Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake: '4 Minutes'

Those surprised by Madonna's decision to "go hip-hop" on new album Hard Candy might care to recall that the pop queen has worked with modish urban hitmakers before, on 1994's underrated Bedtime Stories album. Besides, without a proper US radio hit since 2001's 'Don't Tell Me', this grade 'A' attention-seeker was always going to gun for the world's biggest record-buying community. The means to that end? Timbaland.

Consequently, '4 Minutes' is exactly what you'd expect from a Madge/Timbaland hook-up: a state-of-the-art urban pop song circa 2008. As Madonna trades sexy, essentially meaningless slogans with Justin Timberlake ("What I need is a you intervention!"), Timbaland lays down a horn-fuelled groove, rich on drama, that leads to an urgent, synth-powered chorus. It's a terrifically exciting listen for sure, but, sadly, not one of Madonna's most indelible moments. In fact, '4 Minutes' could comfortably have slipped onto recent albums by Nelly Furtado and Gwen Stefani, leading to a slightly unnerving realisation: since when was Madonna content to follow the pack?


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