Try Getting This Song Out of Your Head

Today is Jan. 13 and you know what that means if you've been updating your pop culture events calendar. Shakira and Rihanna released their new song "Can't Remember to Forget You" on Ryan Seacrest's radio show this morning! The idea of this song might sound scary to some. "Rihanna and Shakira? Shoot! That's going to be played everywhere I go for the next six months!" But take it from me, I listened to it and it's really not that bad. It's catchy as heck and probably will be featured everywhere from the club to the grocery store, but it won't send you into an uncontrollable rage.

The best thing about the song is that it sounds much more Shakira than Rihanna. This is to say, instead of a repetitive dance beat that feels like someone is hammering a nail into your head, we get a little rock sound, a little reggae sound. Sure, Rihanna's used Caribbean beats before, but recently it's seemed to be all dubstep-light for Rihanna.

It shouldn't be surprising that the song sounds more adjacent to Shakira's music than Rihanna's because technically it's Shakira's song featuring Rihanna, but hearing that they were joining forces was kind of a frightening proposition. It seemed that it would be a battle of Shakira's yodeling versus Rihanna's a-ye-ye-yeah-ing. Luckily that's not the case.

Shakira sings the first verse and Rihanna follows up with the second in which she sounds quite a bit like Santigold. They play off each other back and forth for the rest of the song with Shakira singing the majority. Their voices actually sound pretty good together considering how particular they both are.

As for the lyrics, they're nothing special. The song is about not being able to get over a guy even though you should. A line that is repeated during the chorus sums it up: "But when you look at me/ The only memory is us kissing in the moonlight." There really isn't much there lyrically.

It's hard not to compare the song to "Beautiful Liar," Shakira's 2007 collaboration with another huge pop star, Beyoncé. After listening to "Can't Remember to Forget You" a couple times, it seems that it's at least equally as catchy, but it will never reach the level of "Beautiful Liar" until there's a music video featuring synchronized belly dancing. Show me that video, then we'll discuss.

As for now, check out "Can't Remember To Forget You" for yourself below and then try to remember to forget it! Hahahaha. Ha. Ahem. Yes, the song...

Image: Getty Images