Songs of the summer — you know them, you love them, and according to some, they're an entire musical genre that is in danger of melting away like sweet sugar syrup on a popsicle.
It is true that it used to be a lot easier to judge which mega hit dominated the airwaves during the heatwaves. How do we measure the success of a single that you can't escape during the summer months now? Billboard charts? Spotify streams? Music video hits? Inspired memes?
We're taking a look back at the last decade of sizzling summer smashes, bops, and jams to give you unequivocally the best of the best. Our criteria will be a mix of cultural impact, and listenability while you road trip with the top down, put some dogs on the backyard grill, or chill by the pool.
2009
Best: "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas
This song is an absolutely ball, the definition of an anthem, everything you could ask for in a pumped-up party jam. There's not much else underneath the surface — it falls under the John Mulaney-described genre of songs for 20-somethings where "tonight is the night and we only have tonight."
Worst: "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon
It's just so boring. Sounds like it was made to sell a Honda Civic in a Super Bowl ad. White boy angsty without being anywhere near as meme-able as "look at this graph" from Nickelback.
2010
Best: "California Gurls" by Katy Perry
Snoop's verse is cheesy as as a cheddar wheel, but the music video is iconic and it's the epitome of a light-hearted summer hit. Admirably sexy in a fun way by really leaning into self-aware corniness that could've otherwise tipped into cringe.
Worst: "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy feat. Bruno Mars
Bruno whyyyyy? This eked out the stupidity of "Airplanes" purely based on that damn acoustic guitar. It's also boring, and at least with millionaire recording artists singing about flaunting their money, it's a fantasy we can all indulge in aspiring to achieve. This is just depressing — you wanna be a billionaire so bad? Bitch me too, the fuck.
2011
Best: "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO
Every single day of that summer we were all collectively shufflin'. Is it inane? Yes. Does it make any sense? No. Is it fun as hell? Oh, absolutely. No matter how many people ragged on LMFAO at the time, the numbers don't lie, as this summer smash has over a BILLION views on YouTube.
Worst: "Good Life" by OneRepublic
Does anyone even remember OneRepublic? Most of these "bad" summer songs aren't even so heinous that they push into being fondly remembered. They're just tragically, forgettably bland. Also, negative points for being part of the advertising for literally every "inspirational" or "uplifting" family film at the time.
2012
Best: "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen
This little number launched the career of cult Queen of the lovelorn gays, Carly Rae. It is the purest form, the definition of a "bop." If you weren't headbanging this in the car with your BFFs and the windows rolled down during that fateful summer, what were you doing? Perhaps, making one of the millions of lip-sync videos that followed. If "Friday" was considered the cursed viral video of the time, then this is its blessed counterpart.
Worst: "Whistle" by Flo Rida
Now this is "sexy" in a cringe way. "Let me see your whistle while you work it"? Drink some Respecting Women Juice, then we'll talk, sir.
2013
Best: "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams
God, everything about this is just so good, and so tight: Pharrell's velvet voice; Nile Rodgers, the legend, just jamming out on that rhythm guitar; Daft Punk's robotic synth voices becoming part of the rhythm. It is a goddamn crime that this song never got a full-length, official music video (the video above is compiled from the 30-second SNL teaser.) Bright and funky, now this is what I call "summer lovin'."
Worst: "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke ft. T.I. and Pharrell
Dammit, Pharrell, you were doing so well! Why'd you have to collab with a clown like Thicke? There were so many think pieces on this one, I don't even think I need to tell you why this one was bad.
2014
Best: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams
This goes unnecessarily hard for a song that's essentially a glorified version of "If You're Happy and You Know it, Clap Your Hands." But really, when this song was released, it felt like a simpler time. Everyone and their mother made a "Happy" cover video. Such a catchy tune that conveyed such a simple feeling somehow managed to touch people all over the globe. Which makes it hard to remember that this song was originally made for the soundtrack of Despicable Me: 2. Whatever, it's still impossible not to smile while listening.
Worst: "Rude" by MAGIC!
Who gave the incels a ska bop? Dude, if her dad didn't want you marrying her (and it's not a racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, or religion thing), it's probably for a good reason.
2015
Best (Tie): "Cheerleader" (Felix Jaehn Remix) by OMI
While 2015 wasn't even the best year for summer releases, the ones that were good were very good. Choosing this year really stumped me, because "Cheerleader" came out of nowhere with it's breezy, tropical, deep-house perfection. It refreshingly depicts a healthy, loving relationship! That horn section is *chefs kiss*! It's got a good beat and you can dance to it!
