As shorts get shorter and days get longer, it’s finally time to determine what will be this year’s “song of the summer.”
And after being stuck indoors for more than a year and people finally getting vaccinated, this summer’s song might be the most important one yet.
Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa and Doja Cat are all on the list — no surprises there.
But the playlist also draws eyes — or in this case, ears — to smaller artists on the rise, like SEB and Girl in Red.
Spotify also released a “summer breakouts” playlist that, according to a press release, is made up “of tracks that Spotify’s editorial experts predict will pop off this summer, while also ranking the track list to fit each user’s taste based on the music they love” and is “designed to help listeners discover this summer’s breakout artists.”
2020’s song of the summer was “ROCKSTAR” by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch. The track hit more than 380 million streams between June 1 and Aug 15.
This summer, Spotify created a playlist of 25 songs that span a number of genres — rap, pop, indie, EDM, Latin, hip-hop and R&B, to name a few — and could potentially be the song of the summer. The list is carefully curated based on current chart standings, streaming numbers and Spotify’s global curation team’s research.
“Good 4 U” by Olivia Rodrigo
This song has been a chart-topper since the day it was released. Rodrigo has quickly become a pop phenomenon with two singles at Billboard Hot 100’s No. 1. “Drivers License” reigned for eight weeks, immediately after its release in January, and “Deja Vu” also debuted at No. 8 in April.
“Thot S—” by Megan Thee Stallion
Megan’s alter ego Tina Snow finally returns. This song dropped only a few weeks ago, but has quickly risen to the top — especially the raunchy music video. Could this be thee summer Megan wins?
“Todo De Ti” by Rauw Alejandro
One of the newer artists on the list, Alejandro made his U.S. chart debut in January with “Baila Conmigo” featuring Selena Gomez.
“Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat featuring SZA
It’s hot girl summer, and Doja is our queen. This song is true pop bop, so naturally there’s a viral TikTok dance. “Kiss Me More” is No. 7 on Spotify’s Global Top 200 as of July 1.
“Butter” by BTS
Billboard’s two worldwide charts rank songs based on sales and streaming data from more than 200 territories and “Butter” has topped both lists. The song started with the “highest weekly worldwide streams and sales” after its release on May 21. This is the band’s fourth No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200.
“WUSYANAME” by Tyler, The Creator featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Ty Dolla $ign
One of the newest songs on this list, “WUSYANAME” is narrated like a story. The picturesque music video, released on June 22, is No. 8 on Trending for Music on You Tube.
“Levitating” by Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
After her spectacular Grammys performance that fans thoroughly enjoyed, Dua Lipa has earned her spot among the songs of the summer. The song spent 38 weeks on the Billboard Global 200 list and peaked at No. 2 on May 28.
“Leave The Door Open” by Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic
Silk Sonic is the new duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. “Leave The Door Open” rose from No. 3 to No. 1 during its first week on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song marks Mars’ eighth Hot 100 No. 1 and Anderson. Paak’s first.
“Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran
After a slight music-making hiatus, Ed Sheeran broke his own record of most No. 1s on the U.K.’s Biggest chart. “Bad Habits” marks his 12th song to top the list.
“Essence” by WizKid featuring Tems
This song is one of few R&B/Soul songs on the list. It released last year with the rest of WizKid’s “Made In Lagos” album. The “Essence” music video released earlier this year and features WizKid and Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems chilling in Accra, Ghana. Earlier this year, WizKid won a Grammy for his collaboration with Beyonce and Blue Ivy on “Brown Skin Girl.”
“EL MAKINON” by KAROL G, Mariah Angeliq
At the 2020 VMAs, Karol G was nominated for best collaboration and twice in the best Latin categories. She has earned her spot on this year’s potential “song of t
he summer” list with “El Makinon.” The song spent 13 weeks on the on the Billboard Global Excluding US list and peaked at No. 24
“Peaches” by Justin Bieber (feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon)
This song broke Spotify’s record for most-streamed track worldwide after being released with the rest of Bieber’s sixth studio album “Justice.” In 2017, Danny Yankee and Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” remix featuring Justin Bieber was the “song of the summer.” Could this be another Bieber summer?
