Rihanna is ready for her big sit down with Oprah Winfrey and appears to show the more vulnerable side of her personality without the rock star posturing that so often clouds who she really is.

For Oprah, it’s a chance to redeem herself after disastrous interviews with family members following the death of Whitney Houston.

Oprah, who once could be counted on for groundbreaking news or revealing insights during sit-downs with guests, just hasn’t had the same edge since she started hosting “Oprah: The Next Chapter,” on her troubled OWN Network. The trouble is she’s tackled tough subjects with squishy soft interviews.

There’s always room for fuzzy soft stories on television, but not when you’re dealing with hard news events. This interview could be worth watching, only because Rihanna is so revealing herself. Clearly Oprah just goes along for the ride, judging by a new promo trailer.

The Barbadian singer is so intriguing because she presents so many images to the public so convincingly. She can be the young tough street girl, the dominating mistress, the alluring seductress or a rock diva. Yet, none of those personas seem to be the real her.

Even Oprah had some pre-conceived notions. “I went there with my own ideas about who she was from watching her videos and listening to her music,” Oprah says. “I thought she was gonna be kind of a bada**, a kind of hard edged, rocker, pop woman. Nothing could have been farther from the truth.”

Ah… the truth. Will Oprah get it, or just another one of Rihanna’s fronts?

Obviously, Chris Brown will be among the subjects. Even there the singer has shown two faces; the abused woman who now knows better, and a woman suffering from victim’s syndrome, who can’t stay away from her abuser.

And what about Karrueche Tran, Brown’s girlfriend? Will Oprah ask about her? She’d show some mettle if she did.

Oprah will apparently ask all the pertinent questions: “Do you think Chris Brown is a true love for you?” and “Where does your relationship stand today?” The question is will she get answers or just more posturing.

The interview airs Aug. 19. Check out the promo below.