Happy Thursday <3

I just read through a few different reports about this year’s song of the summer. It kind of bummed me out, but that was pretty much the tone of the season this year. 

What did everyone play while out this summer? Feel free to tell me your picks by responding to this email. You guys already know what some of mine were.

Also in this newsletter: the Swagaissance continues; Selena Gomez and her mother’s mental health company turned into a nightmare; and the most insane and devastating surrogacy story I’ve ever read. Subscribe to the Yapper tier to read the full newsletter. 

As we approach fall, the results for the 2025 song of the summer are in. If 2024 was the year of pop diva dominance, that certainly was not the case this time around. (Although, as Vulture pointed out, the girlies might give us a song of the fall instead.)

Here are a few iterations of the top five songs of the summer, according to various sources:

Billboard

1. “Ordinary” - Alex Warren

2. “What I Want” - Morgan Wallen ft. Tate McRae

3. “Just In Case” -  Morgan Wallen

4. “I’m the Problem” - Morgan Wallen

5. “Luther” - Kendrick Lamar & SZA

Spotify

1. “Ordinary” - Alex Warren

2. “Shake It To The Max (FLY) – Remix” - MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng, and Shenseea 

3. “Love Me Not” - Ravyn Lenae

4. “Manchild” - Sabrina Carpenter

5. “back to friends” - sombr

TikTok (US)

1. “Hold My Hand” - Jess Glynne   

2. “Soul Survivor” - Jeezy ft. Akon   

3. “Rock That Body” - Black Eyed Peas

4. “Let Down” - Radiohead

5. “WHIM WHAMIEE” - PLUTO & YKNIECE

There always seems to be a disconnect between the charts and the conversation. You can have a hit without much cultural impact and vice versa. For instance, the ubiquity of last year’s “brat summer” did not translate at all to Billboard’s Song of the Summer chart.

But what, exactly, was the cultural conversation this year? Last year was brat, the year prior was Barbie, and the year before that was dominated by dance music. Summer has come and gone in a flash, yet it seems like nothing culturally significant happened. Or rather, nothing fun captured the zeitgeist. That feels reflected in the music we listened to.

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