Chris Brown has come a long way.
Two years after seemingly committing career suicide, the embattled R&B singer is getting gold stars from the judge overseeing his probation and he's nominated for three Grammy Awards.
And he'd probably prefer it not to be considered a crime if he goes up to Rihanna to congratulate her on her six nominations, five of them ironically coming for her collaboration with Eminem on the domestic-abuse parable "Love the Way You Lie."
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After Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg again commended his rehabilitation progress, Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, requested that the restraining order preventing Brown from contacting or coming within 100 yards of Rihanna be lifted in time for the Grammys on Feb. 13.
"It can be a problem with award shows," he told Schnegg.
The judge didn't rule today, saying she wanted to hear from Rihanna's attorney first before making a decision. But Geragos seemed confident.
"I don't think it will be a problem," he told E! News after court.
Meanwhile, Schnegg congratulated Brown on finishing his 52-week domestic violence program on Dec. 20. The "Run It" singer tweeted a pic of his diploma at the time.
"Once a week is a lot," Schnegg said, "and you did it in a fine fashion."
Well, it's good for Brown that his hearings have been going so well, because there are still quite a few to come in his future. He was sentenced in August 2009 to five years' probation, 180 days of community and the year of counseling he just completed after pleading guilty to felony assault.