The Songs of Summer 2008

In 2007, it was Rihanna's Umbrella that stayed hot all summer long. So what song ruled this season? Music critic Josh Tyrangiel counts down the top 10 tracks.

Rihanna's Disturbia

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Rihanna, back to defend her title, has better instincts for what listeners crave in the hot months: mordant ballads about love and light dance tunes about lust. Take a Bow, her ballad, is unremarkable, but Disturbia has one of those rubber-ball melodies that bounce around your head even before Rihanna hammers it home as a lyrical refrain ("Bum bum be-dum, bum bum be-dum bum"). Co-written by R&B star Chris Brown, Disturbia ingratiates itself by not trying to be more than the silly piece of product that it is. But a summer anthem should have at least one moment when it feels enormous.

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