It’s that time of year again!
As school begins to wind down and the temperature continues to climb, it is clear that summer is right around the corner. With the highly anticipated break from school comes a slew of new TV shows, movies and music that keep pop culture fanatics and the general public entertained for over three months.
One of these sources of enjoyment in particular—music—has a significant impact on the summer season every year in which there is usually one song that becomes absolutely inescapable. The song not only dominates radio stations nationwide— usually you can change the station containing the mega-hit only to find it on two other stations based in the same area—but also is performed on numerous award shows, stays at number one of the Billboard Hot 100 and iTunes, and has a music video that breaks various YouTube records. Oddly enough, the song even gets stuck in your own head, making it truly unavoidable.
Over the last five years, music, fans, and workers within the industry have become infatuated with the idea of the “Song of the Summer” and have tried to predict what the song would be months in advance. This inspired Billboard to launch the Summer Songs Chart, which clarifies the winner at the end of the season based on which spent the longest time at number one.
Songs such as “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams in 2013 and “California Gurls” by Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg in 2010—which was named the biggest summer song of all time by Billboard— have both become such pop culture phenomena that you cannot think of summers past without their catchy tunes and sick beats filling your brain.
“[When I hear] “California Gurls” by Katy Perry I think of being at the the beach, swimming, and tanning with all my friends,” junior Kellyann McClenahan said.
This summer, there are plenty of songs with the potential to steal the show and become the successor of the ever popular “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX.
Perhaps leading the pack of potential summer songs for 2015 is the newly released remix to Taylor Swift’s already amazing track, “Bad Blood,” featuring Kendrick Lamar. In the remix, Swift keeps the trademark chorus and electrifying bridge while Lamar adds two new verses of his own. With its epic music video with an all-star cast that was debuted during the Billboard Music Awards, the remix already seems to be a safe bet to hear everywhere this summer.
Another possibility for this summer’s most overplayed radio jam is “Song of the Summer” veteran Iggy Azalea with her featuring on Britney Spears’ new song, “Pretty Girls.” Also complete with a stellar music video, the only thing that may hold this song back is all the negative attention Iggy has received over the past nine months— in which critics and other artists have doubted her credentials. Either way, the song has a catchy chorus and plethora of iconic lines that Britney Spears is known for.
Also recently released, Maroon 5’s new addition to their album, V, “This Summer’s Gonna Hurt” will look to become a staple in this summer’s Top 40 radio as does newcomer Omi’s single “Cheerleader.” “Cheerleader” has the odds in its favor due to the fact that its numbers are adding up perfectly during the race to be crowned the summer’s biggest smash and because it has a reggae feel like “Rude” did last summer by MAGIC!, according to the New York Daily News.
Despite all the new songs released, current hits such as “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa and “Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap look to continue their reigns at the top of the charts while Nicki Minaj’s “The Night is Still Young” and her feature on David Guetta’s track, “Hey Mama,” continue to rise.
“[I definitely think] ‘Cheerleader’ will be the ‘Song of the Summer’ just based off of the beach, bongo sound it has,” senior Kelly South said. “I feel like it’s a song you can play in the car on the way to the beach; the chorus is so easy to remember and super catchy!”