It was round about this time that people presumed his career would be dead and buried by the 'woman beater' scandal, and for a while it was.

But this year he has enjoyed a lot of success with the singles from his latest album including 'Beautiful People', both here and in the US. And he's not just managed to wangle his way back into favour in the chart, he appears to have gotten Rihanna back on side too.

It came out this week that Chris had sent what he thought was a private message to Rihanna on Twitter but actually posted it publicly on her page. It said 'Hey did you get the pic I sent'. A few minutes after it went up it was pulled back down again - he obviously realised he'd given away that they were not only in contact but close enough to be exchanging pictures with each other.

Oh be careful Rihanna.