"Shut Up And Dance" by Walk the Moon
But the '80s white dad that my Spotify throwback playlist thinks I am craves that synth. I wanted to kick up my heels like it was the summer of '69. Walk the Moon let me do that.
Worst: "Fight Song" by Rachel Patten
"Fauxpowerment" is a frustrating musical genre. You can't necessarily disagree with the inherent messages, but they just feel so perfectly tailored for a Kohl's ad selling women's jeans, but ya know, in a feminist way. There's no soul behind them — you know no matter how bad the song is, musically, the radios are gonna spin them constantly and tout them as "anthems" anyways.
2016
Best: "One Dance" by Drake
This was, quite literally, the biggest song on the planet in 2016. And how can you disagree with that? You can whine and grind to it at the club, yet it's chill enough to reserve a space on your summer make-out playlist, softly thumping in the background while you're going to tongue town. However you feel about Drake, he chose the perfect sample, the perfect collaborators, and the perfect beat for this summer smash.
Worst: "Don't Let Me Down," by The Chainsmokers feat. Daya
The Chainsmokers are the new Nickelback -- send tweet.
2017
Best: "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi feat Daddy Yankee
This song slaps (with or without Justin Bieber, although I strongly prefer without. His Spanish is fine, though.) I'm not a huge reggaeton fan, so you can take away my Latinx Card now, but give it back because I'll say that even though it doesn't redefine the genre in any way, Despacito is as fun as it gets.
Shoutout to my Cuban mom for having to explain to a Zumba class full of old white ladies that this song was about having sex on the beach. You're the realest.
Worst: "Believer" by Imagine Dragons
First thing's first, this song is ugly and loud. And with lyrics are so self-indulgent, it's hard to imagine that Imagine Dragons makes music for anyone but themselves nowadays.
2018
Best: "In My Feelings" by Drake
This tune sprouted a bunch of corny t-shirts with Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service that said "Kiki, do you love me?" on them. Oh, and that viral challenge. As we get closer to present day, there's more and more evidence that summer hits doesn't necessarily emerge from the radio airwaves anymore. A lot of times their popularity skyrockets out of meme-ified versions on TikTok, or an associated "challenge" on YouTube. But the song itself is also just so good. What can I say? The guy really knows how to choose some killer samples.
Worst: "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B
If this doesn't convince you that Maroon 5 should've never played the Super Bowl Halftime Show, I don't know what will. It's the dull, lifeless equivalent of eating low-fat plain yogurt. Also I will never forgive Adam Levine for absolutely wasting Cardi B's talent in this song.
2019
Best Early Potential Contenders: "Boy With Luv" by BTS feat. Halsey
I'm officially declaring this the "Summer of BTS." You don't have to be a BTS fan (or ARMY), to enjoy this perfect, breezy, joyful summer bop. You don't even have to know Korean. If you're just here for Halsey's 3 seconds of vocals, that's fine too. It's the musical equivalent of frosé — and like frosé has become a summer staple, these boys aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Sweet, cool, and refreshing, I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of BTS in our summer future.
"Juice" by Lizzo
Lizzo is also finally gettin the recognition she deserves with her self-empowering, retro-funk anthem "Juice." It's already been touted as the new "Uptown Funk" so many times that I won't bother to make the comparison, because Lizzo is truly in a league of her own, now. Her badass, body-positive, supercharged lyrics are on a whole other level of what we've been used to from the mainstream.
"Old Town Road (Remix)" by Lil Nas X feat. Billy Rae Cyrus
Yee -- and I cannot stress this enough -- haw, baby.
Worst (Early Contender):
"Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish
Maybe I'm just too Millennial leaning on the Millennial/Gen Z cusp spectrum to understand Billie Eilish. I won't rag on this too hard, since she's still just a teen, but her music confounds me.
"ME!" by Taylor Swift feat. Brendan Urie
At this point though, I feel like Taylor Swift is fair game. "ME!" is cloyingly cute, but utterly unlistenable.
"I Don't Care" by Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber
"I Don't Care" is proof that we need to start ragging on Ed Sheeran a little more. Maybe the music video gets a few chuckles, but it seems like Ed and Justin Bieber really just wanted an excuse to hang out, and maybe (unsuccessfully) recreate another "Sorry."
Songs released in summer just seem more hopeful, more uplifting than any other time of year. They're an invitation to let our cares be whisked away like fireflies in the night. And until the genre burns out, we'll always be waiting for the temperatures to rise so we can tune in and turn up the sound.
Topics Music
