Rihanna's pain fuelled Rated R

Rihanna says recording songs on her new album was such an emotional experience that she sometimes had to leave the studio to prevent herself from breaking down.

"I walked out the studio a few times just trying not to be in tears," she said on Monday about recording her fourth studio album, Rated R, to be released on November 23.

"It was about me, and so much so that songs got really personal to the point where it took three months for me to start recording it because it was too deep for me to even listen to."

The album comes nine months after the 21-year-old singing sensation was attacked by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. Rihanna said recording helped ease the pain, giving her an outlet to express how she truly felt.

"I got to vent because I didn't really talk a lot. I didn't talk to a lot of people about anything I was feeling. I just did it on the record," she said.

She said the album is a reflection of Rihanna the woman, not the image we've come to know.