It’s been 12 months since the private lives of Chris Brown and Rihanna spilled out into the Los Angeles streets following a violent argument while driving home from a pre-Grammy party.

According to a sworn statement by Los Angeles Police Detective DeShon Andrews, Brown punched her in the face numerous times, put her in a headlock, bit her fingers and ear and threatened to kill her.

Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in June and lost several public endorsements. In August, he was sentenced to five years’ probation in addition to 1,400 labor-oriented community service hours.

One leaked photo, a few soul-baring interviews and two questionable album covers later, both of the young singers now find themselves at uniquely different points in their careers.

Rihanna steered clear of the spotlight for several months, re-emerging in New York City last spring, boldly walking the red carpet at the Costume Institute Ball, with a new look and a new album to begin promoting.

“There’s no restriction on Rihanna, but he [likely] can’t go anywhere without his judge’s permission,” said RollingStone.com deputy editor Caryn Ganz. “He has to appear for court appearances to prove that he’s doing his community service,” noting that the legal issues don’t make it any easier for the star to move forward with his career.

Brown did release a pop-inflected album, “Graffiti,” on December 7, which has sold a little more than 250,000 copies. He also sold out stops on his fans’ appreciation tour, but those performances were in smaller venues than he’d played previously.

“In the immediate aftermath of the incident, there was all of this ‘dead’ talk — nobody will work with him, he’ll never be able to sell another record — and that’s turned out to not be true,” she said. But, Ganz noted, “Rihanna is clearly doing better than he is, both in sales figures and public reception.”

To date, Rihanna’s literal take on being “Rated R” has sold more than a half-million since it dropped November 23. She’s also taken to the stage again, performing everywhere from NBC’s “New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly” to the “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon. “Rated R” is her fourth studio release; it entered the Billboard Hot 200 chart at No. 4, and sold more in its first week than “Good Girl Gone Bad.”

Brown’s last album, “Evolution,” sold more in its first week at 294,000 than “Graffiti” has in its seven weeks on the shelves, Ganz said.

But those sales figures could use some context, said Billboard magazine’s Senior R&B and Hip-Hop Editor Gail Mitchell. “Stuff isn’t selling for a lot of folks these days, with or without a scandal,” she said. “It’s all relative, [and] they’re doing relatively well.”

Particularly when you add in the number of individual tracks sold, which need to be accounted for in the era of iTunes, Mitchell said. Rihanna has sold 1.7 million tracks, and Brown is right behind her at 1.4 million.

“It boils down to whatever is on an album,” she added, “and I think ['Graffiti'] is a strong album. Sure, without the incident, it possibly could have done better. But if it’s what people want to hear, they’ll buy it.”

Terri Thomas, program director for hip hop radio station 97.9 The Box in Houston, Texas, used similar words.

“Initially, there was a change,” Thomas said, with listeners not as eager to tune in to a Brown song. “But once he came out and spoke up, and once she spoke up, people are moving forward. … While the incident was tragic, it’s about the music. We don’t condone domestic violence, but if they have a record fans want to hear, we’ll play it.”

Billy Johnson, Jr., Yahoo! Music’s senior musicologist and programmer, isn’t as convinced.

“I check the top 50 singles every week, and [Brown is] not there. ‘I Can Transform Ya’ didn’t get past the top 20. His album hasn’t gone anywhere,” Johnson said. “There’s absolutely no doubt that people are not supporting him because of this. He’s still a great artist, his album is good, he has good songs, so tell me another reason why he’s not doing well.”

It’s timing, said Emmanuel “E-Man” Coquia, assistant program director at Los Angeles, California’s, Power 106 radio. The record not only has to be ready for radio, the radio — as well as the listeners — have to be ready for it.

“He needed a little bit more time to let things be forgotten. The record had a nice run, but it didn’t have the run his other records had,” Coquia said. Yet, “at the end of the day it is all about the music. We never stopped playing Chris Brown records, even his older stuff. So perhaps it wasn’t the right thing at the right time.”

