A fortnight and a couple days from now will be the autumnal equinox and the official end of the summer in the northern hemisphere. Through the season, we’ve had political candidates, backup political candidates, a heat wave, a backup heat wave, the Olympics and the start of the new school year. However, through all of the noise of the summer, we have also had some incredible music, whether inspirational, viral or otherwise. So, in honor of the summer of music, here are the most popular songs of the summer (taking into account chart performance, artist influence, and social media influence).
Note: No Taylor Swift music made it, because to be honest, the album was kind of a commercial flop compared to other music…
- “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
Taylor Swift. Kendrick Lamar. Post Malone.
All these blockbuster, gigantic artists and they all got outshone by a lady with the name of Sabrina Carpenter.
Its sheer catchiness and quality is what made this song as popular as it is, but what made it THE song of the summer is the icon behind it. She may have started out as mostly being known for her Disney Channel appearances or maybe her hit song “Nonsense,” but Sabrina Carpenter made a name for herself as a bona fide pop star with “Espresso.” It blew up on social media, toed the line between edgy and cute, and most importantly, Sabrina Carpenter’s personality, performance and overall charisma during the time of its release and its performances added to its luster and longevity over the summer.
- “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
“Espresso” may have won hearts, but “Not Like Us” dominated the American social landscape for a majority of the summer. The feud between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake was well reported, but despite diss tracks going both ends, “Not Like Us” managed to stand out as a major loss for Drake in the feud.
It had the jaw-dropping lyrics and the fiery insults, but the overall rhythm of the song, as well as the flow of it, made it pleasing to listen to, and arguably the culmination of the battle between the two rappers.
Lamar 1. Drake 0.
- “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone
Boone has had a pretty dreamy start to his musical career, starting with an appearance on American Idol before quitting the show to pursue his musical career. Although he had a lot of commercial success in songs like “In The Stars,” he didn’t quite have a song that totally blew up the charts until “Beautiful Things.”
Although it was number one for quite awhile on the billboard, the strength of the song was its pop culture influence, with kids and adults alike imitating his mustache and his style, and posters of his face selling out almost as much as his concert tickets. “Beautiful Things” was a love song, an aggressive confirmation of adoration of sorts, but Boone’s thrilling vocals and status as a pop icon really elevated it to the next level this summer.
- “I Had Some Help” by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen
It may have had better billboard performances than some of the songs above it in this list, but “I Had Some Help” just falls short of the top three on these rankings because of its lack of success on a platform that defines a lot of songs: social media.
It’s a great song, signaling one of the most unexpected but reasonable duets in the music industry for the last couple of years. Combining one of the biggest country stars in the nation with a longstanding pop icon was definitely a recipe for success, and it shows in the song. But, its lack of appeal to social media and its lack of presence on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram might have bottlenecked its popularity and not let it reach the status it might have had it exploded online.
- “Austin” by Dasha
Maybe a lot of people don’t know the song from the title, but when someone plays the sound that goes like “Did your boots stop working, did your truck break down,” people start to remember the popularity this song received earlier in the summer.
“Austin” may not have had the longevity as some of the songs listed above, and it may not have played on the radio as much as others, but the performance on social media is what gets this song on this list. Maybe “Hot To Go” and “Apple” had shots at this spot, but “Austin” had the TikTok and Instagram world wrapped around its finger, with seemingly everyone choreographing their own dances to the song, and then copying the most popular choreography of the song. It definitely had more of an impact than any Taylor Swift song (I love her but she kind of had a bad album. Swifties better not hurt me).
