The song makes for Carpenter’s fourth U.K. No. 1 single in a little over a year following “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Taste.”

Carpenter's new album, "Man's Best Friend," has a suggestive cover featuring her on her knees.

Others argued that Ms. Carpenter, whose music often includes proverbial smirks and winks that suggest a kind of knowingness, was playing a joke on the viewer.