(Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

By Calvin Stovall

Chris Brown’s quest for redemption will come full circle this Sunday at the 54^th Grammy Awards. Three years ago, Brown’s career was almost ended after an altercation between him and then-girlfriend Rihanna led to felony assault charges. In the years since, Breezy has reclaimed much of his fan base and even extended it by venturing further into acting and rapping, two crafts he flirted with earlier in his career. His hard work, and a stunning performance at last year’s BET Awards, all seem to have gotten him closer to regaining America’s favor, but his upcoming Grammy performance will be the ultimate test.

But even though America is fully capable of forgiving Chris for his transgressions, that does not mean they will soon forget. No matter how many stages he kills or tantrums he throws, Brown’s decision to assault Rihanna will forever be in the first paragraph of his Wikipedia page. Michael Vick can tell you, this country has a great memory for stuff like that.

Though he will never truly be able to escape his past, what he can do is atone for it. Rihanna has already forgiven him publically, and judging by the millions of listeners and DJs who made “Look at Me Now” Billboard’s #1 hit of 2011, most fans have too. Because we all love to see the redemption story play out in full, our culture is brilliant at setting the stage for it. First you have the TMZ cameras and scathing tweets to tear you down to your absolute lowest. Then you must show remorse, serve your time, and take enough media lashings to evoke the slightest amount of pathos from the general public. Chris didn’t hit that level until almost a year after the assault when many fans started saying, “he’s a kid, he made a mistake and did his time. Let’s give him another chance.”

Then it was about reinvention. The incident ruined the golden boy image that made him famous, but more tats, blonde hair and a rap mixtape all transformed him into music’s heartthrob bad boy. He’s run with the role ever since— literally, in 2010’s Takers where he pulled off one of the greatest runs from police ever caught on film, and figuratively, on Twitter where he’s beefed with everyone from Frank Ocean to Raz B.

The next chapter of his redemption story was the most pivotal. Now in perfect position for a comeback, he had to deliver with the product to truly regain his standing in our good graces. Two monster singles and unforgettable performances at the BET Awards and VMAs last summer handled that, and now he stands before the ultimate test. The stage is set for him to bring a proper close to this chapter of his life with the performance of his career. Sunday night we will see if Breezy can rise to the occasion.

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