Pinpointed: Why We Didn’t Have a Song of the Summer in 2025
By Bailey Tolentino
As we settle into the groove of things this September, I’d like to reflect on the music scene this summer. One of the hottest discourses was that we did not have a ‘Song of the Summer’ this year. I waited all the way until mid-August, before I gave up all hope. As easy as it would be to blame this on TikTok, I cannot — for in recent years, we have had Songs of the Summer… This is specifically a 2025 issue.
In 2024, we had ‘Espresso’ (and ‘Please Please Please’) by Sabrina Carpenter, ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ by Chappell Roan, and ‘Not Like Us’ by Kendrick Lamar. In 2023, we had ‘Boy’s A Liar (pt.2)’ by Pink Pantheress and Ice Spice… 2022? ‘As It Was’ by Harry Styles, or maybe, ‘Bad Habit’ by Steve Lacy. 2021? ‘good 4 u’ and ‘deja vu’ by Olivia Rodrigo or ‘Levitating’ by Dua Lipa. 2020? ‘Say So’ by Doja Cat… You get the point
I listed songs all the way back to 2020, because I suppose that is where the issue began. In lockdown, many people either didn’t have to work or had much less work to do. As a result, there was less of a distinction between summer and the rest of the year. Also, let’s face it: young people run the charts. What we listen to is what is considered ‘The Song of the Summer’. In 2025, young people aren’t all going into corporate jobs; we don’t see the 9-to-5 as the only way to work. For example, we have influencers — for whom summer is actually a very busy time of year. Summer vacation denotes endless content: bikini photos, beachside meals, outdoor city activities, clubbing every weekend, fancy events on yachts, brand trips, etc. Though that way of working seems luxurious, it is still work. We must also consider all the people working behind the scenes to create those influencer events: PR agents, chefs, security guards, performers — this list also goes on. We no longer feel like we are all ‘off’ in the summer and ‘back on the grind’ come September. Since work is less regimented than it used to be, summer is no longer as distinct to us, and neither is the music that defines it.
Furthermore, radio doesn't have as much impact as it used to. Most people bluetooth-connect their personal playlists onto their cars’ speakers rather than switching on their local station. Everything is an echo chamber in the age of social media. If you don’t want to hear the ‘song of the summer’, you literally do not have to. I guess you would have to avoid walking into a mall, but that’s also very feasible — online shopping and all.
If you look at the Billboard Hot 100, chances are you may see songs in the top ten spots that you have never heard, or have only ever heard 10-15 seconds of via TikToks or Reels. Benson Boone is a great example of this — I haven’t met a single person who actually listens to his music, but he would be considered the star of the summer in the traditional sense, for his music topped the charts. Boone’s song ‘Mystical Magical’ is potentially what I would vouch as this year’s song of the summer, if I had to pick one. Although it was mostly heard in meme format, it was pretty inescapable — and the chorus is an undeniable earworm.
The biggest issue above all is that some artists are trying to follow a formula of what has worked in recent years rather than creating music that they actually identify with. A perfect example is Demi Lovato’s recent ‘party girl’ rebrand with her song ‘Fast’, a blatant and inauthentic effort to grasp onto the streams of those still stuck in Charli xcx’s brat era.
Events used to be the ‘third space’ in which songs may have been defined as ‘Song of the Summer’. That included clubs and bars, houseparties, coffee shops, and so forth. Now, events are superficial as influencers may approach them as work opportunities, or people use it for social climbing rather than a genuine good time. Therefore, there is nothing natural about a song being overplayed. It’s just because the artist or the sound is popular — not the song itself.
I must conjecture that ‘stan culture’ has ruined many people’s ability to have objective opinions on music, and therefore it is harder for a song to be agreed upon as the defining song of a season. Sabrina Carpenter’s song ‘Manchild’ only got as many streams as it did because of her rapidly growing fanbase; and they are certainly not going to admit that that song was just a failed attempt to redo what ‘Espresso’ did last year. As Demi Lovato tried to copy Charli xcx, Carpenter went on to copy herself. Oh, and don’t even get me started on Lorde’s release.
That said, why should artists pour their hearts out into authentic music, if it’s just going to be meme-ified and misunderstood? Chappell Roan almost saved us with ‘The Subway’ in early August. However, very disappointingly, a ton of girls on TikTok/Instagram Reels latched onto the closing lines — ‘She’s got, she’s got a way… She got away, she got away!’ — so as to push their narrative about escaping a toxic ex or moving onto a new chapter of their lives. There are other ways to express self-pride than completely ignoring the brilliant play-on-words in that outro, as well as the indisputable tone of yearning and desperation in Roan’s singing. The song is about mourning the end of someone’s presence in your life, not about experiencing a personal metamorphosis. The ‘she’ in question is the lost lover. It is not you, random-girl-moving-out-of-your-hometown.
All this to say: I know we all hate it when our parents blame every one of our mishaps and downfalls on ‘that damn phone’… but it’s the main reason we didn’t have a true Song of the Summer in 2025.