Just days before the one year anniversary of Chris Brown's assault of his former girlfriend Rihanna, Brown made a breakthrough.
The 20-year-old singer who plead guilty to felony assault and was sentenced to five years of probation, performed on BET's SOS Saving Ourselves: Help For Haiti telethon Friday to benefit the victims of Haiti's recent tragic 7.0 earthquake.
This booking is a big deal for Brown.
Since the altercation, Brown has had a successful small venue tour run, and has made some television and radio appearances, but he has not been a part of the major award shows for which he was previously a top biller.
The February 8 incident occurred on the morning of the Grammys, so not only did he not perform there last year, but he also missed out on appearances at the Kids' Choice Awards, MTV Movie Awards, and even the BET Awards that featured various tributes to Michael Jackson who died three days prior to the live broadcast. Brown was also absent from the Video Music Awards, American Music Awards, and last week's Grammys.
His album, "Graffiti," which he released in December, has barely sold 250,000 copies, while last week's No. 1 album from country newcomers Lady Antebellum sold nearly twice Brown's total sales in just one week.
Many music insiders think that Brown returned to the marketplace too soon after the incident. It's been suggested that had he waited longer before releasing a post incident album, it might have helped heal the wounds of his tarnished image.
I agree without a doubt that taking a hiatus would have helped him rebuild his reputation.
Since part of his sentence includes one year of anger management counseling classes and six months of community service, I think that waiting one year would have done him some good. It would have given him more time to reflect and process what message he would convey in his new music.
Instead, nearly four months after the ordeal, Brown recorded a video in which he proclaimed that he was not a monster and revealed the title and plans for his "Graffiti" album.
After reaching a plea deal with Los Angeles Superior Court, a song entitled "Not My Fault" was leaked.
While Brown's record label maintained "Not My Fault" and the remorseful "Changed Man" were not new songs, Brown admitted on Good Morning America in December that he wrote and recorded "Changed Man" after the attack.
I felt that Brown was responding to the pressure and I was annoyed by his efforts to get attention. His interviews with Larry King and MTV left him appearing dismissive and defensive. I was not convinced that he understood the magnitude of his crime.
Brown's die hard fans supported him unconditionally, but those who were unsure whether they would continue to embrace him felt more distanced by his subsequent actions.
By the time his album was released in December, Brown had lost his positioning in the marketplace, and he could not handle it.
His image continued to deteriorate as he used his now-defunct Twitter account to spew obscenities at Walmart, claiming that the retail chain was not stocking his album on shelves.
Despite the fact that "Graffiti" is arguably Brown's best album to date, the record has seemed to run its course in just two months.
Things have not been easy for Rihanna either, but she has managed to maintain a better positioning in her career.
By comparison, Rihanna's post-altercation album, "Rated R," is not as strong as Brown's record. However, where Rihanna has lacked in song quality, she has made up for in poignant videos and style.
Getting over being branded the victim in a high profile domestic abuse dispute can not be easy for anyone to overcome.
Not only was Rihanna and Brown's story fodder for blogs, newspapers, and television reports for months, Rihanna also had to deal with an image of her battered face being circulated over the Internet. And in just a few weeks later, nude photos of herself also surfaced.
It also seemed as though Rihanna could have benefited from taking a long vacation.
But instead she returned to the party scene, recorded the No. 1 song "Run This Town" with Jay-Z and Kanye West, and did not speak to the press until it was time for her to promote her album "Rated R."
Unlike Brown, Rihanna spoke in detail about the events that lead up to her fight with Brown, and said she was speaking out to help young girls who might also be in abusive relationships.
Some attacked her, saying that she was trying to sabotage Brown's career.
But she did not receive the kind of backlash that Brown received.
"Rated R" did not debut at No. 1, in fact, it was outsold by new artists Susan Boyle and Adam Lambert, but Rihanna performed at the American Music Awards and attended the Grammys.
She is steadily building momentum, and has scored a new top 10 hit with her song "Hard."
Both Rihanna and Brown are young and talented enough to transcend this experience. It will not define their careers.
While the timing of Brown's return may have been pre-mature, it signals that he has done everything he could do to try to keep himself focused on his music.
Hopefully, that will get him through his rehabilitation, and he will reemerge with a story and message that will inspire other young kids battling the same demons.
http://twitter.com/IndustryBlitz (OR EMAIL) gawood8@gmail.com
