It's "Nobody's Business", but Rihanna and Chris Brown Slay Their New Duet!

When I first heard that Rihanna was featuring Chris Brown on a new song from new album Unapologetic, I cringed.

Despite its catchiness, the now infamous "Birthday Cake" remix was cringeworthy, especially considering the new lyrics and the fact that Chris Brown was dating someone else while singing about "licking icing off" Rihanna's cake. Now that he's (presumably) single or (presumably) back with Rihanna, the two are free to flaunt their love affair for the world to see and, most importantly, listen.

And that is where this new song comes in. It is titled "Nobody's Business", which is obviously bating all of their detractors. But instead of being obnoxious about their relationship (I guess they had their fill on Twitter), they actually recorded a standout track on a pretty excellent album (more on that in a later post).

"Nobody's Business" is a bop-tastic, disco flavored dance track, borrowing many elements from Michael Jackson's 1988 smash "The Way You Make Me Feel". In fact, it wouldn't be misplaced on the recently released 25th anniversary version of Bad. The track is quite the clever remake, making an 80s classic send fresh for today's audience. Maybe it's the MJ influence, or the awesome production, but there is something very charming and youthful about this song. It makes you forget the ugly and public history of their relationship, recasting them as two happy kids in love without a care in the world. It's the only way they could get away with rhyming "infectious" and "Lexus". Chris Brown, after the relative disaster that was his album Fortune, delivers a particularly spectacular, MJ-esque performance that definitely stands out as his best in a while.

"Nobody's Business" is probably the first successful, positive attempt for both singers to refocus the public's attention from their tempestuous on-off relationship to their music. It works masterfully. It is one of the best tracks on Unapologetic, and one of the best either have released in their careers. I can't believe I'm typing this, but it could actually be a smash.