Rihanna & Britney Spears - S&M

After turning your claim to fame around from being a singer to certified mess it only makes sense that when you go full circle, in this case, back to the music, that you leech on to something or, more so, someone that is actually raking in the cash.
I will admit, I like Britney, not her music now but I can accept her still trying. I did prefer her music during her crazy period but she milked that to death and now has to move on.
Her music since her 'meltdown' has been somewhat awful. Womanizer shown some promise but even that was tiring to listen to.
S&M has a very good musical backdrop and due to studio wizardry even Rihanna voice sounds less whiny making it tolerable background noise. However I was shocked when I heard the duet with Britney Spears, I had anticipated that it would be a good little pop tune. Both having awful voices and autotuned within an inch of their lives, I had assumed that they would blend perfectly, clearly Rihanna's part has not been touched since the original recording was finished but Britney has been cut and pasted in with not a lot left to desire.
The opening is just Rihanna for the

 "I like it, Like it" 

for the fairly decent introduction of Britney singing

"Nah, nah, nah nah, nah, C'mon"

when hearing this it's as though the song could have been Britney's, she could have owned it, it's almost nostalgic of a better, sexier Britney.

After Rihanna's first verse, which is that of the original record, Britney comes in to attempt a re-written second verse. The verse has been written in keeping with the song and also with the two stars on the duet just as much but after hearing Rihanna's original vocals (that of the original recording) Britney's part, in comparison, appears rushed, leaving it sounding seperate from the rest of the song, it seems a bit too forced, like she still needs to prove that she has still got it. Her vocals sound tired and aged, by comparison, and possibly due to writers block, or just plain laziness, Britney's verse features some silly pointless noises, which somehow makes rihanna look like the talented one as oppose to being on balance...Poor Britney.

The particular pairing is just as bad as that Madonna and Justin Timberlake duet 4 Minutes, although the age gap is not the same (poor Britney) the younger one still manages to make the older one look like they have had their day, despite how famous they may be.

The finished product leaves Britney sounding like she has passed it, unlike Rihanna's vocals, Britney fails to glide along effortlessly with the music and sometimes sounds like it was a mission for her to keep up.  Although the two blend perfectly on the later chrous and the ad libs such as "Nah, nah, nah", and almost sound like one mediocre singer that has been double tracked for a thicker sound as oppose to two of the most famous singers in the world collaborating, they clearly were not in the studio together.

Had they been two seperate songs then maybe Britney could have saved face with her own version or possibly featured Rihanna on that instead as oppose to Rihanna providing the safety net.