After releasing two of the year's best pop singles – the simply gargantuan 'Umbrella' and the turbo-charged 'Shut Up And Drive' – Rihanna's latest single is a bit of a letdown. The Bajan bum-wiggler's decided to cool down, pack away her hot pants and hook up with urban crooner Ne-Yo for a slushy duet.

A folky, midtempo R'n'B mush-fest, 'Hate That I Love You' is a close-ish relation – let's call it a second cousin – to 'Sexy Love' and 'Because Of You', Ne-Yo's other collaborations with Swedish hitmakers Stargate. The whole affair is smoother than Lulu's forehead in the new Morrisons ad, but it's almost criminal that Rihanna's releasing this when 'Breakin' Dishes' and 'Don't Stop The Music', a couple of flat-out floorfillers, are still stuck on her album. Good girl gone bad? Until she pops on her dancing shoes again, it's the only reasonable conclusion.