Give Breezy A Break

To paraphrase the famous words of Chris Crocker - leave Breezy alone! The wave of anger and spite that followed his recent Grammy performance and subsequent win was as baffling as it was irrational. Chris Brown was tried and convicted by a court three years ago. He's on probation, completed community service and undergone counselling. The Grammy Awards are supposed to celebrate musical excellence but many people clearly wanted them to be used as a tool of additional punishment. Am I the only person that finds this twisted?

Breezy was asked to perform because he had another banner year commercially and artistically. He's arguably the biggest male pop star on the planet and deserved to be at an event showcasing the best in music. As for the controversy surrounding his victory, my only issue is that F.A.M.E. is about as R&B as Aphrodite. But it is a great album and he was due for win. When are people going to let it go and move on? Rihanna clearly has. Take into consideration the following:

- Britney threatened to blow her children's brains out with a shotgun before being carted away in a paddy wagon

- Brandy murdered someone with her car

- Michael Jackson may or may not have been a child rapist

- All of our faves have been up on drugs charges

And yet all of these stars have been forgiven and, in some instances, treated as victims. What is it about Chris that makes usually rational people bay for blood? I have a few theories:

1. It clearly annoys everyone but Team Breezy that the incident hardly affected his career. The hits kept coming and F.A.M.E. sold double his last album

2. Chris comes off very badly in interviews and his perceived arrogance makes him distinctly unlikeable

3. Women beaters are lumped with child molesters as the scum of the earth

The reality is probably a mixture of all three. I'm not going to sit here and apologise for Breezy because I think it's vile to assault another human-being even if it is Rihanna. However, Chris was 19 years old when he committed the offence and, according to all parties, it happened only once. He was also raised by a single mother, who he clearly adores, so I don't think he's a misogynist. I put the assault down to being young, spoiled and stupid. Hopefully he's learned his lesson.

As for his rumoured appearance on Rihanna's "Birthday Cake" - unbelievably tacky. Whether she likes it or not, the one-time hitmaker is the poster girl for battered women and inviting your attacker to jump on the remix of your latest sex jam is seriously fucked up. It's even worse if it doesn't eventuate. Using this unfortunate situation to promote a flop album is morally questionable to say the least.

While we wait to see if the shadiest duet of all time actually happens, check out Breezy's new single "Turn Up The Music" (below). I initially dismissed the song as a bad Taio Cruz rip-off but it's grown on me immeasurably and the video is a winner. Strike up another hit for pop's most hated man.