Bark + Bite

New BFFs: Chris Brown and Usher hug it out in Jamaica

TheChrisBrownBlog.com

For a while there, Chris Brown was somewhat of an untouchable. Celebrities would say they wished him well in interviews and on red carpets, but no one was racing to be seen by his side. (Except for a select few pals like Omarion and Teyana Taylor) But now that Chris has bared his soul and cried sweet, sorrowful tears on national television, his redemption is now in full swing.

Usher welcomed the troubled R&B singer onstage at Sumfest in Jamaica over the weekend. Chris played his own set on Friday but made a surprise appearance during Usher's set yesterday. The two danced and twerked it out for the audience and ended their collaboration in a sweaty embrace. No word yet on what the setlist was, but the audience likely would've exploded with glee even if they'd sang "Miss Mary Mack." This was another healing moment for Chris and having a big star like Usher revalidate him was huge.

Ever the bold fashionista, Chris Brown wore his jeans rolled up capri style with what appeared to be a pair of Keds. Unlike Usher, Chris Brown is not nearly as easily fazed by petty labels like "metrosexual" or "gay." And why should he? As if gay men don't stomp around wearing "butch" stuff like Timbs and cargo shorts.

Once videos from the show hit the web, we'll really get to see and hear what kind of magic Ursheezy (you like that, don't you?) were able to make together. For more pictures from the event, head over to TheChrisBrownBlog.com.

Chris Brown: Good News and Bad News

When it rains, it pours. Chris Brown, the R&B/Pop star who seemingly had the world at his fingertips a year or so ago, has been on a downward spiral careerwise ever since he pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Rihanna. While his fan base has shrunken considerably, their support for the beleaguered star has become far more concentrated. Browse various articles across the web that mention Chris Brown and you'll see fans defending their "Breezy" with fervor. It's partly because of this dedication and loyalty that Chris embarked on his "Fan Appreciation Tour," which has toured across the U.S. and Latin America to satisfied (albeit smaller than what he used to play to) crowds. It was set to make its way over to Europe but...let's get to the good news first.

Chris Brown and Tyga have something for the cougars

The young bucks Chris Brown and Tyga are making an announcement: Cougars, come and get it. On the track "Like A Virgin Again" from their joint mixtape "Fan of a Fan," Chris Brown and Tyga promise to seduce, titillate and please what they call "grown-ass, sexy-ass women." That's code for cougar, don't be fooled.

Like a Virgin Again by barkbiteblog

What would've made this song really hot is if they'd interpolated a bit of Madonna's "Like A Virgin" in there. But that's okay, because this is still a scintillating, enticing slow jam anyway. Can you imagine a music video for this though? Calling Vivica Fox, Mariah Carey, Lisa Raye and Betty White, this one's for you!

Ke$ha, Christina Aguilera and Chris Brown hit back at the critics

Photos by PR Photos

In the minds of many singers, there are only two kinds of people in the world: Fans and haters. Fans lap up and support everything they do. Put out a crappy single? Who cares?! Said celebrity totally looked hot in the video so that makes up for it. Haters are the rest of the world. People who judge you based on your merits. People who may or may not like every song you put out. 

Why can't the "haters" just make life easier for all musicians and just stop being critical? Readers, you're in luck as this week, the "hater" whine comes in three different flavors.

Chris Brown gets testy with radio DJ, curses then hangs up

So the anger management classes must not be going so well for Chris, huh? The "Forever" singer called in to radio station Q94 today to promote his benefit concert for Haiti in Richmond, VA, but before he even got on air, Chris snapped on the DJ, angrily asking him why the station wasn't playing his songs. Awkward. You can listen to the audio yourself here, but below is the conversation that took place.

Chris Brown: "I Love You" that's rocking right now.
DJ Kash: Oh with Ester Dean?
Chris Brown: Yeah with Ester Dean. S**t rocks.
DJ Kash: Word? I was actually thinking about making that my pick of the day.
Chris Brown: Yeah but what I'm saying is y'all don't play my s**t.
DJ Kash: Yeah we do, but that's just not even impacting on the charts. Is it even anywhere on the charts?
Chris Brown: Yeah
DJ Kash: What number is it at?
Chris Brown: What number is it at? It don't matter though so...why am I even doing this interview? F**k it I ain't doing this s**t.

His sense of entitlement is suffocating. It's incredible that despite all of the hurdles Chris has faced after his felony conviction, his ego maintains its gargantuan size. Radio doesn't OWE him support, he has to earn it. And cursing out a DJ isn't gonna get him more spins on anyone's station. His poor record label, JIVE, had to call afterward to apologize for Chris' toddler-like temper tantrum to boot. If Chris wants to be treated like an adult, he needs to act like one.

A smarter, more people-savvy artist would've made light of the situation when the DJ asked what chart it was on. He could've said, "It ain't on the charts yet, but if y'all play it can be there." Or even, "It's on my fans' charts." Anything to disarm the situation. 

Because this clip is tightly excerpted, it's unclear how the topic of Chris' lack of radio airplay was even brought up, but whatever the reason, it was unnecessary because Chris was there to plug his benefit concert for Haiti. Now, the face of that benefit concert looks and sounds like a big ol' jerk. Way to win one for Haiti, Chris.

Rihanna confirms "Cold Case Love" is about Chris Brown

While Rihanna and Chris are both trying to move past the incident that transformed their former teen dream of a relationship into a nightmare, Rihanna acknowledged in an interview with CNN International that she'll probably be asked about the incident for years to come. 

