It’s officially the time of the year where artists release music with a possibility of it being a central song of summer! If an artist does achieve this high honor, that song will forever be ingrained in many memories made that summer season. I'm sure songs come to mind when you think of past summers and their respective anthems, but the ones that stick out the most to me are “8TEEN” by Khalid in 2017, “WAP” by Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion in 2020, and “Slut Me Out” by NLE Choppa. All these songs have so many amazing memories attached to them, but that’s not the only thing that makes a song fall into the category of  “Song of the Summer.”

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A song not only has to be released relatively around summer, usually spring time, but it also has to feel like summer. Even though the songs previously mentioned are very different, and not necessarily about summer, they all give the same feeling. They feel like youth, freedom, and fun. They all embody a similar vibe of carefreeness that I feel everyone is chasing, especially in the summer! This isn’t something every song can do, even though the virality plays a part in the season association, you don’t associate every viral song in the summer with that particular summer. There are usually only a few that take the throne. With all that being said, here are my contestants for this years ‘Song of the Summer!’

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“Pasadena” By Quinn XCII

While there aren’t many summers that don’t include a memorable Quinn song, this song is constantly stuck in my head. His music is basically made for summer, however, “Pasadena” in particular embodies what everyone is wanting to get from summer to a T. Between the feelings of spontaneity, youth, and adventure, you can practically feel your hair flying in the wind while driving in the hot sun. I can’t help but want to stop everything and go on a spontaneous road trip with my friends after listening.

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“Expresso” Sabrina Carpenter

I think we can all agree that this song achieved the virality criteria, because I’m convinced the world will never get the lyrics “I’m working late.. cause I’m a singer” out of its head. Outside of that, I think this song really just encapsulates what summer love feels like. That flirty, playful type of intrigue that is both sexy and silly. I personally think that Sabrina is going to be an artist that is going to be an important aspect of this year's pop music when reflecting back in years to come so this song is a given for me.

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“Not Like Us” Kendrick Lamar

Although I'm not fully convinced this captures the true essence of a song of the summer, I still think it's a really catchy song that could be a contender. It definitely reached virality and contributed to a rap beef that made people excited about Hip Hop again (and will probably be noted in Hip Hop history,) so I’m willing to give it a pass for lacking in the aforementioned feelings these songs usually consist of. It is still really fun and feels light hearted despite the actual reasoning behind it and what the song is meant to do. I just don’t know if it holds up compared to past years summer songs.

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“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” By Shaboozy

This song does exactly what it was intended to do and makes you want to drink with your friends while sitting on a porch or by a body of water, truly what more could you ask for in a song of the summer? I also think the country vibe of the song adds on to the summeriness of it all. And before the country music haters come out, listen to the song, because it isn’t your typical country music, promise;)

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While those are my current picks, summer isn’t over and I’m waiting for some heavy hitters to drop and take the title. With that being said, that wraps up my current favorite Songs of the Summer! I hope you enjoyed and were able to find some new summer anthems!