and suffer and suffer and think about what he did. let him rot. >> this r&b bad boy is as talented as he is controversial. >> the pipes, the look, everything. >> no matter how many times he's fallen down, he will always show up to perform. >> five years after the fall that almost cost him everything. >> the alleged victim is singer rhianna. >> i'm truly, truly sorry. >> he's back in the news with his latest album.

and hit latest run-in with the law. >> people say where chris brown goes, trouble follows. >> tonight, we turn the spotlight on grammy-winning pop star, chris brown. the 2007 mtv music awe wards. >> it was his first time on a show and he just blew everybody away. >> just 18 years old. the fresh faced phenom dazzled the star-studded crowd. >> he did things on that stage we haven't seen in so long. >> the high-flying dance moves and ultra smooth voele kas. so many, this performance revealed a new generation of pop music royalty. people who recognize talent know

it when they see it. there are some people that are born to do it and chris brown is one of those people. >> music was part of his life from the start. >> he really spent his childhood looking at hollywood and having his eye on the prize. >> he was born christopher maurice brown in a small rural town in virginia. population, 2,400. the browns were a church-going family. chris was a choir boy. >> he actually said that he had more church clothes than he did regular school clothes. but brown, nicknamed breezy wanted to be a star. >> he idolized michael jackson. he loved usher. he spent his days in his room singing along, dancing, trying to mimic them. >> but lived a home could be rocky.

>> as far as growing new domestic violence situations, stuff like that, there's times i was scared to go to bed. >> regardless of his struggles, music was always a constant for brown. >> we always got the same person. that didn't change. >> taylor saunder, a cousin, attended school with him. >> we danced at parties and stuff. he would always have a circle aushd him for the cool dances that he's doing. he was just the kind of it guy. >> michael ransom realized brown's innate talent during a class trip to a theme park. >> we saw the michael jackson song. in the park, everybody is

anxious, running around, trying to get to rides and everything. but when he started singing, no more than about a minute into the song, everybody just stopped. the moment was surreal. >> surreal talent that led brown to big-name record labels by the time he was 15. >> his mom was actually his first talent scout. they went on a search for a music agent for a label. >> they wanted to sign him on the spopt that is how obvious chris brown's talent was, even at a young age, without having any professional training at all. >> brown never signed with the music giant. instead he scored his first record deal with pop star powerhouse jive records. >> at the time, jive had a track record for working and developing young artists like justin timberlake and britney spears. >> so for his first single,

brown teamed up with hit maker scott storge. a superstar music producer who's worked with the biggest names in the business. from dr. dre to beyonce. >> music was oozing from him. >> not everybody has that, the charisma, the pipes to sing, everything. picture perfect. >> complete package with major potential. >> it was like michael jackson prodigy. i just remember telling him that day i was going to make him a number one smash. and six months later, truth was told. >> "run it" brown's first ever single was released in 2005. it was a monster hit, climbing all the way to number one. >> no one had done that since

1997. >> it was fast. his "run it" video was on tv. we were just like this is amazing. >> how old are you? >> 17. >> amazing. and in just a year's time. the small town boy became a multipat numb selling artist and the undisputed new prince of pop with a squeaky clean image. >> he had a smile, charm coming out of every pore. he was clean cut. >> and he was everywhere. >> are you asking me out? >> on tv's popular theme show, "the oc." >> and on the big screen in "stomp the yard." there seemed to be no stopping music's "it" boy. looks and charm that had young female fans swooning. including one particular high-profile fan who would become his girlfriend.

her name was rhianna. >> rhianna and chris brown were sort of the prince and princess of pop. they were the reigning couple. another generation's justin timberlake and brittany spears. they were perfect for each other. >> chris, it seemed had found love, fame and fortune. but especially next -- >> this was not a couple known for this type of behavior. chris brown's hollywood fairy tale turns to tragedy. >> i wish i could change it. you used to sleep like a champ - then boom...

what happened? life happened.

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>> this young man is 16 years old. february, 2006, clive davis even his annual pregrammy party. >> ladies and gentlemen, chris brown. ♪ >> those pipes and those moves. brown nails the performance.

but r&b's new golden boy was already itching to become the main attraction. >> this year is not my year, i think it's next year that i'm going to take it. >> over the next three years, brown went on to earn five grammy nominations and in 2009 he was asked to perform on the show live. >> february 8, 2009, that was the day that his public persona and image changed, really forever. >> it was something that was unbelievable in the music industry. >> mary margaret covered the grammys. >> i remember getting the alert and not believing at first. >> just before he was supposed to appear on the stage, brown was m.i.a. with rhianna. >> they looked in love just hours before. >> happy and in love, sitting side by side at the annual pre-grammy party. >> on the way home from that party, there was an argument that they had in the car and that erupted into a fight.