In the interview, which was released late last month, she also spoke about her strained relationship with her father, the story of signing with Jay-Z, working with Justin Timberlake and the makings of "Rated R." Though many speculated that "Rated R" was strongly influenced by the  high-profile relationship and subsequent domestic violence with Chris, Rihanna pointed to a specific song from the album as the summation of her feelings on the whole thing: "Cold Case Love"

RIHANNA: "Cold Case Love" is a song about my past relationship-- 

INTERVIEWER: With Chris Brown? 

RIHANNA: Yes. It's a song that everybody wanted to hear. That's exactly what everybody wanted to hear. Everything I didn't say for the past 8 months. Exactly how I felt about that relationship and how I feel about it now, that says it all.

Watch the video of Rihanna's CNN International interview with Talk Asia below. The part about "Cold Case Love" starts around 14:00 minutes in.

Chris Brown begs his fans to make him relevant again

Things haven't been going so well for former-chart topper Chris Brown. Ever since he was convicted for assaulting his famous ex-girlfriend Rihanna, Chris has been shunned and locked out of mainstream media events that were once courting his attendance two years ago. Even more frustratingly, Chris released a new album, "Graffiti," in December last year, but few people outside of his fanbase are giving his records any spins. 

Chris has previously lashed out at retailers for what he alleged as "blackballing," but now he's begging his fans to help put him on the map again by requesting his songs on the radio. It's a courageous move and a sign of vulnerability from a singer who once thought he didn't have an anger problem, despite being convicted for felony assault. Maybe Chris is finally realizing the consequences his actions can have on his career.

Listen to Chris talk to his fans about his struggles and beg them to make him a relevant artist again.

Chris Brown is on time out from Twitter

 

Oops! He did it again. Chris Brown shoved both of mechanical dummy feet firmly in his mouth over the weekend when he ranted and raved against major retailer Walmart and other record stores, alleging that his album was being "blackballed." The rant came as sales predictions for Chris' album "Graffiti" surfaced. Predicted to sell somewhere between 90-100K of his latest album, Chris took to Twitter to unleash, blaming retailers for hiding his album from the store shelves and lying to fans about the album being out of stock. Nevermind that anyone who wants the album can download it from iTunes or Amazon. Or if they're so inclined, they can even order the physical album from Amazon, Walmart.com or target.com. But hey, why get in the way of a perfectly good scapegoat, right?

Well, someone, likely his label JIVE, has decided to step in and silence the loose cannon. On Monday, Chris Brown bid adieu to Twitter and shut down his account. The Brownistas immediately launched Twitter trends to bring Chris back, but it was all for naught. Breezy had left the building. 

While Brown is no longer a part of the Twitterverse, allowing him to avoid any further unfortunate outbursts, the damage has already been done and retailers are hitting back at his "blackballing" claims with vitriol. SOURCE: Billboard

"Not only am I carrying it, I am over carrying it, because it isn't selling," says the head of purchasing at one large chain. "I wish I could return it." He says the album's first week sales only reached 40% of expectations. At 27-unit Newbury Comics, Carl Mello head of purchasing, echoes that sentiment. "We have it; it's not selling much."

Silence is golden. Or in this case, you could say silence is PLATINUM. It's never a good look to piss off the hand that feeds you.

Chris Brown has nothing new to say in his "tell-all" interview with GMA

Chris Brown must be an avid environmentalist because this man recycles more than a Coke bottle factory. The promotion for his new "tell-all" interview with Robin Roberts has been buzzing that Chris is FINALLY breaking his silence on the Chrihanna saga. Huh? Did they miss the last three or four interviews Chris did talking about the incident? All of which can be summarized with the following phrases:

"Uh, yeah. Wow. Definitely. It's crazy."

"I'm so sorry for what I did."

"I don't want to talk about the specifics of what happened that night."

"I'm only human."

Just read those phrases, hit rewind and play about three or four times and that's the crux of Chris' "explanation" for his behavior.

Here's a clip of what Chris says in his sit down interview with Robin Roberts of ABC.

"It's something that's really touchy." Is that it? Just do the world a favor and stop doing interviews until you spend some time with a book of SAT words, Chris. To be fair, maybe the full interview on Friday will do him more justice. But if this clip is any indication, it looks like we can expect the same tap dancing routine. 

Cassie plays Rihanna in Chris Brown's "Crawl" video

The road to redemption is often a long, winding, unpredictable road that leads the condemned through a journey of reflection and maturity. Chris Brown is throwing up all the "I'M CHANGING, Y'ALL" signals, repeating in all of his televised interviews, "I'm sorry. I know what I did was wrong." The "Crawl" video and song appear to be yet another white flag that Chris is raising to the court of public opinion. Chris is now realizing what he had (career and love) now that one is gone and the other is being threatened.

Let's put aside any arguments about Chris' actions that night for a moment. "Crawl" as a body of work on its own, is a masterful power pop ballad, showing a Chris Brown full of regret, remorse and agony. His words ache with the pain of his loss and the ethereal production makes Chris sound like a ghost, singing about the sins of the past. The video matches this mood perfectly, with Chris throwing on his Urkel glasses from the "Kiss Kiss" video for extra woe-is-me sympathy points. Nice one, Team Brown.

The "Crawl" video is reminiscent of when Justin Timberlake used "Cry Me A River" to address his break-up with Britney Spears. Chris casts Cassie, Diddy's rumored sidepiece who's had trouble re-launching her career after her one hit "Me and You," as his leading lady, but make no mistake of it, that's Rihanna she's playing. The video finds Chris following her as she moves on with her superstar life as he's left in the cold and the desert. Yes, the desert. Somehow, Chris can twirl and end up in the Sahara within seconds. Believe in magic, kids.

Watch the video for Chris Brown's "Crawl" below.