Nobody Likes Getting Played

There are a couple of reasons why Shakira and Beyoncé's "Beautiful Liar" is primed to be the biggest karaoke song of the summer: 1) It's peaking right about now, meaning that it will be widely available in most clubs by May, which is prime karaoke time; 2) it's a duet in which the vocals are split 50/50, which certainly helped "Promiscuous Girl"; 3) it actually includes the lyrics "Shakira/Shakira" and "Beyoncé/Beyoncé," which is awesome; 4) most importantly, everything about the production is minimal—the fake horns, the timid acoustic guitars—and frankly, kinda cheap-sounding. It's sounds less like a major-label hit single, and more like a tinny karaoke backing track that just happens to be performed by two professional singers.

YOUTUBE: "Beautiful Liar"