Chris Brown Enjoys “A Little Peace” After ‘SNL’

If Chris Brown can ever dream of achieving mainstream respect again, it would have to begin with nights like Saturday, when he staged a heavily-buzzed performance on Saturday Night Live. Though he was clearly nervous about his appearance on a major TV platform (as he tweeted in typically classy style) Brown clearly relished his moment in the spotlight, coming almost exactly two years after the Grammy weekend when he punched Rihanna in the face. How did he handle it? Was it too soon? And, most of all, has he learned anything? Watch below.

It must’ve been an awkward night for a number of people, including host Russell Brand, whose wife Katy Perry is BFFs with Rihanna. (For her part, Rihanna recently agreed to ease the limits on her restraining order against Brown). But for Brown himself, it clearly felt like redemption. Sunday morning he tweeted: “I can’t tell you how good it feels to not let my fans down and for once have a little peace! Thank you team breezy for believing”.

Watching Brown’s performance of his smash “Yeah 3x”, you can see the intensity and ambition that still drives him — and it’s hard not to consider what might’ve been. As PopEater noted, “Once praised as a talented upstart, he’s now a convicted felon (he remains on probation, having plead guilty to assault), and he’s often expressed frustration with the uphill climb he faces, rehabbing his image.” Is he getting any closer?

Here’s Brown performing “Yeah 3x” and the seductive/lustful slow jam “No Bullshit”:

Chris Brown — “Yeah 3x”

Chris Brown — “No Bullshit”