It’s that time again. That time of the year in the UK when, suddenly, everyone’s collective misery mysteriously evaporates. The sun is shining. The air is hazy with pollen. And it’s the first weekend of the year in which we can actually go to the park with a bluetooth speaker, little sexy shades and a four-pack of tinnies without shivering ourselves into oblivion. All of which is to say: it’s time to nominate the song of the summer. Because everyone knows that the song of the summer can land anytime from now until late August. And the clock, as ever, is ticking.
There were a few songs of the summer last year, depending on who you asked. “Sprinter” by Dave and Central Cee, obviously. “Prada” by Cassö, Raye and D-Block Europe. “Rush” by Troye Sivan. Any number of songs from the Barbie soundtrack. But that was then and this is now, and we need to crown a new king or queen for short short’s season. Without further ado, here are all our current contenders.
Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe”
Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe” is exactly the sort of ear wormy pop gem we don't hear so much any more in this era of flat, sterile electronics and non-chorus choruses – which is probably why it has resonated these past few weeks. Part Kate Bush, part Marina and the Diamonds and early Katy Perry, part a sound unto itself, “Good Luck, Babe” is a track you'll want to play again and again and again until your dopamine receptors tire of sparking so much. Chappell Roan also just has that rizz that money can't buy. Could this be the song of the summer? It's possible – it's already the song of the spring.
Charli XCX – “360”
Just when we thought Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch” was gonna be her biggest banger of this album cycle, along came “360”, the prime it-girl anthem replete with a video that's basically Ocean's 8 for people who like poppers. “That city sewer slut's the vibe, internationally recognised / I set the tone, it's my design / And it's stuck in your mind,” Charli sings in a bratty vocal fry over an A.G. Cook-produced beat, single-handedly offering up the soundtrack for strutting down the streets of New York, London or literally anywhere with a pavement. Regardless of whether this track ends up taking the mantle, the look of the summer is clearly now a little white tank soaked in red wine.
Tommy Richman – “Million Dollar Baby”
Tommy Richman just jumped into the ring out of leftfield with “Million Dollar Baby”, a track that’ll make you want to pop a bottle in the club and invest in some ice. “She's a million dollar baby, don't @ me,” Richman sings in syrup-sweet tones over a squelching, R&B-inflected throwback backtrack. Something about this song just feels custom-made for playing out some parked car speakers on a hot summer's day beneath a miasma of smoke. The song is remarkably contending for the number one spots in both the US and the UK, despite cresting in the middle of the Kendrick Lamar-Drake feud, which has produced it's fair share of hits already. We may have a winner.
Megan Thee Stallion – “Boa”
Um, excuse me? A Gwen Stefani sample? This genuinely quite batshit, neon-splattered, video game-inspired music video? The line “Bitches call me ‘mother’, now who's sonning who”? Megan Thee Stallion’s new hit “BOA” has all the ingredients of a prime summer anthem cut. It also fits in with the serpent theme of previous tracks “Hiss” and “Cobra” – did someone say hot snake girl summer? “Some people just don’t know what to do when a woman is in control and taking ownership of her own body,” Megan told GQ way back in 2020. We know what to do: turn the speakers up to 100.
Artemas – “I like the way you kiss me”
If you, like the rest of us, like to spend an evening scrolling TikTok from time to time, then you'll already know this one. “I like the way you kiss me” from UK artist Artemas already has 22 million views on YouTube and counting, and it's still coasting in the top half of the charts, despite being released in March. So yeah, it could well be the song of the summer. Like all the best summer tracks, this club-adjacent pop number has a hint of melancholy and detachedness about it, like a summer situationship gone sour, or one too many nights out and not enough sleep. They'll be blasting this in the club until late August, I'm sure.
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
If you've not been keeping up with the Drake / Kendrick Lamar rap beef, I don't blame you. There have been more back and forths than in the nearly three-hour runtime of Challengers. All you need to know, though, is that Kendrick just ate Drake up in “Not Like Us”, a 4-and-a-half minute takedown in which he delivered lines that'll make you wince such as “Why you trollin' like a bitch? Ain't you tired? / Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor.” Musically, it's simple: Kendrick's ferocious, 100mph flow over string stabs and a stripped-back beat from DJ Mustard. It's a west-coast banger straight out of the mid-00s, and, though we may be over this whole beef by the summer months, a really good diss track lasts a lifetime.
Central Cee – “CC Freestyle”
A grime freestyle? In the year of our lord 2024? Let's goooo. In Central Cee’s “CC Freestyle”, the West London rapper – who is now more of a global star – pays homage to his hometown with a raw, grime-inflected, DIY creation that looks and sounds like it could have been on SB:TV. Extra points for that pitched-up vocal sample of Whitney Houston's “I Have Nothing”. If Central Cee and Dave’s “Sprinter” was a main contender for song of the summer last year, then it's no great stretch to imagine that this year's SOTS could come from 25-year-old Cench yet again. It also contains the coldest line, a thinly-veiled shot at Digga D: “They book me in LA, they book you in Leicester.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso”
And here we have a song of the summer contender that actually sounds like summertime. From Sabrina Carpenter’s coy, easygoing vocals to the song's shimmering, disco-dunked backdrop, “Espresso” comes at you like an ice lolly on a mid-July day. “I can't relate to desperation, my 'give a fucks' are on vacation,” she sings halfway through, which could also be the mood of the summer, as well as the song. Oh, and it's also number one at the time of publishing. Is this, dare I say it, a frontrunner?