>> a fight, rumored had it sparked by a text from one of brown's former flames. >> there was an extremely maz i argument and fight that's ka lated in a very physical way. things got out of control and he physically assaulted her, left her bruised and bloodied. >> there had been reports of him trying to throw her out of the car. there were reports of him saying that he's going to kill her. >> hours after the brutal attack, brown turned himself into police. news of the incident sent the country into a tail spin. >> unbelievable arrest of chris brown. >> accusations of domestic violence. >> the alleged victim is his girlfriend, the singer rhianna. >> it was shock, it was disgust, it was horror and it was confusion. >> the boy next door no more. and things went from bad to worse when tmz leaked a photo of

the glamorous pop diva. badly beaten and bloodied. >> people always go back to that. we saw that photo. everyone saw that photo. >> the leak of that photo did enormous damage. >> in a lot of people's minds, chris brown became a monster. >> brown was slapped with two felony assault charges and hired jamed michael jackson attorney mark gehrig. >> he wanted to take responsibility, so he did what he was advised to do. in 2009, brown pleaded guilty to one count of felony assault and took a plea deal. five years probation as well as counseli counseling, community service and a restraining order. he would have to stay far away from rhianna. >> team breezy, brown's loyal fans stood behind him, but the backlash was severe.

>> the initial thought it was too light. >> companies axed endorsement deals. and some big time celebs came down on brown. the queen of talk devoted a show to domestic abuse. >> if a man hits you once, he will hit you again. >> four months after the assault brown released a two-minute video apology on youtube. >> i told rhianna countless times and i'm telling you today that i'm truly, truly sorry. >> and a few months later? >> i always wish i got to take it back in. >> brown's first interview about the incident on cnn with his lawyer and his mother by his side. >> probably the most painful time of my entire life. >> brown apologized again and lamented the loss of rhianna. >> we haven't had contact at all? >> you love her? >> definitely. >> but this time, love wasn't enough. rhianna spoke about their brief

attempt at reconciliation in a rare on-camera interview with abc. >> it was confusing for me. i was still attached by love, but i wasn't thinking about the reality of the situation. >> but while rhi-rhi moved on, chris attended anger management counseling and labor oriented service back in virginia. >> i read once where he said this community service is a you know what. >> it teaches you humility, and that's always a good thing. >> by the end of 2009, he leased a third album with the single "i can transform ya." an edgier, grittier brown emerged. >> he started to be covered in tattoos. he started to hang out with more hip-hop artists. >> but team breezy wasn't buying it. brown's record sales took a hit. would his career ever recover? in 2010, a very personal stage act hinted yes.

>> at the 2010 bet awards, chris brown did a performance that ended with him covering michael jackson's "man in the mirror." he got very emotional and was so overcome he had trouble actually getting through the song. ♪ >> when he broke down on stage in this very public moment, it was sort of a way to see how vulnerable he was. this was really the chris brown, you know, that he hadn't seen in a while. >> a new and improved chris brown perhaps. >> we saw him get glowing reports from the judge. >> he got spectacular reviews. >> he was really trying hard to outrun his demons. >> but those demons eventually caught up with him. >> chris brown's violent tendencies erupted, and this time there were many people who were involved in. coming up, it's groundhog's

day. >> what happened? >> breezy behind bars. who's going to make it happen? discover a new energy source. turn ocean waves into power. design cars that capture their emissions. build bridges that fix themselves. get more clean water to everyone. who's going to take the leap? who's going to write the code? who's going to do it? engineers. that's who. that's what i want to do. be an engineer. join the scientists and engineers of exxonmobil in inspiring america's future engineers. energy lives here.

