Ri-Ri, Chris back again

The buzz at this Sundays Grammy Awards is about the performance of both Bajan superstar Rihanna and her ex Chris Brown. (FP)

By Natanga Smith Hurdle | Fri, February 10, 2012 - 12:00 AM

Rihanna and Chris Brown are back together again. Well, it’s not what you think.

For the first time in three years she and ex-boyfriend Brown will perform at the Grammys, but not together, according to organizers. Sources are claiming that Brown will perform outside on a special stage while Rihanna will actually perform on the Grammy stage.

For those who have been living under a rock, come Sunday it will be three years since Rihanna had to cancel her performance at the 2009 Grammys after she and then boyfriend singer Brown were involved in a headline-dominating domestic violence dispute that kept both of them from attending the show and ultimately changed both of their lives, professionally and personally.

On February 8, 2009, Brown and Rihanna got into a physical altercation, which reportedly took place in the early morning hours before the Grammy Awards show, at which both were scheduled to perform (the performance slot had to be filled by Justin Timberlake).

Brown was charged with two felonies after brutally attacking Rihanna and was sentenced to five years’ probation and six months of community service in August 2009.

On Sunday night, the two will “meet” at the 2012 Grammys, as both are scheduled to perform. It may not be the first time they have seen each other recently, for it’s been rumoured that the former couple have been meeting up, most recently spotted (separately) at a 2012 Super Bowl XLVI after-party at LA’s Grewystone Manor nightclub.

On February 22, 2011, a court order that prevented Chris Brown and Rihanna from coming into close contact was lifted, allowing Brown to speak to Rihanna without harassing or annoying her.

Will her Princess Of China performance with Coldplay be overshadowed by the fact that her ex will also perform as part of a special performance highlighting dance and electronic music? I think not. Rihanna is one tough cookie.

In 2010, a year after the altercation Rihanna attended the Grammys (she didn’t perform) and won both awards she was nominated for – Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song for Run This Town.

Rihanna can hold her head high as she already has four awards (three with Jay-Z) from 17 nominations and is also the only female artist with the most wins in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category, with two.

Brown has never won a Grammy (Brown’s song Look At Me Now, which features Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes, is nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance. The singer will be joined by Deadmau5, Foo Fighters, David Guetta and Lil Wayne for his performance).

For this Sunday’s Grammy Awards, Ri-Ri is nominated twice for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for another No.1 jam – the Drake-assisted What’s My Name? – and for her guest appearance on Kanye West’s All Of The Lights.

In addition to Album Of The Year, her fifth CD Loud is up for Best Pop Vocal Album.

She is up against Adele, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars in the latter categories.

In 2008 she was nominated for Record Of The Year and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Umbrella – she won the latter.

She was also up for Best Dance Recording with Don’t Stop The Music and Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for Hate That I Love You.

At the 2009 Grammys she had three nominations and no wins – Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for If I Never See Your Face Again; Best Dance Recording for Disturbia and Best Long Form Music Video for Good Girl Gone Bad Live. Hmmm. Go figure.

Last year she fought off a bad bout of laryngitis and bronchitis just in time for the Grammy Awards, hitting the stage to perform twice during the ceremony.

Despite sounding slightly husky in her red carpet interviews at the Grammys, Rihanna showed she had beaten the illness as she sang a stripped-down version of Love The Way You Lie (Part 2), her collaboration with Eminem, backed by Maroon 5’s Adam Levine on a grand piano.

She stepped into the spotlight again later on for a sexy performance of What’s My Name? with Drake, complete with her own indoor bonfire.

And regaining her voice wasn’t the only reason Rihanna had to celebrate – she also took home the Grammy for Best Dance Recording for Only Girl (In The World).

She lost out on Record Of The Year; Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Short Form Music Video – all for Love The Way You Lie with Eminem.

Rihanna broke into the recording industry in 2005 with the release of her debut album Music Of The Sun, which featured the No. 2 hit single Pon De Replay. Less than a year later, Rihanna released A Girl Like Me and earned her first No. 1 single SOS, which sampled the popular 1980s track Tainted Love. Unfaithful was also released and was fairly successful.

She released her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, in June 2007. Prior to the release of the album, she spent the week of the Grammys writing songs for the album with Ne-Yo.

In November of 2009, Rated R was released.

The album’s lead single, Russian Roulette – written with Ne-Yo – was one of the year’s most controversial singles. One year later, Rihanna released her fifth studio album called Loud. It’s lead single, Only Girl (In the World), reached No. 1 in more than ten countries.

Talk That Talk was released one year after Loud. With the song We Found Love, Rihanna became the fastest solo artist in the chart’s history to achieve 20 Hot 100 top ten singles, breaking the previous record set by Madonna.

The song later became her eleventh No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Grammys will air live on CBS from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles at 9 p.m.