“Heartbreak Anthem” by Galantis (with David Guetta & Little Mix)
What’s a playlist without a classic breakup song? Incomplete. “Heartbreak Anthem” jumped from No. 36 to No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart during its first two weeks of release.
“t r a n p a r e n t s o u l” by Willow featuring Travis Barker
Willow Smith is finally back to her pop-punk and emo-goth roots in anticipation for her upcoming fifth album that includes “Transparent Soul.” And Blink-182’s drummer Travis Barker — haven’t heard that name in a while — perfectly matches Willow’s energy in the new music video. The upbeat and angsty song quickly rose on TikTok and is No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot Alternative list.
“I Quit Drinking” by Kelsea Ballerini, LANY
On Billboards Hot Country Songs, Lyric Find U.S and Digital Song Sales lists, “I Quit Drinking” has almost 11 million streams on Spotify. Both LANY and Kelsea have beautiful voices that harmonize perfectly together.
“Friday” by Riton, Nightcrawlers featuring Mufasa & Hypeman and Dopamine
This song was released in January and hit No. 4 on Billboard’s Global Excluding U.S. list in the week of April 3. “Friday” is one of the few EDM songs on Spotify’s playlist and as rooftop bars, beaches and clubs open up, it might be played on repeat.
“RAPSTAR” by Polo G
This song made a huge splash on its opening day and hit No.1 on Spotify’s streaming chart (with 2.691 million streams) on April 9. “Rapstar” also hit No. 3 on the Billboard Global 200 list three weeks after its release.
“MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” by Lil Nas X
In 2019, “Old Town Road” reigned at the top of Billboard’s Top 100 for a record 19 weeks. It was about time for Lil Nas X to drop another No. 1. “Montero” is currently at No. 9 (June 30) and has been moving up and down the chart for 13 weeks.
“seaside_demo” by SEB
Another TikTok song, “seaside demo” is a chill indie song perfect for summer long drives and late nights. SEB teased the song on all his socials before releasing it as a single on Spotify.
“Serotonin” by Girl in Red
Alternative music seems to be on the Spotify curation team’s radar recently. Girl in Red entered Billboard’s emerging artists list at No. 49 and “Serotonin” peaked at No. 7 on Billboards Alternative Airplay list.
“Qué Más Pues?” by J Balvin, Maria Becerra
This song is No. 12 on Spotify’s Top 200 Global list with more than 3.5 million streams. It’s No. 2 in Spain and No. 4 in Colombia, J Balvin’s hometown.
“Shy Away” by Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots performed “Shy Away” at the Billboard Music Awards in May. The song climbed to the top of Billboards Alternative Airplay Chart on May 1, just three weeks after its release — making it the fastest rising song since their own song “Jumpsuit” took two weeks in July 2018.
“Yonaguni” by Bad Bunny
“Yonaguni” is No. 6 on Spotify’s Global Top 200 (with almost 4.7 million streams) and No. 49 on Viral 50. Bad Bunny has become one of Latin music’s biggest stars. He made last summer’s Spotify song of the summer predictions list with “Yo Perro Sola.”
“Late At Night” by Roddy Ricch
“Late At Night,” quite a different sound than Ricch’s other big hit “The Box” that most people associate as a TikTok song, peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard global 200 earlier this month. “ROCKSTAR” by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch won last year’s
“song of the summer.” Could Ricch take the cake again?
“Save Your Tears” by the Weeknd and Ariana Grande
The Weeknd’s album “After Hours” may have dropped more than a year ago, but “Save Your Tears” still remains on the Billboard Top 100. This song marks both artists’ sixth song at No.1.