With summer approaching, people have been trying to find the perfect, fun, and relaxing songs to jam out to all summer. Discussions of which song would fit this summer’s vibe have been ongoing since winter, causing listeners to question what their next “Song of the Summer” candidate will be.
“Song of the Summer” is an unofficial title that the media gives a song every year. They tend to have an upbeat mood while also maintaining a relaxing energy. In past summers, the song “Brazil” by Declan McKenna had claimed it. “Brazil” has collected over 551 million streams on Spotify, being McKenna’s number one song. Regardless, this year, there have been many more possible songs that can claim this title.
One of the songs that has been talked about ever since it came out in December 2023 is “Praise Jah In The Moonlight” by YG Marley. While Marley is known for his hit songs, he is perhaps better known for being the grandchild of Reggae legend Bob Marley. This familiar tune is a sample of Bob Marley’s song “Crisis.” The younger Marley’s song blew up on TikTok, leading to over 1.5 million streams on Spotify alone. This song radiates out-of-this-world vibes and clearly has that Bob Marley touch. The popularity of “Praise Jah In The Moonlight” shows that it is definitely a contender for this summer’s official song.
Another contender for “Song of the Summer” is 2004s “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. “Unwritten” was featured in the well-received 2023 movie “Anyone But You” as a funny and comforting song for the main characters. This song blew up on social media, accumulating over 660,000 uses of the audio and over 57,000 uses of the “Unwritten” hashtag on TikTok since Dec. 2023. Even though this song may be two decades old, it has recently made a giant comeback for this summer.
The newest and most country song on this list, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey, has undoubtedly made a name for itself in this great list of competitors. According to Digital Music News, country music ranked the fifth most streamed genre in 2023, so seeing a country song possibly being named “Song of the Summer” is refreshing and new. This song has ranked high on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, charting in the top 10 for weeks. Most of the time, pop songs are considered “Song of the Summer,” but Shaboozeys’ online promotion of this song has helped its popularity.
Another song currently blowing up online, “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, has also been a strong contender for this year’s “Song of the Summer” title. Even though this song only came out on April 11, it’s made a monumental impact on this year’s pre-summer era. Not only has this song been given an official TikTok dance, accumulated over 100 million streams on Spotify within the first two weeks, and has charted top 7 on the Billboard Top 100 for weeks, but it has had many celebrities and brands like Katy Perry, Charlie Puth, Care Bears, e.l.f cosmetics, and even the TV show “Strawberry Shortcake” promoting it.
Even though many songs could claim the title of “Song of the Summer,” only time (and the media) can tell what it will be. When looking at the statistics of the songs, it seems like “Espresso” will definitely take the win this summer. Nonetheless, these songs will all be going on my summer 2024 playlist.
