Every song of the summer from the past 48 years
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Every year, music fans wonder which song will be crowned the "song of the summer."
Insider uses Billboard charts and streaming stats to determine the season's defining hit.
Our list includes every year since 1975.
Anjelica Oswald contributed to a previous version of this article.
1975: "One of These Nights" by The Eagles
1976: "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee
1977: "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" by Andy Gibb
1978: "Shadow Dancing" by Andy Gibb
1979: "Bad Girls" by Donna Summer
1980: "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" by Billy Joel
1981: "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield
1982: "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
1983: "Every Breath You Take" by The Police
1984: "When Doves Cry" by Prince
1985: "Shout" by Tears For Fears
1986: "Papa Don't Preach" by Madonna
1987: "Alone" by Heart
1988: "Roll With It" by Steve Winwood
1989: "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx
1990: "Vision of Love" by Mariah Carey
1991: "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams
1992: "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot
1993: "(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You" by UB40
1994: "I Swear" by All-4-One
1995: "Waterfalls" by TLC
1996: "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" by Los Del Rio
1997: "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112
1998: "The Boy is Mine" by Brandy and Monica
1999: "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera
2000: "Bent" by Matchbox Twenty
2001: "U Remind Me" by Usher
2002: "Hot In Herre" by Nelly
2003: "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z
2004: "Confessions Part II" by Usher
2005: "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey
2006: "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland
2007: "Umbrella" by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
2008: "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry
2009: "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas
2010: "California Gurls" by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg
2011: "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock
2012: "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen
2013: "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell
2014: "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX
2015: "Cheerleader" by OMI
2016: "One Dance" by Drake featuring WizKid and Kyla
2017: "Despacito (Remix)" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber
Listen to the song on YouTube.
2018: "In My Feelings" by Drake
"In My Feelings" inspired a viral Internet challenge and dethroned Drake's previous hit, "Nice For What," on the Billboard Hot 100. It reigned atop the chart for 10 weeks through July, August, and September.
You can watch the music video here.
2019: "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
The undisputed song of summer in 2019 was Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," which sat atop the Hot 100 Billboard chart for 19 weeks, beating the record set by Mariah Carey's 1996 hit "One Sweet Day."
The song's celebrity-filled music video features cameos from Chris Rock, Vince Staples, Haha Davis, and more.
2020: "Rockstar" by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
DaBaby's collaboration with Roddy Ricch swept the summer months, holding the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks.
Originally released in April, the song became an instant No. 1 after DaBaby released a Black Lives Matter remix to the song on June 12 that addressed police brutality and the George Floyd protests across the nation.
Other honorable mentions go to Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga's pop anthem "Rain On Me," Taylor Swift's "Cardigan," and Harry Styles' "Watermelon Sugar." "Cardigan" became Swift's second No. 1 debut after "Shake It Off." Though "Watermelon Sugar" was released in 2019, it returned to the Billboard charts after the music video's release in May and reached No. 1 in August.
You can watch the music video for "Rockstar" here.
2021: "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo
Challengers include "Butter" by BTS and "Levitating" by Dua Lipa, but the domination of "Good 4 U" helped cement 2021 as the year of Olivia Rodrigo.
The punk-pop hit was named the most-streamed song of the summer on Spotify and reigned at No. 1 on the Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs chart for seven weeks. Additionally, throughout the summer, Rodrigo's album "Sour" regularly returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, spending five nonconsecutive weeks on top since its May release.
You can read Insider's music video breakdown here.
2022: "As It Was" by Harry Styles
"As It Was" ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks, setting a new record for a British artist. It was released as the lead single from Styles' third solo album "Harry's House," which went on to win album of the year at the Grammy Awards.
You can read Insider's music video breakdown here.
2023: "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen
In the midst of a cruel summer, largely defined by "Barbie" and Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, Morgan Wallen overcame a string of scandals to become 2023's most dominant chart presence.
His third studio album, "One Thing at a Time," spent 15 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, surpassing Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti" for the most weeks atop the Billboard 200 this decade.
The album's signature song, "Last Night," reigned atop the Hot 100 for 16 weeks, the most ever for a solo hit, and wrapped the season at No. 1 on Billboard's Songs of the Summer chart, which tracks performance from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
In fact, according to Billboard, "Last Night" is the first country song to lead the summertime tally since 1974.
You can watch the performance video on YouTube.
Read the original article on Insider
