Rihanna says collaboration with Chris Brown was 'innocent'

Rihanna's musical reunion with Chris Brown is "innocent" and only for the fans, the songstress said Thursday on Ryan Seacrest's radio show.

Despite rumors that the pair is getting back together, Rihanna said that the only reason she collaborated with Brown on two recent songs was because he was "the only person that, really, it made sense to do the record [with]."

"You know, I thought about rappers, and I've done that so many times," Rihanna said, "and the hottest R&B artist out right now is Chris Brown."

The ex-couple started a firestorm of controversy when they released remixes of Rihanna's song "Birthday Cake" and Brown's song "Turn Up the Music" late last month. Many fans wondered why Rihanna would reconnect with the R&B heartthrob who beat her up the night before they were to appear at the Grammys in February 2009.

"It was a trade-off," she explained. "We did two records - one for my fans, one for his - and that way our fans can come together. There shouldn't be a divide, you know? It's music, and it's innocent."

Rihanna only made a passing reference to Brown's infamous assault on her.

"Just as a musician, despite everything else, [Brown] was going to be the person" to do the record with, she said.