don't have to talk about it anymore. I can talk about my music, things that I love."

Personally, I'm loving the dress. Anyone else?

Watch the video of her acceptance speech after the jump.

Gallery Info: Rihanna at the 2009 Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Carnegie Hall in NYC.

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It's been a year of peaks and valleys for Rihanna, and through it all she's managed to stay poised and popular to her public.  Her new hair, new tracks, and her new single status have been making the rounds, and men, as ever, continue to drool.

But it takes more than gumption and gifts to sweep Riri off her feet.  Hell, sending a  bottle of Champagne to her table at a club won't even guarantee you a "thanks" from the Barbados beauty.  

New York Jets' receiver Braylon Edwards learned the hard way that Rihanna is not desperate for a man's attention.  In fact, she's suspicious of uninvited treatment.  

Recently at The Bank at LA's Wonderland Nightclub, the NFL player and his cohorts partied near the songstress who was enjoying the company of her assistant/BFF Melissa Ford and fellow recording artist and friend, James Blunt.  In a move to impress her, Braylon sent over a $10,000 bottle of champagne to the Grammy Award winner's table.  Now you'd think the sending over of a 10 grand bottle of booze is the impressive part of this story, but it comes second to this: a partygoer remarked, "She didn't know who they were, so she sent it back." That's right, Rihanna was gifted a ten thousand dollar bottle of bubbly at a club and SENT IT BACK.  

Damn!  That's one smooth move I'm not sure I'd have the grace to replicate.  I guess accepting a gift of that magnitude from a stranger has a touch of the "what does this mean if I take it" vibe to it, and anyway, girl can basically afford to bathe in that stuff if she wants.  Still, he was flexing his purse and she straight up refused it.  Ouch!  Apparently, "Edwards' rep says Braylon later introduced himself and all was well."  I'm sure (wink).

Let this serve as a warning to all you cocky men out there who think you've got a shot (in your wallet) with Princess Ri.  You wanna talk to Rihanna?  Send a written request first.  Otherwise, she just might boomerang that expensive gift back to you...  in front of your friends.

Gallery Info:  Rihanna, with her BFF/assistant Melissa Ford at MTV's Time Square studio

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Ha. Idiot.

While Chris Brown has apologized once again for the beating, he still thinks that Rihanna should have kept her mouth shut. That didn't happen did it Chris, because she's not scared of you anymore.

Brown spoke to MTV about the whole situation. "Honestly, because I have expressed my wrongs and there is nothing that could come out that's like, 'OK, this is something totally different than what we know,' " he told MTV News when asked. "I basically expressed how I feel, basically said what I'm wrong for."

While he supported her right to speak out, he wishes she hadn't. Well duh, because it makes you seem worse than you were before.

"While I respect Rihanna's right to discuss the specific events of February 8, I maintain my position that all of the details should remain a private matter between us," he said in the statement. "I do appreciate her support and wish her the best. I am extremely sorry for what I did, and I accept accountability for my actions. At this point, I am taking the proper steps to learn about me and grow from my mistakes. I only hope that others in similar situations can learn from our experience as well. Abuse of any kind is always wrong. The rest I leave it to God."

Watch the interview after the jump.

Gallery Info: Chris Brown heads off to a private party in Los Angeles on August 18, 2009.

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Going into detail about her ex-boyfriend's assault on her, Rihanna talked with Diane Sawyer about how their relationship became violent. The 21-year-old singer describes Chris Brown as "definitely my first big love" and explains, "The more in love we became, the more dangerous we became for each other--equally as dangerous. It was a bit of an obsession almost."

Telling her account of what happened that evening this past February, Rihanna says that it was indeed a text message Brown received that triggered the attack. The Barbados native claimed that Brown was lying and adds, "I wouldn't drop it."

Shortly after being punched and bit by Chris, Rihanna says, "There was no person when I looked at him." She goes on to say, "He had no soul in his eyes. Just blank."

Watch the interview by clicking the continue reading link below.

Gallery Info: Screenshots from Rihanna's Good Morning America interview with Diane Sawyer.

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With Rihanna baring her soul in a revealing interview with Diane Sawyer, Chris Brown is making sure to tell his side of the story concerning his assault on his ex-girlfriend.

When chatting with Sway from MTV, Brown admitted that his first reaction was, "My thoughts [when I look back on it now] is like, 'Why did it happen?' Like, 'What was I thinking? What is wrong with you?'"

"Like, I think with my fans, they still love me, they support me, definitely. You have those people who will support you. So it's kinda like 50/50 for me. I got the people that will come out and support and then the people that don't wanna see me do anything. They basically want me in jail," Chris confesses.

Half and half just about perfectly describes the ratio of how I feel about him right now.

Watch a snippet from interview by clicking the continue reading link below.

Gallery Info: Chris Brown at Record Plant Recording Studios in Los Angeles.

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Rihanna, James Blunt, Mickey Rourke, Nicole Narin. What do they all have in common. All four were at Wonderland Nightclub in Los Angeles last night.

I'm guessing that Rihanna was there to unwind after giving her interview to Diane Sawyer. I can only imagine why everyone else was there.

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These days, things seem to be going well for Mariah Carey. She's happily married to her young hubby, starring in a critically-acclaimed movie and quite possibly keeping a pregnancy under wraps. The singer denies that she's expecting, but claims she's too busy to try and get pregnant right now.

Carey tells Larry King in an interview that as much as she would be happy to have a baby, she's too focused on her career at the moment and "cannot do the having-a-child thing halfway." The singer adds, "I wouldn't be just like, 'Oh, I'm having a child, Yay! Let me get a nanny so I can give her the baby. Take the kid.' That doesn't work for me."

However, her personal relationships weren't always so rosy. 40-year-old Carey admits that when she heard news of Chris Brown's assault on Rihanna, she was reminded of a past relationship of her own, in which she says she was sequestered. Mimi explains, "I wasn't really allowed out of the house, so I can't imagine what she went through."

Carey explains, "Emotionally, mentally, in other ways ... It's scary. You know, I just think you get into a situation and you feel locked in."

But not anymore! She's free! And I think I know why the caged butterfly sings.

Gallery Info: Mariah Carey shoots a music video on the beach on November 4, 2009.

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It's a little strange hearing Rihanna talk about what happened with Chris Brown after all this time, but she said some powerful things in her interview with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America.

The pop star said it was "humiliating" and "traumatizing" to acknowledge that the assault took place. She also said it was "wrong" that she went back to Brown after the beatings.

"That's embarrassing that that's the type of person that I fell in love with," Rihanna told Sawyer. "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."

Sawyer pointed out that, on average, woman will take a beating seven times before leaving. Rihanna's response was chilling.

"Eight or nine actually," she corrected. "And I don't want that to happen...It's completely normal to go back. You start lying to yourself. The minute the physical wounds go away, you want this thing to go away. This is a memory you don't want to have ever again."

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

"It was a wakeup call for me big time," she adds. "I'll say that to any young girl who's going through domestic violence. Don't react off of love. Eff love. Come out of the situation and look at it third person and for what it really is and then make your decision. Because love is so blind."

Eff love. Love that.

Gallery Info: Rihanna arrives at LAX on November 3, 2009

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