SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Almost halfway through the summer now, there's a question on everybody's mind. What's the song of the summer? Do we have one yet?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MANCHILD")
SABRINA CARPENTER: (Singing) You said your phone was broken, just forgot to charge it.
SIMON: Maybe it's "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MANCHILD")
CARPENTER: (Singing) I hope it's ironic. Did you just say you're finished? Didn't know we started. It's all just so familiar, baby. What do you call it? Stupid.
SIMON: Then again, maybe it's not. With streaming and social media, is there even a song of the summer anymore? We've asked NPR Music's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento to figure that out for us. Isabella, thanks so much for being with us.
ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: Thank you for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ORDINARY")
ALEX WARREN: (Singing) They say the holy water's watered down.
SIMON: This is a conversation about music and making memories in the sun with people you love. So let's begin with the dead. What does that say?
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: That's exactly right. And if you look at Billboard's Hot 100 chart, the song of the summer is definitely "Ordinary" by Alex Warren.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ORDINARY")
WARREN: (Singing) Oh, my, my. Oh, my, my love. I take one look at you. You're taking me out of the ordinary.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: That's been at No. 1 for six weeks and counting. It's a massive hit from an artist that got his start as a TikTokker and crossed over into the mainstream.
SIMON: But - I think you have a but up your sleeve.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: I do, because "Ordinary" is a huge hit, but it could be a hit any time of the year. You know, it doesn't sound like a song that's particular to summer. And it really speaks to how our metrics for figuring out the song of the summer have changed completely. I think the song of the summer used to be, like, a communal experience. It was a song that would be all over the radio. It was blasting from cars. It was playing on TV. I personally also think of it as something that's really fun and exuberant and joyful - something that makes you want to dance. But streaming and social media have totally fragmented audiences in how we listen to music, so it just makes it harder for one song to become this big cultural force that everyone rallies around. Sometimes it does happen. You remember Brat Summer, right, Scott?
(SOUNDBITE OF CHARLI XCX SONG, "APPLE")
SIMON: Went right by me, Isabella (laughter).
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: So last year, the album "Brat" by Charli XCX totally took over the pop landscape.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "APPLE")
CHARLI XCX: (Singing) I guess the apple don't fall far from the tree.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: "Brat" wasn't the bestselling album on the charts, but it permeated something bigger culturally. It was a meme. It had a viral dance. It had a signature color - Brat green. And it took Charli XCX from, like, a more niche hyperpop artist to the center of the conversation. Or, in 2022, for example, Beyonce released the dance album "Renaissance," and all of a sudden, you could hear the song "Break My Soul" everywhere.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BREAK MY SOUL")
BEYONCE: (Singing) You won't break my soul. You won't break my soul. You won't break my soul. You won't break my soul. I'm telling everybody.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: That song didn't top the charts either, but it struck a nerve culturally. It was all about celebrating and coming together after a period of isolation. And I think at that time, that was a feeling that so many people could get behind.
SIMON: Nothing like that in 2025.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: I don't think that we've seen a song this year that has brought audiences together in that same way. I don't think it's something we're going to see every year. You know, it's becoming more and more rare. But that doesn't mean that there aren't a ton of really fun summer anthems, so I do have a few picks from my personal playlist. The first is a techno merengue from Colombian superstar Karol G's new album. This is "Papasito."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PAPASITO")
KAROL G: (Singing) I saw you there, looking so good tonight. I swear to God, I'm dying to kiss you. My heart, bebe, it's beating so, so fast. I didn't know how much that I need you. You're getting closer and now my...
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: This whole album is an homage to Latin American showgirls from the 20th century. Think the famous Tropicana cabaret club during Cuba's Golden Age. She's, like, playing up this exotic Caribbean persona. And Karol G usually makes reggaeton and Latin pop, so, like, very polished production. But this is a much more acoustic sound. You hear the guitar, you hear the percussion - that merengue rhythm.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PAPASITO")
KAROL G: (Singing) Touching your body is my desire. Please, don't be mad.
(Singing in Spanish).
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: And speaking of a more stripped-down sound, another song of the summer contender is "Daisies" by Justin Bieber.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAISIES")
JUSTIN BIEBER: (Singing) Throwing petals, like, do you love me or not? Head is spinning and it don't know when to stop. 'Cause you said forever, babe, did you mean it or not?
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: What I really like about "Daisies" is that it lets Justin Bieber's voice shine. And we have him in, like, heartthrob mode, which we haven't heard from him in a long time. So even though it's a quieter pop song, I think it has a lot of summer anthem potential.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAISIES")
BIEBER: (Singing) I'm counting the days. How many days 'til I can see you again? Blowing kisses, like, will you catch them or not?
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: My last song of the summer pick is actually a throwback. It's a song from 2008. Do you think that counts?
(SOUNDBITE OF LADY GAGA SONG, "SUMMERBOY")
SIMON: Oh, my gosh. Well, let me ask - the judges say yes, Isabella. Go ahead.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: (Laughter) OK, so this is "Summerboy" from Lady Gaga's debut album "The Fame."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUMMERBOY")
LADY GAGA: (Singing) Nowhere. Yeah, we're going nowhere fast. Maybe this time I'll be yours, you'll be mine. C-c-c-crazy.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: So this is kind of a Lady Gaga deep cut. It's a song about a summer fling, which makes it, like, an obvious song of the summer contender. It's got these really gnarly guitars. And last week, Lady Gaga played it live for the first time since 2007. She's on tour with her new album, and she surprised fans with this song. So I think, even though it's an older song, TikTok and social media loves reviving older pop songs and putting them back on the pop charts. So my prediction is we're going to see "Summerboy" making a comeback this year.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUMMERBOY")
LADY GAGA: (Singing) Oh, oh, oh. We'll still have the summer after all.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Before we go, Scott, what is your song of the summer?
SIMON: (Laughter) My song of the summer will always be one I grew up with...
(SOUNDBITE OF GRATEFUL DEAD SONG, "DANCING IN THE STREET")
SIMON: ..."Dancing In The Street."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANCING IN THE STREET")
GRATEFUL DEAD: (Singing) Dancing in the streets.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: (Laughter) I can get behind this.
SIMON: Wait. Hold on. That's not Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. What are you doing to me?
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: You're right. You're right. I'm sorry. This is the version by the Grateful Dead, which I know and love and requested.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANCING IN THE STREET")
GRATEFUL DEAD: (Singing) Summer's here.
SIMON: Can I tell you my personal story about "Dancing In The Street"?
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Please.
SIMON: So my mother is in the hospital - alas, as we know now, dying. It's, like, 3:00 a.m. I go down to the Starbucks in the hospital. There's a line of people - all of us there with someone in bad health. And the muzak overhead starts playing "Dancing In The Street." Now, mind you, this is in Chicago. And we get to that line early in the song. Everybody's looking dour and sad. Suddenly, everybody looks up at once, starts jamming their hands and going...
(Singing) They're dancing in Chicago.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANCING IN THE STREET")
GRATEFUL DEAD: (Singing) They're dancing in Chicago.
SIMON: (Laughter).
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: That's amazing. See, that's what the song of the summer is supposed to do. It's, like, supposed to bring everyone together to rally behind something. That's beautiful.
SIMON: NPR Music's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, thanks so much.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANCING IN THE STREET")
GRATEFUL DEAD: (Singing) There'll be music everywhere. There'll be laughing and singing, and music swinging, and dancing in the streets. It doesn't matter what you wear, just as long as you are there. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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