2007: #5 - "The Way I Are"

On the hypnotic yet ultra-shiny pop-trance hit "The Way I Are", Timbaland extrapolates the synth part of mid-80s dance classic "Push It" (personally, I'm not a huge fan, but it's a cool hook), twists it around and creates one of the best Madonna-esque club-pop songs since Madonna stopped writing them in the mid-80s. It's a shame he couldn't have saved this one for her, since his actual collabs with her and J.T. were pretty putrid. In any case, we could hear (and have heard) this one a million times and it would still retain its long-lasting appeal. Breathy female vocals, ping-ponging synths and silly robo-funk that would make Prince blush may seem like elements of a major disaster, an embarrassing foray into glossed-up trance music from a hip-hop/pop maestro, but Timbaland pulls it all together here.