Superstar Rihanna has admitted that the negative public reaction to her recent collaborations with old flame Chris Brown really shocked her and she didn't expect them working together to be such a big deal.

In a new interview with Esquire, the Bajan singer and actress explained that featuring on Brown's 'Turn Up The Music' and having him record parts for her own track 'Birthday Cake' didn't occur to her as something that would cause outrage because in her mind "it was just music":

"The whole thing caught me a little off-guard to be honest. Especially the amount of negative attention. Because it never occurred to me how this was going to be a problem. It really didn't."

"I thought people were gonna be surprised that we finally did a record together, but I didn't see how people could think it was a bad thing. In my mind, it was just music."

Meanwhile, Rihanna has shown her appreciation for her fans and tweeted a message of thanks to them for securing her a 22nd Top 10 single with 'Where Have You Been', writing:

"Just got good news! My Navi is so damn RIHdiculous!!! We on our 22nd top 10 record! #WHYB is #9 on BBHot100 this week #UPandON"