Monday, 16 March 2009

Update: No duet for Chris Brown and Rihanna

Leaked demo track recorded by the couple last year spark rumours of a collaboration

Rumours of a duet between Rihanna and Chris Brown have been denied

There is no duet by Rihanna and Chris Brown despite previous reports that the pair had recorded a song together, a label source tells PEOPLE exclusively.

"Contrary to published reports, Chris Brown and Rihanna did not record a duet after the incident," says the source, alluding to Brown's alleged assault of his girlfriend last month.

Conflicting reports about a duet may have arisen because of a
standard practice used during the development of new material. Last year, Brown and producer Polow da Don did write a song together, says the source.

Then, the source continues, "around August or September of 2008, Chris and Rihanna's vocals were recorded as the reference vocals for this demo only. [But] the song was never conceived or intended to be a duet between them, and was later recorded by other artists."

Reference vocals are created to give an understanding of how the writer intends a song to be sung on demo tracks sent out to other artists before the final recording process.

Turns out, the song was called "Bad Girl" – with lyrics focused on a women who overspends on designer goods – and was recorded by the Pussycat Dolls for the Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack. But the reference vocals for the song made by Rihanna also leaked to the Internet in January.

Adds the source: "Nothing has been recorded by Chris and Rihanna together since February."

The confusion may also have been caused by the fact that Brown and Rihanna did record a duet last year called "Stronger," which was meant for Rihanna's album, but was never released.