Song of the summer is a weird phenomenon. Last year, everyone declared OMI’s “Cheerleader” the winner of the title. It’s probably true – it was played a lot – but as I traversed across Canada & Europe it was The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” that I heard about 50 times a day in every country. The song of the summer is ubiquitous but also subjective, and definitely varies from country to country (in England it was probably Little Mix’s “Black Magic,” which I literally never heard anywhere else).
The other strange thing about the song of the summer is how often we try to claim it as early as April or May, only to be blindsided by an actual inescapable hit by the time August rolls around.
Now I don’t know what the official Song of the Summer™ is going to be, but I’ve got a pretty good idea what I’ll be blaring this summer.
The Strokes – Oblivion
The Stokes were a high school favourite of mine, and their new track is that classic Strokes sound I always loved. I’ve been following Julian Casablancas’ other projects, but there’s something special about getting the original band back together. Future Present Past is going to be on my iPod all summer, for sure.
Drake – Views
Some people weren’t too impressed by Views, but there are some fun tracks on this that I’ll definitely be rocking out to this summer. Since I’m based in the 6, I’m sure I’ll hear Drake at every party/club/festival/cab for the rest of the year. For me, the highlight from the album is definitely “Too Good” featuring Rihanna, but there’s quite a few summertime jams on Views.
Zayn – dRuNk
Why does he spell his song titles like that? Regardless, the chilled out chorus of “drunk all summer” is going to be played many a time this summer. The hazy, faded track is going to be perfect for the lazy, late August “nostalgic for a summer that just happened” vibes.
Beyonce – Lemonade
Like everyone else on the planet, I love Lemonade. I caught the Formation World Tour earlier this summer, and watching Beyonce enter a room wearing a cape and shouting “who the fuck do you think I am?” was a moment that I will be recreating for weeks to come.
Catch the rest of my Summer Sixteen tunes in the Spotify playlist below.
the criss cross 