Every week an artist declares they're dropping "the song of the summer". Only two of those declarations have led to legitimate candidates for this summer's coveted title. Before we get to those two, let's revisit some of the biggest songs of the most recent summers.
Piggybacking off that previous before that, let's establish what exactly is being revisited. Song of the summer isn't necessarily the best song of the summer; it's the song that is drilled into your skull at every graduation and pool party, it's the song you know every word to without ever looking it up on your own.
2014: Fancy(Iggy Azalea), Wiggle(Jason Derulo), Happy(Pharell), Rude(Magic)
2014 was truly an odd summer. I remember 'Happy' making me feel the exact opposite of its intended purpose, mostly because it felt like an abnormal amount of positivity that followed me everywhere; this scene from American Dad best summarizes my feelings. With that being said, 'Wiggle' is the song that evokes the strongest emotion out of me, as half of me wants to laugh, but the other half respects Jason Derulo for making a song for people of all ages can receive action on. 14-year-old me salutes your service, Jason.
'Fancy' and 'Rude' were both good songs that could still get headphones at medium volume play.
2015: Trap Queen(Fetty Wap), Uptown Funk(Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars), Where Are Ü Now(Skrillex/Diplo/Justin Beiber), Bad Blood(Taylor Swift/Kendrick Lamar), Drake vs. Meek
R.I.P. Fetty Wap, gone too late. Fetty Wap's sudden emergence and equally sudden disappearance deserves a 30for30. Nevertheless, between 'Trap Queen' and 'My Way' Fetty Wap's unique style left a lifelong impression on anyone around at the time.
I remember when 'Bad Blood' came out thinking, "Why Kendrick?" Four years and 17 Grammys later, I see why Kendrick Lamar did it. He had been infamously robbed by the Grammys the year before, and Taylor Swift was the bridge that allowed Kendrick to evolve from star to undeniable megastar with one feature.
Drake versus Meek Mill was a different breed of music taking over the summer. Everyone knew about and was heavily invested in what has proven to be one of the bigger rap beefs of recent memory. Present-day, the two are friendly, but their actions in 2015 is one that forever holds a place in rap history.
2016: Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World, Views(Drake), Don't(Bryson Tiller), Panda(Desiigner)
Summer 2016 is gassed up a lot, but I feel like it deserves more praise. I will go as far as saying summer 2016 was the closest the United States has come to peace since the introduction of cocaine. Trump was a longshot at best, the Cavs came back from a 3-1 deficit, people were chasing Pokemon, Harambe had the nation united in mourning and good music was plentiful.
Drake's Views and Lil Uzi's Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World alone would have been enough to keep the world pleased until winter, but contributions flew in from just about every direction. Desiigner made a couple million off his Future impression, and Kanye West turned that into an anthem. Bryson Tiller almost ended the battle of the sexes with his rise to stardom, as women sang their hearts out to 'Don't' and guys had to hide their head nods until they got home later.
2016 is the undisputed champion of summer music.
2017: Wild Thoughts and I'm the One(DJ Khaled), Humble(Kendrick Lamar), Unforgettable(French Montana/Swae Lee), XO Tour Llif3(Lil Uzi Vert), Despacito(Luis Fonsi/Daddy Yankee/Justin Beiber)
I've heard the summer songs of 2017 so much I don't even know if they're good anymore. Each of these songs haunts me.
Now that, that is out of the way, the standouts of the bunch are 'Unforgettable' and 'XO Tour Llif3', as no one could have predicted French Montana dropping one of the most unforgettable(not proud of the pun, but it's done)songs of the summer and 'XO Tour Llif3' was marketed as an EP throwaway. Also, Swae Lee doesn't get nearly the amount of respect he deserves, serving as arguably raps best feature, but that's an article for another day.
'Humble' wasn't a personal favorite, but the fact that Kendrick Lamar was able to force Big Sean into hiding with a single will forever impress me. Much like 'Humble', I wasn't a personal fan of DJ Khaled, but his positive attitude made it hard to dislike him. Two years and one Tyler the Creator-induced tantrum later, disliking Khaled comes naturally.
2018: I Like It(Cardi B), Boo'd Up(Ella Mai), In My Feelings(Drake), Taste(Tyga)
Of the years listed in this article, 2018 would probably fall second on my personal favorites. The songs were forced on me, but they didn't feel annoying like 2017. Each song brought a different element to the songs of the summers.
Ella Mai gave the summer couples a song to lie to each other to, Drake gave the world something to sweaty dance to, Tyga revived his career with an undeniable bop and Cardi B delivered an upbeat song that anyone could enjoy. Summer music was perfectly balanced, as it should be.
2019:
As of right now, 2019 only has two songs, Young Thug's 'The London' and Chris Brown's 'No Guidance' that have the potential of living up to the legacy of yesteryears. A few, like Tory Lanez' 'Broke Leg' and Tyler, the Creator's 'Earfquake', have longshot potential.