Rihanna and Chris Brown

Rihanna and Chris Brown have been seen kissing "passionately".

The 'Umbrella' star and the 18-year-old R'n'B singer were spotted getting hot and steamy at a Paris Fashion Week party for photographer Peter Beard last weekend.

A source told Us Weekly magazine: "Chris and Rihanna were aware of people watching them but couldn't keep their hands off each other. It was a very sexy public display of affection.

Rihanna whips up a storm

Four years ago, like thousands of others across the world, Rihanna was a 15-year-old schoolgirl with dreams of music stardom. But for Rhianna, the dream was destined to come true, and it started with a life-changing case of being in the right place at the right time.

Music producer, Evan Rogers, was on holiday in Rihanna's native Barbados with his wife in 2003. A friend introduced them and, spotting the ambitious teen's talents right away, Evan helped her record some music samples and send them off to various recording studios, including American rapper Jay-Z's label, Def Jam.

After belting out Whitney Houston's 'For the Love of You', Rihanna was signed to the label.

"It took me two minutes to see she was a star," Jay-Z said of the singer.

The respect was mutual. Thrilled at being signed by the young tycoon, who is dating R+B beauty Beyoncé Knowles, Rihanna said: "I think I am signed to the greatest label on earth. Everyone from the artists, to the staff, to senior executives have been incredibly supportive.
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"I always say that without Def Jam, all of my successes would not be possible. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like I am signed to a label but more like a family."

Now, at 19, Rihanna has gained international pop star status with her numerous chart-topping hits and movie appearances.

Rihanna Releasing New Single "Umbrella"

Some singers take two-year breaks between albums. Rihanna is working on her third disc, just two years after releasing her first.

"It's a nonstop pace, very speedily, and Def Jam does not play, that's all I can tell you," she joked of her record label in an interview with The Associated Press. "We just keep going and going - it's fun, we make sure that we have fun while we do it."

The hits are likely to keep coming and coming for the 19-year-old Barbados beauty, who has had success with "S.O.S.,""Unfaithful" and "Break It Off." Her new single, "Umbrella," was due out Thursday, the first song from her upcoming, not-yet-titled album, set for release June 5.

"It shows such growth for her as an artist," Def Jam President Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, told the AP. "If you listen to the lyrics to that song, you know the depth and how far she's come."

Jay-Z delivers the opening salvo on the dramatic song, about the strength of a relationship.

Rihanna said the song can be about a romantic or platonic relationship.

"'Umbrella' is a serious song, a relationship song. ... It's different, and that's what I love about it," she said. "People are not going to expect a song like that from me."

The singer made her debut with island-flavored dance groove "Pon de Replay" in 2005, from her debut album, "Music of the Sun." Less than a year later, she released "A Girl Like Me," a platinum success that broadened her mainstream appeal.

Artists usually don't release another album so quickly, especially when they're having success with their current one. But Island Def Jam Chairman Antonio "LA" Reid said Rihanna's upcoming album, which features labelmate Ne-Yo and a song written by Justin Timberlake, is being released this summer because the label feels it's that good.

"In the past, Rihanna has made really great singles. This time, Rihanna has not only made really great singles, but a great album," he told AP. "We want people to hear it now and experience it now."

But fans may be surprised by what they hear.

"My sound has changed," Rihanna said. "It's a lot edgier than the rest of the stuff that anyone has heard from me before. I'm singing about different things, it's a lot sexier."

She also considers the album more adult, reflecting the quick growth she's had to do in her short time in the spotlight.

"This business really helps you to find out who you are, and how strong you are," she said. "You need strength and determination with all the negativity coming at you sometimes ... I've grown a lot."

Part of the negativity Rihanna has faced involved talk of an alleged affair with mentor Jay-Z. Rihanna said the rumor was upsetting but she's learned not to let the gossip mill get her down.

"At first I was like, 'Ha ha, it's funny,'" she said. "Now I just ignore it and I'm numb to it. ... You cannot stop people from saying what they want to say."