Rihanna: 'S&M'

Madonna perfected the Pop + Sex = Shock! formula with Erotica 20 years ago, but there's still a place for titillation in the charts. A case in point? The cheap thrill of hearing Rihanna trill a couplet like: "Sticks and stones may break my bones / But chains and whips excite me" on her latest hit. (However, when she sings about liking the smell of "sex in the air", the two words that most spring to mind, sadly, are "scented" and "candle".)

Icky slip-up aside, this club pop thumper gets you just as up-for-it as the Mail-baiting Bajan herself. Stargate give great Guetta here, supplying a spot-on combination of ear-frotting hooks, rutting synths and pounding beats as the singer delivers a vocal performance that's roughly as lusty as Peter Stringfellow at closing time. This time out, it's safe to presume, she doesn't give a sticky fig whether he knows her name or not.