RIHANNA: 'I USED RATED R TO VENT'

Rihanna's latest album Rated R was her most emotional work to date - the star admits she was "venting" her personal issues on the record.

Rated R was the first new material the Umbrella hitmaker released following her infamous bust-up with ex-lover Chris Brown last February (09).

The pre-Grammy Awards fight left the singer battered and bruised, and Brown was handed a community service order and five years probation.

And recording the album was a cathartic experience for the Bajan beauty.

She tells Australia's The Daily Telegraph, "Making this album was a lot of fun I have to say, it was really good for me.

"The vocal performances definitely were influenced by the emotion, the feeling.

"I wasn't just singing lines. I was singing every word and every word meant something because it was my story. It was a lot more personal, a lot more real... I was venting."