Top 10 Overtly Sexual Pop Songs
These are the most overtly sexual pop songs! We've included songs like Touch Me by Samantha Fox, Touch My Body by Mariah Carey, Like a Virgin by Madonna, I want Your Sex by George Michael, and I touch myself by The Divinyls. For this list we're looking at pop songs with explicit and implicitly sexual content that's too blatant to miss, and are basing our choices on a mix of shock value, lewdness and cleverness. Remember this is pop songs so rap tracks like David Banner's "Play" didn't make the cut.
#10: "Peacock" (2010) Katy Perry
While Katy Perry is no stranger to some sexually experimental music, this one may have been a little too obvious. In "Peacock" Perry doesn't try to hide her allusions at all, making it clear from the get-go she's not looking for an exotic bird. The painfully crass chorus chants of peacock leave nothing to the imagination and lines like "let me see what's underneath," have listeners certain as to what exactly what Perry is talking about. Despite the cheeky way of getting around possible censorship, the song's obvious lyrics don't exactly save its delivery, with lines like "Need some goose, to get loose," and "In a 3D movie, heard it's beautiful." Maybe Perry should just stick to her empowering pop instead. #9: "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" (1986) Samantha Fox
While it's hard to argue that female sexuality is poorly represented in pop music, there's still such a thing as going too far. In her ballad for the female libido, Fox matches the male cock-rock of the 80's to great effect lyrically and musically, but the small details make all the difference here. Throwing out bridges that are literally orgasmic, Fox not only moans musically but even opens her verses with some pleasured cries. While most of the lyrics are par for the course, comparing herself to a tramp in the night while letting out climactic sounds makes this one way racier than you'd expect.
#8: "Touch My Body" (2008) Mariah Carey
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Looks can be deceiving, especially when those looks involve Kenneth from 30 Rock. Getting steamier than usual, Carey get's extremely descriptive on her fantasies in "Touch My Body." Despite the candy-tinged R&B shell, Carey gets more graphic about her carnal desires than the raciest Harlequin Romance novel, from wanting to be dominated to how she plans to pleasure her partner back. It's hard to ignore the sensuality of her demands: to be wrestled and played with on the floor, even when watching the goofy video she made with the innocent looking Jack McBrayer.
#7: "Red Light Special" (1994) TLC
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When “Red Light” is in the title, you can pretty much assume these lyrics are not going to be g-rated. Flipping the script on The Police’s “Roxanne”, “Red Light Special” is an invitation extended to gentleman lovers, to real men who know how to please real women. With specific instructions like “take the southern route” and “don’t go too slow”, guests are encouraged to turn on the red light and make this night one to remember. Paired with the hunky game of strip poker shown in the music video, this track plays like a call to action to all the guys out there: whatever you do, you better make your girl feel right.
#6: "S&M" (2010) Rihanna
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Normalizing taboo subjects is what art is best at, but maybe a little more subtlety was in order here. With the same level of nuance on the subject as a 50 Shades movie, Rihanna tackles sadomasochism pretty bluntly on "S&M." Singing about chains and whips with some cleverly phrased poetic references, Rihanna brings the “pleasure of pain” concept to the mainstream in a surprisingly progressive voice. Although choruses about sex in the air and straight up just saying the name of this sexual subculture seem a little in your face, Rihanna does try to at least promote an open mind on this track, accepting love in many forms in the midst of her more primal lyrics.
#5: "If U Seek Amy" (2009) Britney Spears
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Never has reading between the lines been this much fun. In this song, Spears goes out of her way to be sexual while minimizing her erotic lyrics. While the verses seem to suggest Britney is chasing after another woman, there's nothing blunt enough to warrant any attention. However, each chorus finds Britney getting as overt as possible while not actually saying anything, using the power of phonetics to her advantage. If you’re still not getting it, the song's title spells out "F-U-C-K me" when said fast enough, which makes the otherwise confusing choruses surprisingly crass. Once you've figured this out, the relentless "oh baby's" start to sound a lot more forward than just a generic pop lyric.
#4: "Side to Side" (2016) Ariana Grande
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Some of the best lyrics can take a while to sink in. Teaming up with the over-the-top Nicki Minaj, it shouldn't come as a shock that this Grande track is even saucier than her collaboration with the Weeknd. While her verses speak to lusting after a hunky man, there's some painfully obvious subtext in her refrains. Referring to the post-coital soreness that sometimes leads women to walk with a limp, "Side to Side" definitely isn't defining a dance for a new lover. It should also go without saying that Minaj's side of the track is much more upfront, going as far to suggest her favourite positions and her need for threesomes.
#3: "I Touch Myself" (1990) Divinyls
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This level of honesty is, frankly, refreshing. Divinyls really held nothing back when writing this track of interdependent love, getting very personal in the process. While opening on a more romantically poetic set of verses on how her partner completes her, the choruses dive into the full arousal singer Chrissy Amphlett feels from her lover. Her devotion goes even further as she promises to get down on her knees and do anything her partner desires. Amphlett goes on to preview of one of her supposed "thinking" sessions closing the songs bridge on a climax both musically and physically.
#2: "Like A Virgin" (1984) Madonna
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Even when a song isn't specifically about sex, if everyone thinks it is than it might as well be. While "Like A Virgin" was initially written about the feeling of a new relationship, it was the lyrics' suggestive undertones mixed with Madonna's sultry delivery that cemented it as the seductive song it is. Between her repeated moans at the end of the track and slipping in lines like "Feels so good inside", it's hard not to feel a little randy listening to this track, especially with every "Hey" she drops after the racy "virgin" of each chorus. Before we get to our top picks, here are some honourable mentions: "Physical" (1981) Olivia Newton-John "Whistle (2012) Flo Rida "Talking Body" (2014) Tove Lo
#1: "I Want Your Sex" (1987) George Michael
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There's sex positive and then there's sex crazed. While this George Michael track starts out flirty, the lust takes over by the first chorus to an almost maniacal level. Mixing in a healthy view of sex between repeated cries of "let's do it," Michael tries to keep the romantic and collected approach in check before going off the rails. By the final section of the song Michael starts talking dirty, defining his partner's pornographic limits, and while he starts the track sensually, it's hard not find him a little desperate by the end of the track. Do you agree with our list? What's your favourite sexual pop song? For more seductive top 10s published daily, subscribe to MsMojo.