While no one will come out and readily admit that they’re avoiding Brown — as he accused Wal-Mart of doing when his album was released but didn’t appear to be on the shelves at a local store he visited — actions speak a bit louder, said Devin Lazerine, editor-in-chief of Rap-Up magazine.

“Seeing Rihanna at the Grammys and not seeing him there, that says a lot. She’s on ‘Oprah,’ she’s on ‘Ellen,’ and he’s been absent from all of those shows. It’s translated into the sales as well,” Lazerine said. “There’s a silence in the industry. People aren’t as keen on playing his music as they once were, and they’re just not talking about it.”

Lazerine thought Brown would have had a better shot if he had simply waited to release a record. “If that same album came out and we didn’t have this incident, he would have had a Top 10 hit for sure,” he said. But at this point, “it’s not good enough to have a decent album, it has to be exceptional.”

Disassociating her pop stardom from the assault hasn’t been entirely easy for Rihanna either. The singer, Johnson believes, is dealing with somewhat of a double-edged sword.

“She’s always had her detractors, but when this happened it forced people to take sides. A lot of people came out against her,” Johnson said.

“With ‘Rated R,’ people were curious about what she really had to say after all of this. And still, two brand-new artists beat her out [on the charts] and she’s huge,” he said. “I felt like there was still a subset of people who were like, ‘Whatever, I’m not going to support her.’ The attention has helped as well as hurt.”

As both young stars head into 2010, though, the opportunity is there for them to leave the past behind.

“Each day that goes by, it gets better,” Lazerine said. “On our Web site, people would get so heated when Brown’s name was mentioned, but [the assault] isn’t as hot a topic as it used to be.”

As far as Rihanna, “she’s continuing to move forward, reinventing herself and her sound, and she’ll move past this,” Johnson said. The singer need not be defined by the incident, he added, observing that Tina Turner is far more than the domestic abuse stories about her.

For Brown, Billboard Senior Editor Mitchell is assured that he’ll be able to find success again.

“A little separation time, and Chris comes back out next year with a strong album, he’ll be fine,” Mitchell said. “In this business, you’re always only as good as your last record.”

Valentine’s Day is coming! And with it the usual traditions that include an outrageous price hike in roses, an outrageous price hike in restaurant dining, and the well-timed rom-com. The role of the latter belongs to a flick to be released on Feb. 12, “Valentine’s Day.” (What a clever title, eh?)

In the same mold as last year’s V-Day movie, “He’s Just Not That Into You,” “Valentine’s Day” is a compilation film that jams as many familiar faces into a cast of characters with different story lines that occasionally intermix. The film includes performances from sexy actors Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher, Patrick Dempsey, and Eric Dane.

However, from the posters and trailers for the film it is hard to know that the infamous “McSteamy” is in the film. Dane’s name appears on the movie posters, but, unlike the rest of the cast, his face is not present on the actor-compiled heart. In the trailers for the film Dane is not shown in any of the scenes extracted from the movie, he is just shown alongside his name. So what is Dane’s role? Narrator?

Nope. In reality Dane is a victim of advertisement editing that eliminates the trace of homosexual relationships in a film, even though they are central to the storyline. In other words, the film’s advertisements have been “de-gayed.” (And yes that means that Dane’s character is shacking up with another one of the male desirables in the film.)

In “Valentine’s Day,” Dane plays Bradley Cooper’s closeted football-player boyfriend. Would learning this info from the trailers and posters for the film have made you more or less interested in seeing it?

Unfortunately, regardless of your reaction, those in charge of marketing have already decided for you. Instead of playing on the publicity of a dreamy Cooper and Dane partnership (”Brokeback Mountain,” anyone?), the advertisers of the film have decided to disguise it. Whether it is out of fear, ignorance, greed, or something else, “Valentine’s Day” is another example of the “de-gaying” of movie marketing.

How does one “de-gay” film advertisements? By putting a heterosexual relationship in its place of course! In “Valentine’s Day,” this substitute relationship is fulfilled with scenes of Cooper and Julia Roberts smiling coyly at each other on an airplane.

Another victim of this guy-girl swap was the marketing for Tom Ford’s “A Single Man,” a film that is centered on a man (Colin Firth) remembering and overcoming the loss of his male lover (Matthew Goode).

