The Top 10 Everything of 2009

Chris Brown and Rihanna were the golden couple of R&B: young, beautiful, talented and in love. They holidayed in her home country of Barbados! They had matching tattoos! He gave her a ruby-and-diamond pendant! "He makes me feel like a teenager," she told Allure. And then, allegedly, he behaved more like a wayward toddler, assaulting Rihanna the evening before they were both set to appear at the Grammys. Police were called, and, inexorably, photos of Rihanna's bruised face made their way onto the Internet. Initially dismayed by all the media attention, the songstress used her experience — and a sit-down TV interview — to warn other women about abusive relationships and domestic violence. Brown, who turned himself in to police and publicly expressed regret over the incident, was sentenced to five years' probation and 180 days of community service. His own sit-down TV interview (on the same channel as his ex's) was apparently voluntary.