As the hottest season winds down – depending upon where you live, anyway – it’s time to crown the song of summer.
It used to be that inescapable song that united carpools and club nights, but in the past few years, music fans have shifted from energetic entries such as DaBaby and Roddy Ricch's “Rockstar”
(2020) and BTS’ “Butter” (2021) to easygoing earworms such as Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s "I Had Some Help" (2024) and Alex Warren’s "Ordinary" (2025).Listeners have also embraced songs released outside summer months – hello, Katy Perry, who topped TikTok this summer with her 15-year-old “The One That Got Away." Ella Langley’s inescapable “Choosin’ Texas” was released in October and just broke the Billboard Hot 100 record as the longest-running
non-holiday No. 1 after 20 weeks atop the chart.
But as the seasons change, it's time to ask, was Langley’s ubiquitous bittersweet rumination really the best indicator of summer fun or were the poppier stylings of Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift better warm-weather companions?
We’ll let you decide by taking our poll.
But first, here are the contenders:
'Boston,' Stella Lefty
Lefty’s debut album arrived in August, but for months prior, the breakthrough hit for the upstart pop-folk singer – which includes an interpolation of Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” – climbed the Billboard Hot 100 until peaking at No. 2 the week of Aug. 29.
'Choosin’ Texas,' Ella Langley
The slow-burn meditation on accepting the end of a relationship from the country charmer topped the country charts in December and edged onto the Billboard Hot 100 in January. It’s been unstoppable since.
‘Dai Dai,’ Shakira and Burna Boy
The theme song for the 2026 FIFA World Cup includes Shakira hallmarks of pulsing rhythm and a chanting chorus. The romp hit No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200.
'DANCE …,' Slayyyter
A classic club thumper, the dance track from Slayyyter’s third album,“Worst Girl in America,” started charting around the world following a TikTok trend of people pretending to be sick and then locking into the beat.
'Earrings,' Malcolm Todd
Another late bloomer thanks to social media, this collection of squiggly synths and a loping beat first appeared on Todd’s 2024 mixtape, “Sweet Boy.” But viral fame prompted an official release in April and the song vaulted onto charts worldwide.
'Girl Like Me,' PinkPantheress
Thejittery dance song by the British singer steadily infiltrated pop culture. It first appeared on her TikTok account in 2024, officially arrived on her 2025 mixtape “Fancy That,” and was released as the final single from the release nearly a year later, in April.
'Hate That I Made You Love Me,' Ariana Grande
Though understated and down-tempo with steady synths and elements of trap, the lead single that prefaced the July release of Grande’s anticipated “Petal” album was eagerly received by fans, as the track hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Global 200.
'I Knew It, I Knew You,' Taylor Swift
Swift, a self-professed “Toy Story” fan, realized a childhood dream with this sweet strummer that is part of the “Toy Story 5” soundtrack that arrived June 5. Along with topping the Billboard Global 200, the song became Swift's 15th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 – and the first No. 1 debut for Disney.
'Janice STFU,' Drake
The heavily Auto-Tuned fourth single from the Canadian rapper’s “Iceman” album – which revisits his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar – debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
'Stupid Song,' Olivia Rodrigo
The third single from Rodrigo’s “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So In Love” album arrived mid-summer in a blast of a racing beat, subtle key changes and Rodrigo’s patented lilt filled with yearning.
Vote for the 2026 song of summer
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who had the song of summer? Cast your vote now
