Rihanna explains Brown collaborations

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LOS ANGELES, March 16 (UPI) -- Pop star Rihanna says she initiated her recent collaborations with Chris Brown, the former beau who assaulted her in Los Angeles three years ago.

Brown was placed on probation and ordered to complete community service after he pleaded guilty to beating Rihanna during a heated argument in a car.

Despite their stormy past, rumors have been swirling in recent months that the recording stars have secretly rekindled their romance. Rihanna and Brown fueled the speculation last month when they released collaborative remixes of their respective songs "Birthday Cake" and "Turn Up the Music."

"I reached out to him about doing 'Birthday Cake' because that's the only person it made sense to do it with," E! News reported Rihanna told Ryan Seacrest Thursday on his KIIS-FM radio show.

"Just as a musician, despite everything else, that was going to be the person," she said. "You know, I thought about rappers, and I've done that so many times, and the hottest R&B artist right now is Chris Brown. So I wanted him on the track, and then in turn he was like, 'Why don't you do the remix to my track?' And it was a trade-off."

Rihanna said people shouldn't read too much into their recent collaborations.

"We did two records. One for my fans, one for his fans, and that way our fans can come together," she said. "There shouldn't be a divide, you know? It's music and it's innocent."