Back in February of 2009, when TMZ published the famous photo of Rihanna after her domestic fight with then-boyfriend Chris Brown, Americans were furious with Brown and his violent actions. People questioned whether Brown would ever be able to sell another successful record. Radio stations threatened to never play his music. In fact, Ryan Seacrest declined to interview Brown about his upcoming CD for his Los Angeles radio station, KIISFM. 

In March of 2011, after several months of little news from Brown, he returned to controversy when he stopped at ABC’s “Good Morning America” to promote his latest CD “F.A.M.E.” TMZ reported Brown became enraged when host Robin Roberts brought up the infamous Rihanna fight. Brown got so angry he smashed a dressing room window and stormed out of the New York City studios with his shirt off.

Some experts predicted that despite all his bad press, Brown would eventually be forgiven once he came out with great music similar to songs that made him successful in the first place such as “Run It.” As of today, those experts appear to be right.

Four months after “F.A.M.E” was released, the album continues to sell. Two songs from the album are in the top 50 on I-tunes this week. “She Ain’t You,” “Yeah 3X” and “Look At Me Now” have received airplay on Top 40 stations across the United States. Brown also managed to get huge stars such as Ludacris, Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne to collaborate with him on some of his latest songs.

With over 13.9 million fans on Facebook and over 3.5 million followers on Twitter, Brown’s fan base appears to be growing. Just last week, Brown performed on NBC’s “Today” show as part of the summer concert series. NBC reported 18,000 fans came to Rockefeller Plaza to see him perform with some arriving as early as Wednesday to see him up close Friday. The crowd was as large as past summer concerts including Lady Gaga, Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen.

Throughout the concert, women of all ages were jumping up and down, singing every word and back in love with the performer. Some readers may feel outraged, be surprised, or maybe simply feel that this is all more proof that Americans are willing to forgive and forget bad behavior from celebrities.

Just this week, Access Hollywood reported Chris Brown has signed on to star in a romantic comedy with Steve Harvey and Gabrielle Union based on Harvey’s best-selling advice book “Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man.” A few years ago, would Americans ever consider supporting Brown in a motion picture?

Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant and Robert Downey Jr are just some of the many stars that have faced tons of trouble where their future success was in jeopardy. They have all managed to bounce back and Brown is no exception.

As one looks at the photo of Rihanna after the beating and then the young girls dancing and smiling during Brown’s national performance last week, it might be a harsh reality to accept. Nonetheless, based on Brown’s success, it appears that many Americans have moved on and are giving Brown a second chance.

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