Work was off-kilter, lacked a big chorus and weaved in a dubious 80s ballad. It also clicked perfectly, a song that captured two era-defining artists and one all the more infectious for its rule-defying restraint

There was a school of thought, loudly expressed at the time of the song’s release, that Work was not sufficiently commercial to be a Rihanna single. It certainly sounded pretty understated compared to its blockbusting predecessors: the Paul McCartney and Kanye West collaboration FourFiveSeconds, the controversial and provocative Bitch Better Have My Money, the epic, dubstep-infused ballad American Oxygen. R&B stars seldom have hits with skeletal dancefloor tracks sung in thick patois, even if they are decorated with a guest verse by Drake. The last time anything like that topped the US charts was a decade ago, when Sean Paul was at the height of his fame. At least one critic opined that Work sounded unfinished.

The critics had a point about how minimal it was – there’s almost nothing to Work beyond a beat, a bassline, a vocal and an extremely subtly deployed interpolation from Alexander O’Neil’s mid-80s Mellow Magic-friendly smoocher If You Were Here Tonight – but otherwise they couldn’t have been more wrong. Work turned out to be 2016’s omnipresent hit: it topped the charts from Brazil to Belgium, its success paving the way for more dancehall-influenced pop hits, including Sia’s Cheap Thrills. It happened because everything about Work clicks: it is perfect pop songwriting that blithely ignores most current trends in pop. There’s no big chorus, but the hook burrows into your brain; the rhythm feels off-kilter but propels everything forward; Rihanna’s performance is coolly restrained but really appealing.

Meanwhile, the lyrics were snappy and smart – “You took my heart off my sleeve” – and there was something really appealing about the way Drake’s cameo appearance played against Rihanna’s vocal. He begs, he pleads, he turns on the charm (“If you had a twin I would still chose you”) and he does that passive-aggressive Drake thing of subtly implying he’s somehow morally superior to his amorata: “Who am I to hold your past against you?” She tells him to get stuffed: “Nuh time to have your lurking.” Given that she’s dealing withR&B’s king of injured feelings, there’s something particularly piquant about the kiss-off: “Me nuh cyar if him hurting.”



Work works perfectly: proof that subtlety trumps glitz, that you don’t need spectacular fireworks if everything already sparks.

Guardian writers’ top tracks of 2016

Rihanna – Work

Beyoncé – Formation

Frank Ocean – Ivy

Mitski – Your Best American Girl

Skepta – Man

Kanye West – Famous

Christine and the Queens – iT

David Bowie – Lazarus

Whitney – No Woman

Tegan and Sara – Boyfriend

Kano – GarageSkankFREESTYLE

Young M.A – Ooouuu

Dave ft AJ Tracey – Thiago Silva

The Monkees – Me & Magdelena

Babyfather – Skywalker Freestyle