B.O.B and HAYLEY WILLIAMS

Airplanes (2010)

CHART TALK: Was in the top five for 13 weeks, raking in 3.1 million downloads.

SAMPLE LYRICS: Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?

WHAT MADE IT HOT: In addition to being fans of each other, the interplay between the unlikely pair was interesting and appealed to both young and not so young.

If last year she hooked up with Snoop Dogg, this time Kate Perry did it with Kanye West resulting in partnerships that peaked music charts and reaped a handful of awards.

KATY PERRY & KANYE WEST

E.T (2011)

CHART TALK: Topped the Billboard Hot 100 this year and set a record for most weekly plays in the 18-year history of the chart, registering 12,330 plays over 131 stations.

SAMPLE LYRICS: You’re so hypnotising/Could u be the devil?/ Could you be an angel?

WHAT MADE IT HOT: A futuristic tale of extra-terrestrial love with alien metaphors and the Queen’s We Will Rock You-like stomp-stomp-clap beats.

EMINEM and RIHANNA

Love The Way You Lie (2010)

CHART TALK: Held the number one spot for a third week with 1.9 million downloads.

SAMPLE LYRICS: High off of love drunk from my hate/ It’s like I’m huffin’ paint and I love it the more I suffer, I suffocate

WHAT MADE IT HOT: The way they traded verses in the heartbreaking song about domestic violence. The superstar pairing happened after Alex Da Kid, a British producer who also worked on B..B’s Airplanes, sent the track to Eminem, who requested Rihanna to collaborate.

FRANK AND NANCY SINATRA

Somethin’ Stupid (1967)

CHART TALK: The song from the album The World We Knew spent four weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1967, becoming Sinatra’s second gold single and Nancy’s third. The single also reached the number one slot in the UK the same year.

SAMPLE LYRICS: The time is right/ Your perfume fills my head/ The stars get red/ And oh, the night’s so blue

WHAT MADE IT HOT: Written originally by Carson Parks and Gaile Foote, it was made famous by Sinatra and daughter Nancy. It was the first and only father-daughter number one song in America.

British singer Robbie Williams recorded this song in 2001 with actress Nicole Kidman. It appeared on his album Swing When You’re Winning and topped the UK singles chart at the end of the year.

JOE COCKER & JENNIFER WARNES

Up Where We Belong (1982)

CHART TALK: The single was number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and stayed put for three weeks before bagging a Grammy, an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song the following year.

SAMPLE LYRICS: Love lifts us up where we belong/ Where the eagles cry, on a mountain high/ Love lifts us up where we belong/ Far from the world below/ Up where the clear winds blow

WHAT MADE IT HOT: Inspiring words and an anthemic tune that landed it on the soundtrack in Richard Gere’s An Officer and a Gentleman.

KATY PERRY and SNOOP DOGG

California Gurls (2010)

CHART TALK: Six weeks at number one with 3.2 million downloads.

SAMPLE LYRICS: I know a place/ Where the grass is really greener/ Warm, wet and wild/ There must be something in the water/ Sippin’ gin and juice

WHAT MADE IT HOT: An up-tempo sing-along number with Perry featuring a rapper like Snoop Dogg to help expand her audience. When Perry started writing her sexy summer romp, she envisioned Snoop Dogg chiming in about gin and juice and invited him to join her.

DIDO and EMINEM

Stan (2000)

CHART TALK: It peaked at number one in the UK and Australia.

SAMPLE LYRICS: My tea’s gone cold, I’m wonderin’ why I got out of bed at all/ The morning rain clouds up my window and I can’t see at all

WHAT MADE IT HOT: The song tells the story of a fan obsessed with Eminem. The rapper sings his own parts as well as those of his (fictional) stalker, with Dido lending a touch of velvet in the chorus.

SONNY AND CHER

I Got You Babe (1965)

CHART TALK: Held on to the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 hit singles list for three weeks at a stretch before hitting number one on the UK charts.

SAMPLE LYRICS: I got flowers in the spring I got you to wear my ring/ And when I’m sad, you’re a clown/And if I get scared, you’re always around

WHAT MADE IT HOT: American songwriter Sonny wrote the song for himself and his wife Cher, late at night in their basement. It became the duo’s biggest single and their signature song. The song again scored on popularity charts when covered by UB40 and Chrissie Hynde in 1985 it peaked number one yet again on the UK charts.

KID ROCK and SHERYL CROW

Picture (2002)

CHART TALK: Picture turned out to be Kid Rock’s highest charting single in the US, peaking at number four. The song also made a mark in Sheryl Crow’s singles record as her second most successful track after All I Wanna Do.

SAMPLE LYRICS: I thought about you for a long time/ Can’t seem to get you off my mind/ I can’t understand why we’re living life this way

WHAT MADE IT HOT: This bluesy acousticballad was the first country song from two artistes known for their own distinctive sounds.

NENEH CHERRY & YOUSSOU N’DOUR

7 Seconds (1994)

CHART TALK: The song was a huge Nineties hit that remained on the charts for nearly half a year before reaching the top three in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Russia and Poland.

SAMPLE LYRICS: And when a child is born into this world/ It has no concept/ Of the tone the skin it’s living in

WHAT MADE IT HOT: The trilingual song in Senegalese, French and English was about the first seven seconds in the life of a child born unaware of the problems and violence around the world.

JOHN TRAVOLTA AND OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN

You’re The One That I Want (1978)

CHART TALK: A huge international hit, the single reached number one in several countries. It was the first of two songs from the Grease soundtrack to reach the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 for a week in 1978, selling over two million copies and topping the UK singles chart for nine weeks. Just three years ago, it was named sixth best-selling single ever in the UK.

SAMPLE LYRICS: I got chills, they’re multiplyin’, and I’m losin’ control/ Cause the power you’re supplyin’, it’s electrifyin’

WHAT MADE IT HOT: John Travolta’s soaring voice and Olivia Newton John’s impossibly tight black pants were electrifyin’!

PATTY SMITH AND DON HENLEY

Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough (1992)

CHART TALK: The song, certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, spent six weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1992 apart from topping the Canadian pop and US adult contemporary charts.

SAMPLE LYRICS: But there’s a danger in lovin’ somebody too much/ And it’s sad when you know it’s your heart you can’t trust/ There’s a reason why people don’t stay where they are/ Baby, sometimes love just ain’t enough

WHAT MADE IT HOT: A simple rock ballad about lovers and heartbreak that hit home.