Two good? Rihanna and Shakira's joint video effort

It goes without saying that when some of hottest pop stars collaborate, you can expect something that will set tongues wagging for days.

Remember Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink in the sexy Moulin Rouge! soundtrack hit Lady Marmalade in 2001?

Or R. Kelly and Lady Gaga in her song Do What U Want at the American Music Awards last year?

The latest to join the bandwagon is 25-year-old Barbadian singer Rihanna and 37-year-old Colombian star Shakira on the latter's Can't Remember to Forget You.

The music video for the catchy single, released on Thursday, is a three-and-a-half minute affair that sets temperatures soaring.

Then again, what do you expect when a bum-wriggling Latina beauty and a feisty controversy-attracting firecracker come together?

Especially when they are frolicking suggestively side by side on a striped mattress, cavorting against walls and embracing in near nudity?

The girl-on-girl action is eyebrow-raising, maybe uncomfortable for some, but hardly earth-shattering.

After all, a slew of pop stars - young and old - have walked down the same route when they worked together on a song or performance.

NOTORIOUS

Queen of Pop Madonna, notorious for her shocking and provocative performances, could hardly stop herself from smooching both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards when she sang her song, Hollywood.

Justin Timberlake - Spears' ex-boyfriend - seemed to have needed a couple of seconds to compose himself, a reaction that probably mirrored ours then.

Over a decade later, she is done with locking lips but stirs up some bump-and-grind action with twerking princess Miley Cyrus.

Singing a mash-up of Cyrus' 2013 hit We Can't Stop and Madonna's 2000 tune Don't Tell Me at an MTV Unplugged show which aired last week, Cyrus reciprocated with a smack to Madonna's bum.

The music video for Can't Remember to Forget You - a song about "that guy that just gets under your skin and you can't leave alone", according to Shakira - has chalked up over 51 million views on YouTube to mixed reviews.

Detractors say the video is "offensive and disgusting", accusing Shakira and Rihanna of using their bodies to sell the music.

Others took to it kindly, calling the stars "perfect" and even hailing it as the "sexiest video of 2014", though to be fair, it's only a month into the year.

On working with Rihanna, Shakira told Glamour magazine in its February issue: "Working with (her) was utopia. She's the sexiest woman on the planet. And at the end of the day, we're both just basically Caribbean girls. The chemistry was so good and so real. She taught me dance moves. She was a sweet teacher."

ashikinr@sph.com.sg

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