New music: Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me

Britney's new single Hold It Against Me – the first from her seventh album, due in March – has become something of an event. Demo versions have already leaked, tweets from Britney have stoked excitement, and her label has said there's only one copy in the UK (although that's just leaked too, so someone may not have a job in the morning). But what's it like? Over relentless heavy beats and synth whooshes, Britney tries her hand at flirting ("If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?"), delivering lines usually reserved for ITV's Take Me Out ("You feel like paradise and I need a vacation tonight"). It trundles along nicely, the sweet vocals contrasting with industrial beats (courtesy of Dr Luke and Max Martin), before the whole thing has a meltdown around the two-minute mark, first throwing in some grimey, dubstep beats (Rusko is rumoured to be helping with the album) and then a smattering of rave chords before the chorus roars up again. Expect Madonna to release a dubstep-influenced album before the year is out. You can hear a better quality version of this track here