The title for “Song of the Summer” is still up in the air
July 11, 2017
Whether you’re spending the summer slouched back in a lounge chair at the beach, inside studying for standardized tests, or traveling the days away before school inevitably begins again, your summer will have one thing in common with everyone else’s: the song that is playing in the background. It will be heard in most stores, tiredly plastered across the radio, and sung by thousands across the nation, maybe even the world. The “Song of the Summer.” Who can forget “Call Me Maybe,” Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song that defined the summer of 2012? Or “Blurred Lines,” 2013’s chart-topper with lyrics that burned themselves into the memory of us all? As for 2017, the official song is yet to be clear but there are some very strong contenders currently flooding the radio.
“Despacito”–Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
This hit latino pop song has topped charts in over 45 countries since its release in January of this year, making it the frontrunner to be 2017’s “Song of the Summer.” It has been on “The Hot 100” Billboard chart for over 25 weeks, reaching a peak position of #1, where it still stands. This is the first song primarily in Spanish to do so since “Macarena” in 1996. “Despacito,” meaning “slowly” has garnered over 574 million Spotify streams and nearly 2.5 billion views on Youtube. It was the fastest video in the site’s history to hit 2 billion, after only 154 days of being uploaded. The song was co-written by Erika Ender, a Panamanian singer, and Luis Fonsi, whose voice can be heard on the track. “Despacito” definitely has the numbers behind it to be considered this summer’s hit song.
“I’m The One”– DJ Khaled Featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper & Lil Wayne
This song, which was released by DJ Khaled on April 28th, 2017, also features Justin Bieber. It debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, which was a first for Chance, Quavo, and Khaled. It was also the first hip-hop song to accomplish this since 2010, with Eminem’s, “Not Afraid.” It is the second single, following “Shining” from Grateful, Khaled’s tenth studio album. The video premiered with the song, and has so far been viewed over 460 million times. Despite its relatively recent release, “I’m The One,” also has potential to be remembered as the song of 2017.
“That’s What I Like”–Bruno Mars
Bruno’s latest hip-hop soul song was released in late January of 2017 (like “Despacito), the second single from 24K Magic. Although it opened on the Billboard charts at number 79, it climbed it’s way up the charts after 15 weeks, making it the seventh song by this artist to reach this spot. The music video for this song, which was released on March 1st of this year, has almost 700 million views on Youtube, along with nearly 450 million Spotify streams. Mars has created yet another hit, which is impressive considering how long he has been consistently popular–over seven years, which is a feat in the ever-changing music industry. He snuck his way back onto the radar, with a track certainly able to bring up memories of the summer of 2017 for years to come.
While the definite “Song of the Summer,” has yet to be decided, it is almost definite that one of these mega-successful hits will be crowned with the hungered-for title.