RIHANNA IS BREAKING HER SILENCE

The net is already abuzz over Rihanna's 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer. The NY Daily News reports:



Rihanna's brutal beating at the hands of boyfriend Chris Brown left her humiliated, lonely and feeling like Britney Spears, the singer says.

"I felt like I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears," the singer told Glamour magazine in her first print interview since the February attack.

"That was the level of media chaos that happened the next day. It was like, What, there are helicopters circling my house? There are 100 people in my cul-de-sac? What do you mean, I can't go back home?"

Named one of Glamour's 2009 Women of the Year, Rihanna said her family, friends and fans were crucial, but she couldn't help feeling isolated after the assault.

"At some point you are there alone. It's a lonely place to be. No one can understand. That's when you get close to God," she said.

The leaked photo showing her bruised and battered face was another major blow.

"It was humiliating," she said. "That is not a photo you would show to anybody. I felt completely taken advantage of ... like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it's my life."

Still, the Barbados beauty said she's "stronger, wiser and more aware" as she enters a new chapter with her upcoming album "Rated R" due for release Nov. 23.

"Domestic violence is a big secret. No kid goes around and lets people know their parents fight. Teenage girls can't tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up. You don't dare let your neighbor know that you fight. It's one of the things we will hide, because it's embarrassing," she said.

"My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery. The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn't heard."

Rihanna, 21, calls her new album "really personal."

"I've put everything I've wanted to say for the past eight months into my music," she said. "It's super fearless, which is exactly how I feel right now."

The singer opens up more in a TV interview with ABC News' Diane Sawyer set to air Thursday and Friday on "Good Morning America," and Friday night at 10 on "20/20."