In the trailer, on the other hand, the film seems to be about a romantic relationship between Firth’s character and Julianne Moore’s. Moore and Firth are seen crying, dancing, fighting, and kissing, like all normal couples. Any shots of Goode are limited to him standing alone or amongst a crowd, but his absence doesn’t end there. The actor’s name is not included in the trailer and his face is absent from the film posters.

In a brief defense of “A Single Man,” the film also deals with the friendship and old romantic relationship that once existed between Moore and Firth’s characters. But the reason that Firth’s character is “a single man” is because his long-term boyfriend died, not because he and Moore’s character broke up. The marketing for the film should give this dominating plot point, and poor Matthew Goode, some recognition.

I am happy to see the acceptance of gay couples in the fictional film world. But for this transition to be truly meaningful and complete, this acceptance needs to trickle down to marketing as well. To alter the impression of a film plot through advertising in order to conceal the presence of a gay love story is wrong. And besides, who wouldn’t be interested in Dane and Cooper being a couple? Come on, milk that!

They snuck in through the kitchen, held hands through the evening and laughed heartily at each other’s jokes. To many witnesses of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s recent surprise date at the Directors Guild of America Awards, the pair’s affection was the real deal.

“They were a loving couple,” said a guest who spent time with them throughout the January 30 event. “It was nothing you could fake. You could feel it, and you could see in their body language that it’s just a beautiful relationship. They were very sweet and tender with each other.”

Pitt, who was there to present a nomination medallion to his “Inglourious Basterds” director Quentin Tarantino, was attentive to Jolie, with whom he has six children.

“Angie just decided to go to DGAs to support Brad. They had a great time,” said a source close to the couple.

Coming in the wake of rumors that the couple had called it quits, cynics had raised questions about the outing. But people who saw the couple say they not only stayed through the entire four-plus hour event but remained afterwards to chat with guests and sign autographs.

“You read all those things about them, but it is hard to believe any of it based off of how they were together,” said a second guest. “Those two were very much together.”

A life-size bronze sculpture of a man by Alberto Giacometti has been sold at auction in London for the world record price of £65,001,250.

It took just eight minutes for bidders to reach the hammer price after L’Homme Qui Marche I opened at £12m at Sotheby’s auction house.

Sotheby’s said it was the most expensive work ever sold at auction.

An anonymous phone bidder bought the work for £58m. The £65m price tag includes the buyer’s premium.

The sculpture is considered to be one of the most important by the 20th Century Swiss artist.

It had been estimated to sell for between £12m and £18m but furious bidding saw more than 10 rivals bump the price up, eventually reaching the hammer price of £58m.

Georgina Adam, editor-at-large of The Art Newspaper, said the price was so high because there were so few Giacometti sculptures and it was very rare for them to be put up for auction.

She told the BBC: “There’s a market which is sort of exceptional for exceptional things.

“If something is a one in a lifetime opportunity, people will really step up to the plate and they will spend enormous amounts of money because it was a now or never opportunity.”

The previous record for an art work sold at auction -$104,168,000 (£58,520,830) - was held by Pablo Picasso’s Garcon a la Pipe which sold in New York in 2004.

Other works have reached more in private sales. Jackson Pollock’s No5, 1948, reached $140m (£73m at the time) in 2006.

The sculpture had been expected to sell for between £12m and £18m

Another art work also exceeded expectations at Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art sale.

Gustav Klimt’s Kirche in Cassone went for £26,921,250, above the £12m to £18m estimate.

Paul Cezanne’s Pichet et fruits sur une table was sold for just under £12m.

Melanie Clore, of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art department, said: “We are thrilled to have sold these great works this evening and that they have been recognised for the masterpieces that they are.

“The competition which generated these exceptional results demonstrates the continued quest for quality that compels today’s collectors.”

‘They have to be involved in Haiti; they have to be engaged,’ PM says

MIAMI - Since leaving Haiti in 1974 and becoming a successful engineer here, Fritz Armand has often felt that his skills were unwelcome in his native country.

