Can Chris Brown Bounce Back?

Feb. 10, 2009 — -- Sunday was a dark day for one of America's most promising stars.

Chris Brown was a triple threat. He sang hit songs ("Kiss Kiss," "Forever"), danced circles around the competition (with moves comparable to those of Usher and Michael Jackson) and made inroads into the acting world ("The O.C." and "Stomp the Yard.")

He's more of a Jonas Brother than a Lil Wayne or a young Jay-Z. He doesn't sing about a gangster past; he doesn't rock blinding quantities of bling. He shot to fame in 2005, at age 16, with "Run It!" -- the hit topped the Billboard Hot 100 and made Brown the first male artist to have his debut reach No. 1.

But now, after a felony domestic abuse case against him and the suspicion that he beat his R&B singer girlfriend Rihanna, the 19-year-old's clean-cut image may be shot.

Brown turned himself into Los Angeles authorities Sunday night for allegedly assaulting a woman. He was booked and released on $50,000 bail; he's scheduled to go to court next month.

"I can confirm that the LAPD was at the DA's office and presented the case," a representative from the L.A. District Attorney's office told ABCNews.com Tuesday. "[The case is] regarding Chris Brown and that's all we're saying."

Though officials won't reveal the identity of the woman who they say called 911 early Sunday morning and identified Brown as her attacker, eyewitnesses saw a badly bruised Rihanna check into L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Hospital Sunday. She and Brown were supposed to appear and perform at the Grammy Awards that night.

According to E! News, Rihanna, 20, checked out of the hospital Monday night and postponed a concert scheduled for Friday in Malaysia. The L.A. Times reports she's cooperating with investigators to build a domestic violence case against Brown. Meanwhile, according to the NBA, Brown has pulled out of scheduled appearances at this weekend's NBA All-Star game.

Neither Brown nor Rihanna's representatives responded to ABCNews.com's requests for comment.

Brown's alleged violent behavior may be rooted in his past. In 2007, he told Giant magazine about how he grew up terrified, watching his stepfather abuse his mother.

"He used to hit my mom," Brown told the magazine. "He made me terrified all the time, terrified like I had to pee on myself. I remember one night he made her nose bleed. I was crying and thinking, 'I'm just gonna go crazy on him one day.' ... I hate him to this day."

Brown also told Giant he studied martial arts to defend himself. After a fight with classmates in which he broke out his moves, he begged his own mother not to go to the police.

"Don't go to no cops pressing no charges," he told her, according to Giant. "Like, we don't do that in the 'hood."