Robyn Rihanna Fenty is bouncing back better than ever after, by anyone's standards, what's been a pretty tough year. Rihanna, who's still only 21 years old, survived the media frenzy which came with being assaulted by her then-boyfriend Chris Brown on the eve of the Grammy awards in February, subsequent reconciliation and marriage rumours, a photo of her bruised and bloodied face being leaked to the media - and Brown's court appearances and sentencing.

She told Glamour magazine of the media madness which descended on her nine months ago: "‘I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears.'

The Barbados-born singer has a new album, Rated R, coming out this month, and will perform at the American Music Awards on November 22. She's was also a mainstay at Paris Fashion Week in early October, cementing her edgy fashion icon status in the front rows of Chanel, Givenchy, Lagerfeld, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Vivienne Westwood, and Balmain. Oh, and she's just been named Glamour magazine's Woman of the Year in the US.

Glamour named Rihanna its Woman of the Year for her work in the world of music and her unique style - but also for her message she's now spreading to women about domestic violence.

Yes, her album is coming out, and the cynical among you could think she was using the events of February for publicity. But she hardly needs it, and of course the assault is going to come up in every interview she does, record to promote or not. If she's open to speaking about her abuse in the hope of helping others, then good for her.

"Domestic violence is a big secret," she says to the magazine in an exclusive interview. "No kid goes around and lets people know their parents fight. Teenage girls can't tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up. You don't dare let your neighbour know that you fight. It's one of those things we (women) will hide, because it's embarrassing.

"My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery. The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn't heard. Now I can help speak for those women."

She was understandably mortified by the release of the photo of her beaten face, a picture taken for police evidence then plastered all over the media. "It was humiliating; that is not a photo you would show to anybody. I felt completely taken advantage of. I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it's my life. I was disappointed, especially when I found out the photo was (supposedly leaked by) two women."

The experience, she says, has made her ‘stronger, wiser and more aware,' and she's put the trauma to good use on her new record. "I put everything I've wanted to say for the past eight months into my music," she told the mag. "It's super fearless - which is exactly how I feel right now. I am in a really good place."

Thankfully I have no idea what it's like to be the victim of domestic violence. I hope I never do. But I'd like to think if I was I'd be heartened somewhat by having somebody young and high profile speaking out on my behalf.

People found it very hard to believe that Chris Brown could be a abusive because he was young, talented, good looking and famous. Sadly, not every abusive husband is as easy to pick as Jake the Muss. Being good looking and successful and being a wife beater aren't mutually exclusive. And let's not forget the women who beat up their partners - a small but significant percentage.

In February, some readers of this blog (but it must be said, not most) were very quick to defend the R&B star, some even refusing to believe the assault on Rihanna happened - despite a graphic photo of the singer's injuries leaked to the press and the transcript of a statement from an LAPD officer involved in the case.

Read the report here.

"I'm sure the abuse wasn't this vivid and extreme," said one.

"This has been taken too far! He wouldn't do that to her or anyone knowing that it will ruin his reputation and career. I'm still going to listen to his music, it hasn't changed. Wait a few weeks and this will be old news," wrote another. (It wasn't).

"What a load of bollocks," said another. "There is no way the law would allow such a document to be leaked to the media. It would jeopardise the case. Some bored idiot has simply forged it and made a few bob selling it off to media." (Whoops, it turned out to be authentic.)

"This is the media going crazy just like everything you read its portrayed 20x worse. Y would she go back to him if he did this much damage. COME ON. Chris brown and Rihanna are both awesome as artists and love both of them no matter what!!!!!!!!!!!"

It doesn't seem like Chris Brown is going to take his former lover's work on the publicity circuit lying down. This Saturday (NZ time) he is due to give an interview to American MTV about the attack, no doubt to deflect attention away from Rihanna's interview with Diane Sawyer - due to air on US TV the day before.

MTV News released an excerpt from the interview on Wednesday, where Brown says he's "confused right now as far as the public perception of me...I got the people that come out and support me and I got the people who don't want to see me do anything. They want to see me, kind of, basically, in jail."

Unfortunately for Chris, many people aren't just going to ‘get over' what he did. And for a guy who should be on a humble path to redemption, he certainly isn't making many friends.

Brown got Oprah Winfrey's heckles up a couple of months ago when he bagged the talk show queen in an interview with People magazine. Oprah had broadcast a show on domestic violence, with the intro ‘this is for all the Rihannas of the world.'

"I commend Oprah on being like, "This is a problem," but it was a slap in my face," he told the magazine. "I did a lot of stuff for her, like going to Africa and performing for her school. She could have been more helpful, like, "Okay, I'm going to help both of these people out."

As everyone in showbiz knows, you don't mess with the Mighty O.

In response, Oprah's rep issued the following statement. "Oprah is very appreciative that Chris Brown performed at her school, but she takes domestic abuse very seriously. She hopes he gets the counselling he needs."

After his sentencing in August Brown was interviewed by Larry King on CNN, where King asked Brown if he remembered the assault on Rihanna. Brown told him ‘no.'

"I just look at it like, wow, I'm in shock, because, first of all, that's not who I am as a person, and that's not who I promise I want to be," Brown said. "So when I look at the police reports or hear about the police reports, I just don't know what to think."

He later sought to clarify his statement, saying he certainly did remember the events of the night in question, despite what CNN tapes showed.

"Of course I remember what happened. Several times during the interview, my mother said that I came to her right afterwards and told her everything. But it was and still is a blur," Brown said.

His new album Graffiti comes out December 8 but word is ticket sales for an upcoming US tour have been less then impressive. PerezHilton.com quotes sources as saying Brown is struggling to sell out 2,000 seat arenas - when this time last year he was selling out 20,000-capacity venues.

I, for one, won't be buying any of his albums. But I wouldn't have before all this happened - his music isn't really my thing. Although I think she is fabulous, I wouldn't buy any Rihanna records either. But I really do wish her the best of luck - not that she needs it from me. This is a girl back on top of the world.

 

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