It is that time of year—Memorial Day now upon us—when we must take stock of our pop-music offerings and determine which jam appears most fit to sit upon the Song of the Summer throne. What will be the song that you listen to on repeat on your walks home from work; that single-handedly fuels your gym sessions (in anticipation of many an upcoming beach barbecue); that gets the most intense ovation when it begins on wedding dance floors?
Let’s take a look at the top contenders for this year’s song of the summer!
“Send My Love (to Your New Lover)” by Adele
Billboard Hot 100: N/A
iTunes chart: #11
Adele released the music video for this Max Martin track, the third single from her album 25, on Sunday night, and it immediately jumped into the Top 10 on iTunes, which does bode well for it. This song is about as delightful as pop songs get, but, since the album came out in November, it has the vibe of a song that’s been out there for a while (which it, uh, has), perhaps lacking the “freshness factor” that some of these other options have.
Odds: 16 to 1
“Into You” by Ariana Grande
Billboard Hot 100: N/A
iTunes chart: #29
Ariana Grande has seemingly been on the precipice of full-fledged pop mega-stardom for a few years now. She has churned out a whole bunch of hits, has proven herself to be an impressively skilled actress/comedienne (as her recent Saturday Night Live hosting gig proved), and has recently broken free from manager Scooter Braun: if there were a summer for her to reach a new echelon, this would be it. While first single “Dangerous Woman” is still hovering in the Top 20, her upbeat, breezy, extremely listenable “Into You” seems like it’s best primed for potential Song of the Summer viability. (We also highly recommend album track “Greedy.”)
Odds: 14 to 1
“No” / “Me Too” by Meghan Trainor
Billboard Hot 100: #19 / #39
iTunes chart: #27 / #24
It would have been a perfectly reasonable prediction, following Meghan Trainor’s wildly popular “All About That Bass” in 2014, that the singer would have faded, undone by that song’s great success. But, however you may feel about her as a pop star, Trainor has performed with great consistency ever since, to use weird pseudo-sports-jargon, and has two songs (both with the vibe of early aught’s, Total Request Live–era pop) with potential Song of the Summer bonafides.
Odds: 13 to 1 for “No” / 11 to 1 for “Me Too”
“Hold Up” by Beyoncé
Billboard Hot 100: #74
iTunes chart: #33
There is no one living in this country who hasn’t at some point over the last few weeks snapchatted themselves lip-syncing to this song (otherwise known as the “they don’t love you like I love you” one, or the “jealous or crazy?” one). And it is hard to imagine attending any sort of summer soirée this year at which this song isn’t played, isn’t it? Yet, and maybe this is because it was released along with 10 other great Beyoncé songs, and was semi-overshadowed by the “Becky with the good hair” hubbub, it seems to somewhat flying under the radar (currently sitting outside of the Top 30 on the iTunes chart).
Odds: 12 to 1
“Work from Home” by Fifth Harmony
Billboard Hot 100: #5
iTunes chart: #6
It does not matter whether or not you know exactly what a Fifth Harmony is (they are, in fact, five young women who were sorted into a girl group on the second season of the U.S. version of X Factor): this song is pretty impossible to shake, once you’ve been exposed to it. (Plus, an ode to the concept of working from home is very “millennial” and seems extremely appropriate for this cultural moment in time.) The group’s second single, “All in My Head (Flex),” featuring Fetty Wap, is pretty wonderful, too, and could have a shot at some serious chart success.
Odds: 10 to 1
“Work” by Rihanna
Billboard Hot 100: #8
iTunes chart: #60
Sometimes, as with Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” in 2012, the song of the summer presents itself earlier in the calendar year, seemingly too early, but then manages to just sort of . . . hang on. Rihanna’s monumental hit “Work” (which was No. 1 on the Billboard chart for nine weeks) could potentially be that song this year, though its momentum seems to have slowed considerably in the past few weeks (as its current iTunes chart position indicates). (Also, here feels as good a place as any to note that Rihanna’s performance of “Love on the Brain” at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night was one of the more stirring awards-show performances of the past year.)
Odds: 8 to 1
“This Is What You Came For” by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna
Billboard Hot 100: #12
iTunes chart: #7
Rihanna and Calvin Harris’s first collaboration, “We Found Love,” is probably one of the best pop songs of the past decade. This follow-up is . . . not that, but it’s still infectious and glorious, and feels like it should be having more success right now than it is. Perhaps a music video, starring Rihanna doing . . . literally anything, would help give it some buzz (or even just one live performance!).
Odds: 7 to 1
“Don’t Let Me Down” by the Chainsmokers featuring Daya
Billboard Hot 100: #6
iTunes chart: #4
There is almost always one song in the Song of the Summer mix, for the past five years at least, that’s E.D.M.-y and features an essentially unknown female vocalist on a soaring hook—a song that seems engineered specifically for nights out at bars during the summer. This one is this year’s!
Odds: 6 to 1
“Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake
Billboard Hot 100: #3
iTunes chart: #1
This song—which, it must never be forgotten, is off the soundtrack for a movie called Trolls (Trolls!)—is currently No. 1 on iTunes, and will likely be inescapable over the next few months. If there were ever a song that your parents will ask you to download for them when you are home for Christmas, half a year after it was popular, this would be it.
Odds: 4 to 1
“Panda” by Desiigner
Billboard Hot 100: #2
iTunes chart: #8
Songs with distinctive noun titles tend to do quite well when it comes to the Song of the Summer race (Katy Perry’s “Firework,” Rihanna’s “Umbrella”). Also, of any of these contenders, this one—by the 19-year-old up-and-comer Desiigner—is probably the most fun to try to attempt to shout along to.
Odds: 4 to 1
“One Dance” by Drake
Billboard Hot 100: #1
iTunes chart: #2
Drake’s “One Dance” is certainly one of this year’s favorites, even though it has already hit No. 1 on the charts and doesn’t seem to have quiet achieved the pop-cultural omnipresence that, for example, his “Hotline Bling” did. This is the sort of song that, when it comes on in a cab ride home at one A.M., will elicit as joyful a reaction pretty much any song could.
Odds: 3 to 1
A surprise release from Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, etc.
All of these women are working on new projects, and any of them releasing a single this summer would be a “Stop everything and get yourself to a listening device immediately” event.
Odds: 10 to 1
