Chris Brown's Label Denies "Changed Man" Leak Is New Track

A new Chris Brown recording called "Changed Man" that features lyrics that could be interpreted as an apology of sorts to Rihanna leaked today. But Brown's reps told MTV that the track isn't the first single off Brown's forthcoming LP Graffiti, but an old tune. A handful of new Brown songs have leaked over the past few months, however Jive Records insists that no Graffiti-bound tracks have emerged as yet. The singer first made mention of his new album in an impromptu video with Bow Wow in which Brown declared "I ain't a monster."

Look back at Chris Brown and Rihanna's fateful Grammy weekend.

"I'mma make it up to you and show the world I'm a changed man. Because you mean that much to me, and I don't want to be done," Brown — or someone who sounds a lot like Brown — sings on the chorus. "I'm doing all that I can, and everybody hates Chris, thinkin' they'll never understand."

While the lyrics do seem like an apology to Rihanna, as the blog Toya's World points out, the backing track of "Changed Man" is exactly the same as Danity Kane member Dawn Richard's "Falls Away," a song that actually predates the Chris Brown/Rihanna incident. One of two situations are at play here: Either "Changed Man" is Brown's own demo version of the track and the lyrics are coincidental, or Brown used Richard's song as the backing track for his apology to Rihanna. Either way, it's safe to assume "Changed Man" won't be appearing on Graffiti as rumored.

As Rock Daily reported, Brown recently made his first appearance onstage since the February 8th altercation with his then-girlfriend when he appeared at the Virginia Beach stop of Lil Wayne's America's Most Wanted tour, filling in the injured Drake. Brown was supposed to be officially sentenced earlier this month after pleading guilty to assault charges stemming from the Rihanna incident, but his sentencing was pushed to later this month to allow the singer to firm up his community service schedule.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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