mtv songs of 2010
17. Rihanna, "Rude Boy"
Total Points: 65
A straight-up sex jam from the formerly demure Ms. Fenty, "Rude Boy" was the third single from the Rated R album, but unlike most everything else on the disc, it's not a morbid, morose affair. Rather, it's full of swirling synths and rushing handclaps, jerking along on a dancehall lilt and RiRi's newfound ragga swagger. Straying from the drama that had enveloped her life during the recording of the album, "Rude Boy" is Rihanna looking for love — or, more specifically, a man to give that love to her. And on this night, it may be you. Can you get it up? Is you big enough? No pressure or anything.
15. Rihanna, "Only Girl (In the World)"
Total Points: 90
By the time she released Loud, Rihanna was telling anyone who would listen that she was done being dire and just wanted to have some fun. And, well, there were few songs released this year as flat-out fun as "Only Girl," a bubbly slice of club pop with — arguably — 2010's best chorus, a super-charged, positively life-affirming thing that somehow sounded best when it was shouted very loudly from the middle of a packed dance floor. Or in the shower. The greatest pop songs work no matter where you hear them, and "Only Girl (In the World)" is most definitely a great pop song.
The Top 10 will be revealed on Monday.
uca:
Your turn.