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due to your first accident. switch to liberty mutual insurance and you could save up to $423 dollars. call liberty mutual for a free quote today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. >> mr. chris brown! >> march, 2011, just two years after his shocking domestic abuse scandal, pop star chris brown was gearing up for a release of his new album "fame." >> the "fame" album in 2011 was, i think, a great moment for chris brown. and it really started to rebound

his career. people started to focus more on his music again. rather than the personal troubles he's had. >> everybody go get that album. >> but when brown appeared on abc's "good morning america" talked turn to his ex, rhianna. >> i think this album is what i want people to hear and get into. definitely this album is what i want to talk about, not stuff that happened two years ago. >> once offset, the enraged star reportedly exploded through the hallways and shattered a dressing room window. >> he was scaring the daylights out of the makeup folks. he took off his shirt. he ran outside. another photo that was seen across the world. the violent side of him had not gone away. >> but neither had brown's ability to make great music.

wf "look at me now" the "fame" album was a huge success. >> and the grammy goes to -- >> chris brown. >> i'm nervous. i don't know what to say. >> the grammy awards marked chris's official comeback that showed despite the issues he had in his personal life, he was still being celebrated by the industry as someone who was making great music. >> but not everyone was cheering. >> people didn't understand why someone who had publicly done something so terrible was being awarded in such a public way. >> months later, chris brown, the bad boy, was back. >> there was a huge feud that erupted between chris brown and drake. >> a feud with the hot new rapper rumored to be dating his

ex. >> one person said something to another person. bottles were thrown. punches were thrown. there were innocent bystanders who had to wind up getting stitches and surgery because of it. >> criminal charges were never filed and both men denied any wrongdoing. >> months later, brown and rhianna officially recoupled. >> and she didn't think that he was ever going to do it again. she did love him and underneath all that was a good person. >> but not everyone was as convinced the troubled star was a changed man. the l.a. county's d.a. office accused brown of lying about his community service hours. >> i never had a client who has been tortured by a d.a.'s office on probation like chris brown has.

>> gerigos said the constant scrutiny weighed heavily on his client. >> i think there was some rage about that. >> to add insult to injury, breezy and rhianna split for the last time. and in august of 2013, the grammy-winning singer suffered a stress-induced singer. breezy began to unravel. >> he's a true superstar, and like any other superstar, he has to deal with, you know, a lot of crazy [ bleep ]. you have to deal with the pressure of your fans or your label or your personal life. or people taking advantage of you. in october of 2013, brown was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly punching a man in the face outside a washington, d.c. hotel. >> again, he found himself in a situation that put his entire future in peril.

>> days later, he voluntarily checked into rehab. >> the long stint in rehab was a chance for him to actually slow down a little bit and to deal with some of his problems. >> problems which shed new light on the chris brown we all thought we knew. >> when chris brown went into rehab, it came out that he was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder. that was a pretty big shock to people. >> it was someone who was beloved and needed attention. >> mr. brown sitting in custody. >> that attention came too little too late. >> the defendant is remanded, no bail. >>'ll by march of 2014, brown was back behind bars for violating his probation. >> after serving 108 days, he was released in june. and in typical chris brown fashion, he didn't miss a beat.

>> just days out of jail, brown gave a stellar performance at the bet music awards. and he announced the release of his sixth studio album "x." his single, "new flame" a collaboration with usher became an instant r&b smash. now chris brown appears ready for a new chapter. the pop star has seemingly squashed his beef with rapper drake after appearing in a skit together on the espys. and he's finally settled the case stemming from his d.c. incident last october. he pleaded guilty to simple assault and was sentenced to time served. >> we think it's fair. it helps him get on with his life. >> and hopefully get through his anger issues. >> i still talk to my therapist twice a week. >> in an interview with mtv's

sway calloway, brown even offered his advice to ray rice, the embattled nfl star recently caught on video beating his then fianc fiancee. >> it's all about the choices you make and how you control your anger. >> is that what you would say to ray rice or anybody else? >> yeah, ray or anybody. i'm not better than the next man. i would just say i've been down that road. i've dealt with the situations and i made my mistakes. o. >> but while brown is now focused on his future, trouble still has a way of finding him. >> in august, gunshots erupted inside a posh l.a. party that brown was hosting. three people were injured including a hip-pop producer. >> what do you think the few dhur holds for chris brown? >> i hope he becomes an icon. and i think he will. >> a hope and a dream brown had for himself from the very beginning.

>> as long as he continues making great music and continues to show that he is one of the best performers in the business, there is no reason why that won't be the legacy of chris brown. >> there's a million artists out there, but the chris browns of the world are very few. after a week of silence, nfl commissioner roger goodell finally talks. i let myself down, i let everybody else down and for that, i i'm sorry. >> hall of fame quarterback jim kelly on fighting for his life and that fateful day doctors told him he had jaw cancer. >> tears started coming out. how am i going to tell my daughters? how am i going to tell my wife? >> and another hall of famer e, jerry rice weighs in on the nfl's domestic violence cases.