His efforts to build a desalination facility and a portable power plant in Haiti failed in part, he says, because of antipathy toward expatriates. He has been called “diaspore,” an insulting term. Under Haitian law, when he became an American citizen, he automatically “renounced” his birthplace.

For years, educated émigrés like Mr. Armand, from Miami to Montreal, have tried hard to play a more vital role in Haiti’s development, with little success.

But the earthquake has suddenly changed all that, reducing old hostilities to rubble. Depleted of leadership and talent, the Haitian government — once known for ejecting elected officials who held a United States passport — is begging its own for aid, and the Haitian-born have responded en masse.

“The diaspora must organize to help us,” Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said last week at a conference in Montreal. “I have no alternative. They have to be involved in Haiti; they have to be engaged.”

He need not have asked. Groups like the Haitian American Nurses Association, based in Miami, and the Haitian League in New Jersey have sent dozens of Creole-speaking doctors and nurses to help. In Canada, hundreds of Haitians who work for the government are pushing for a furlough program to allow them to help back home.

At the request of diaspora leaders, the Organization of American States will convene an international gathering of Haitian groups next month to map out plans for reconstruction and to ensure that the Haitian diaspora is included, not only by the government but also by contractors and nongovernmental organizations.

For his part, Mr. Armand, 53, the former director of public works for Opa-Locka, Fla., has spent contented days poring over uniform business codes and inspecting new types of construction materials, preparing to go with others in the Haitian-American Association of Engineers and Scientists to help inspect bridges and build sanitation systems for camps. This time, he will be in Haiti at the invitation of the minister of public works.

“Now that they have no choice but to let us in, that will allow them to see: They’re not all that bad,” Mr. Armand said. “They’re not coming to take my job. They’re coming to help.”

Negative sentiment
Still, the Haitian government’s new attitude has not erased all skepticism. Some in the diaspora say they have been kept at bay by fears that they would usurp jobs or expose corruption, while others say the negative sentiment has been a political tool, fanned for cynical ends. Whatever the reason, it did not ease the hurt when Haiti welcomed the billions of dollars that émigrés sent home but rebuffed their expertise.

To prove Haiti wants more than just money from its diaspora, said Chalmers Larose, a Haitian-born political science professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal, the government must follow up with policy changes.

“If I want to go to Haiti, I can go, but I would have to be a tourist,” Professor Larose said. “There is no agency to channel my expertise.”

The Haitian diaspora is estimated to be at least two million strong, with more than half a million Haitian-born people in the United States alone, heavily concentrated in South Florida and Brooklyn. In 2008, Haitians around the world sent at least $1.3 billion to Haiti, far more than the amount of foreign aid the country received, according to the World Bank.

While many Haitian expatriates, especially the illegal immigrants, remain poor, there is a robust elite of businessmen and professionals who view themselves as a recovering Haiti’s best hope.

“There are more Haitian doctors here than there are in Haiti,” said Jean-Robert Lafortune, the executive director of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition in Miami, who said the earthquake was a chance for new cooperative spirit to take hold.

‘You are not Haitian anymore’
Gerard Alphonse Ferere, a retired professor living in Boca Raton, Fla., said antipathy toward Haitians who left was limited to a small segment of the political and economic elite. Still, Mr. Ferere said, that small group can be pernicious.

Mr. Ferere was forced into exile with his wife in 1963, under threat of execution by the Duvaliers, who brutally ruled the country from the 1950s to the ’80s. When he returned after Jean-Claude Duvalier was ousted in 1986, he found that some questioned his loyalty.

“They said: ‘You are not Haitian anymore. We don’t want you. Where were you?’ ” Mr. Ferere recalled. “So I have been victimized twice.”

Mr. Ferere said the questioners were connected with the Duvalier government and wanted to discredit its opponents.

On an economic and political level, the diaspora could be threatening, said Harry Casimir, 30, a Haitian-born businessman who opened an information technology business there just before the earthquake.

“Once the elites have money and power,” Mr. Casimir said, “they’re scared of people like me, the younger generation and so on. Because we travel around the world and see how other governments function, and obviously most countries are not corrupt like Haiti.”