Rihanna Not Exactly the "Hard-Edged Rocker" Oprah Expected

When Oprah traveled to Rihanna's home island of Barbados to interview the singer for Oprah's Next Chapter, Ms. Winfrey had expected to meet what she describes as "a bad-ass, kind of a hard-edged rocker pop woman."
In a teaser for the upcoming show, Oprah says that, instead, she found herself engaging with a woman who she says was thoughtful, edgy, emotional and vulnerable.  "It's amazing how lonely you can feel," Rihanna says at one point during the interview.

What really struck Oprah, she says, is what she learned during a trip to the place where Rihanna grew up.  With Oprah in the passenger seat and Rihanna at the wheel, the hometown girl drove them both to her old stomping grounds, where she stopped to hug neighbors and chat with old friends.

"When we went back to the neighborhood this reaction surprised me," Oprah says.  "Because it wasn't like a big superstar, megastar, pop star had arrived in the neighborhood.  It was just 'Robyn,' as though she'd gone to the grocery store and came back."

In addition to talking about the next chapter in Rihanna's life, Oprah digs into the singer's much-talked-about past, including her troubled relationship with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown.  He pleaded guilty to attacking his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009, and Rihanna says, "I was resentful. I held a grudge," after their split. "I was dark."

Of the attack, Rihanna says, "It was embarrassing.  It was humiliating.  I lost my best friend."

Rihanna's appearance on Oprah's Next Chapter will air August 19 at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.

In other Rihanna news, the Jamaica Observer reports that she's signed a three-year deal with the Barbados Tourist Authority to promote her home island.  An official with the BTA tells the newspaper that the promotional campaign will launch in September.