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.