Rihanna claims she began to spot warning signs before she was attacked by Chris Brown.

The 'Russian Roulette' singer was left battered and bruised by her then-boyfriend Chris Brown last February when he assaulted her in his car and in hindsight she could see the situation developing.

She said: "There were control issues, insecurity. When people are insecure they become very controlling and they can get very aggressive and in turn abusive. It doesn't have to be physical.

"Like they would say bad stuff to you to make you feel lesser than them just so they would have control in the relationship. It takes a big toll on your emotions and on your everyday life. It changes you."

Rihanna also revealed she was emotionally drained when she recorded latest album 'Rated R' due to the attack, subsequent break-up and intense attention.

The 21-year-old pop star added in an interview with W magazine: "When I was making this album, every day I was in a different mood. Sometimes I was p***ed off, sometimes I was miserable, and every song brings out a different story.

"It's still hard to listen to certain songs. Certain ones I couldn't even record - I'd keep pushing them back.

"When the label finally said we had 12 hours to turn in the album, I was like, Okay, I have to record the last song. I just drank some red wine, dimmed the lights, got in the booth and sang it."

Chris, 20, was found guilty of the assault and ordered to carry out 80 hours of community labour, 12 months of domestic violence counselling and five years probation.