RICHMOND, Virginia -- [article id="1620693"]Chris Brown first broke his silence[/article] about his February assault of Rihanna in a sit-down with Larry King, where he deflected specific questions about the incident, at times frustrating the CNN host. But throughout the interview, the embattled singer made an effort to apologize profusely for his actions.

Reaction to the interview, which took place in September, was mixed. [article id="1620772"]Abuse experts[/article] slammed

[artist id="1961441"]Brown[/artist], saying he didn't seem inclined to change his behavior. [article id="1620732"]Fans were more forgiving[/article] and said the star deserved a second chance to redeem himself.

Brown told MTV News correspondent Sway that he wasn't sure exactly how he would come off during the interview with King. He admitted he was coached for media appearance and worried that his sincerity would get lost in translation after too much preparation.

"I was so nervous. I was super nervous. I didn't know what to think [going in]," Brown said during a one-on-one sit-down for the MTV News special "Chris Brown: The Interview," airing Friday (November 5) at 6 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. " 'Man, I'm going to get on here, and they're going to chew me up and everybody is just going to go in on me.' So I was more scared than anything.

"[There's] really not too much preparing you can do," he continued. "I did a lot of media training and a lot of stuff like that, and it kind of wasn't genuine to me. Everything I was saying was from my heart, but it was kind of controlled. 'Well, don't say it like this, because it will look like that.' "

Brown said he wanted to "just be personable," but the setting was uncomfortable for him. "It wasn't that kind of situation where I could be me," he said. "So I was just: 'I don't wanna say anything wrong.' "

Since his interview with King, where he appeared alongside his mother and attorney, Brown has had just [article id="1624412"]one other conversation about the assault[/article], with Hot 97's Angie Martinez last month. Brown opened up more with Martinez, discussing his therapy sessions, expressing more remorse and telling the DJ that young men should use his ordeal as an example. "I would say, point blank, definitely learn from my mistakes," he urged.

The singer opens up even more about Rihanna, the night in question and his future plans during "Chris Brown: The Interview."

"The point of how I felt and what I wanted to get across came out [in the CNN interview], but I think at the end of the day, with any interview, even with this interview, I'm going to get public scrutiny or criticism regardless of what I say," Brown said. "So I just didn't know what was going to be said. I just wanted to let people know how I felt, at the end of the day."

Chris Brown opens up about the February assault and its aftermath in "Chris Brown: The Interview," airing tonight at 6 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.

Go [article id="1605165"]here for domestic-violence resources[/article], or check out Think MTV for a video handbook on spotting the warning signs of abuse.