I only recently started listening to current hit radio singles, and with all of the tinny hip-hop beats infesting the charts, Beyoncé and Shakira's "Beautiful Liar", with its string/horn instrumentation, is definitely a breath of fresh air. While its general theme may be nothing new in terms of lyrics, it works for both of the divas' voices (both Beyonce's sassy belting and Shakira's thinner and softer tones) and brings a sound to the table that incorporates the styles of both women. I'm still in awe about how well it lends itself to both R&B and Latin pop without being cheesily overproduced. It being one song, I can't say much more about it, but it is both worthy of its radio airplay and a musical success all its own.

There are times where a duet can be absolutely surprising. Although there haven't been many good ones these past few years, some of them have worked well. Beyonce has shown a surprise or two with duets, adn her latest one is definitely so far her best. Beautiful Liar, her collaboration with Shakira is so far her best song yet. The song is very upbeat, and really brings out a seductive tune that is just electrifying. Although Beyonce is a bit overdone, this is definitely a good song for any die hard fan, or anyone who love the beat. This one does seduce well, but it isn't a liar.

Song: B-

I've been enamored of the Columbian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dance, and actress (quite a pedigree) Shakira for about a month now soaking up everything I can listen to and watch by her. That includes 2007's Beautiful Liar a single featuring the both the Columbian bombshell and the ever beautiful and energetic Beyonce Knowles.

The cut was released as a single with Beyonce taking top billing. The (CD) single features the 3:21 minute song and the 3:16 minute instrumental, which quite frankly I enjoy as much as the single.

Beautiful Liar was produced with the assistance of hot production team out of Norway, Stargate, which is responsible for such diverse hits as Rihanna's Unfaithful, Lionel Richie's I Call it Love and Beyonce's Irreplaceable. Songwriting duties fell to the team of Amanda Ghost (a co-songwriter of James Blunt's You're Beautiful) and Ian Dench.

The results: while Beautiful Liar finds a comfortable musical blend (the strings featured in a Middle Eastern breakdown near the end of the song are especially beautiful) of Beyonce's contemporary hip hop soul and Shakira's Latin and Middle Eastern percussion inspired brew, lyrically the song didn't work for me. This is mostly due to the fact that both Beyonce and Shakira's vocals--neither of which are very powerful--are lost in the heavy backbeats; i.e. I could only understand one in about ten words!

Be that as it may, Beautiful Liar is hard to resist because it so musically infectious. And the video is not to be missed! Both Beyonce and Shakira are stunningly beautiful woman and the two of them in the same video is a visual treat not to be missed.

So, while Beautiful Liar is lyrically suspect, the song is musically on queue and ultimately enjoyable!

As resplendent as I think she is and as much as I'm in awe of her talent, I think Beyoncé is becoming slightly overexposed. Her sheer ubiquity is getting a bit tedious, quite frankly and I often find myself feeling that if she would just go away for a while I'd appreciate her all the more upon her return. Shakira, I've never heard of before now and judging her solely on her voice, I don't believe I've missed anything. Together in the video, the two of them look like a pair of... well, let's just say I was totally unimpressed. I was left thinking no wonder my sister won't let her young daughters (aged 5 and 11) watch MTV.

But none of that can take away from the sheer power of this song. I'm not a huge r&b fan (anymore) but this one is something really special. I can just imagine it doing big things in clubs and at parties world-wide. I can see it crossing culture and language barriers with total ease. I always give credit where I think it's due and I believe Stargate, alongside Ms Knowles, Shakira and Eduardo Cabra, did a great job producing the tune.

I also love the Maurice Joshua Remix of "Irreplaceable". It's a totally funky house mix and reminds me of my wild and carefree clubbing days in NYC, way back when. Glorious stuff.