What is the song of the summer 2024? The candidates

“I love this song. It’s like the hit of the summer. When they play this jam, I jam.”

Those are the words of tennis icon Serena Williams, who spoke during a panel at the Essence Festival last weekend. She was talking about Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss “Not Like Us,” but Williams’ coronation of the song raises the question: What Is the “Song of the Summer” for 2024?

It is an unofficial distinction (i.e. Billboard has an official chart for it now), which carries a certain cultural weight each year. It’s also just a fun thing to think about and discuss in the middle of the year. Technically, we’re only just at the beginning of summer, as the season officially runs from June 20 to September 22. There’s still so much summer left, so rather than award the title now, let’s look at the current leading candidates and argue for (and against) some of the most obvious contenders.

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”

The argument for this: “Not Like Us” is on everyone’s lips, so much so that Serena Williams is talking about it publicly. Rick Ross was (allegedly) beaten up for it. The song has reached “featured in local weather reports” status. Plain and simple: It’s a mainstream hit.

The counterargument: The song was so well-received in early May that it’s fair to wonder if it’s already peaked. (The song’s recent well-received video proves the track still holds up, though.) And since the whole thing is a diss of Drake, it’s just not very nice! (Some of the arguments against other songs below may be equally flimsy. These are all popular hits, after all.)

Post Malone and Morgan Wallen – “I had some help”

The argument for this: The song that has spent the longest time at number one on the Hot 100 this year? It’s “I Had Some Help.” Combine that with the fact that this collaboration between Malone and Wallen is currently the most well-known crossover hit of the current country music wave, and it has a good argument.

The counterargument: The biggest pushback here is whether the song has enough power, aside from the headline-grabbing collaboration. Wallen and Post are two of the biggest stars in music and that certainly helped the song. It’s hard to say whether that’s enough to carry the song through the hot months ahead.

Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

The argument for this: Country music is a perfect fit for summer, and just like Malone and Wallen’s single, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” comes at just the right time. It’s been slowly climbing the Hot 100 and, as of yesterday, is his first ever number one single.

The counterargument: The main reason to say no here has nothing to do with the song itself, but with the competition. “A Bar Song” is fantastic, but it’s up against some heavyweights that have shown greater and more sustained success. But perhaps its new number one status is the start of a winning streak of its own.

Tommy Richman – “Million Dollar Baby”

The argument for this: Anyone who has been online has heard “Million Dollar Baby”: In June, the song broke the record for most weeks at number 1 on the TikTok list. Billboard Top 50 charts. There’s no question that people love this song.

The counterargument: “Million Dollar Baby” is older than the previously mentioned songs, with its April release date. Since viral hits like this one often have a relatively short shelf life, this song could soon be a relic of viral history long before the end of summer.

Tinashe – “Evil”

The argument for this: Tinashe was able to show off a little bit to her former label with this song: The song was originally written by April, but went viral on TikTok in June. Consequently, it became her biggest solo hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The counterargument: “Nasty” is more of a viral hit than a chart hit so far: Despite its ubiquity on the internet, the song has yet to break into the top 40 of the Hot 100. “Nasty” could use a little more reach before it really gets talked about.

Billie Eilish – “Birds Of A Feather” (Birds of a feather)

The argument for this: Billie is one of the most popular figures in music and she has achieved everything by doing her own thing. She doesn’t chase radio-friendly hits, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t capable of them. “Birds Of A Feather” is one example, a bit of romantic pop fun, and people love it when Billie wins.

The counterargument: It’s hard to say how long this song will last. It was only released as a single last week, so at this point it would be risky to predict whether it will become the defining song of the summer.

Chappell Roan – “Good luck, baby!”

The argument for this: Roan has been one of the biggest stars of the year so far, so much so that it’s been a challenge for her to handle it all, especially with “Good Luck, Babe!”, which has become her biggest hit to date.

The counterargument: Chappell isn’t the most obvious hitmaker. Sure, the song is great, but we’ve already seen one Kate Bush song top the charts this decade, it’s hard to imagine that happening again. So who knows how much time this song has left in the summer sun. (It did hit the Hot 100 top 10 for the first time yesterday, though.)

Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso”

The argument for this: Of course, we had to mention “Espresso.” Carpenter was already a rising star before the caffeinated single, but the song absolutely took off, establishing Carpenter as a STAR without any qualifications needed. Plus, with its warm vibes and radio-friendly chorus, “Espresso” basically sounds like a summer hit. Carpenter’s personality also makes her a fun person to root for and listen to, which certainly speaks in favor of “Espresso.”

The counterargument: Carpenter has turned his attention to releasing a new hit, “Please Please Please.” “Espresso,” however, is still doing just as well as the newer single: “Please Please Please” had more Spotify streams in the U.S. last week, but “Espresso” was No. 1 on the same charts worldwide. Ultimately, of all the songs on this list, “Espresso” may have the least downside to being chosen as Song of the Summer.