HaydenBlaney

No summer is truly complete without a soundtrack to back it. From pop hits to country bangers, there has always been music that we specifically attribute to summer. 

Music brings people together, especially during the summer. Pool days have higher energy when the radio is playing the newest releases. Family car trips on the way to vacations are better when the playlists are blasting through the speakers.

When you hear the song “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, it’s likely you find yourself transported back to summer 2024 and when “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen plays, you think back to that summer as well. Music marks the seasons of our lives. But that brings about the question: Was there a song of the summer this year?

There was something for everybody playing on the radio and streaming services this summer. Billboard charts were topped by Sabrina Carpenter (for yet another summer) with “Manchild,” Alex Warren with “Ordinary,” and “What I Want” by Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae, among many others. While these songs were constantly played on the radio, there didn’t seem to be a consensus on which one earned the title of song of the summer. 

Many of the songs that came out during the summer couldn’t seem to beat out songs from earlier in the year. With popular albums such as So Close to What by Tate McRae and BRAT by Charli XCX, the songs off of those dominated both radio stations and streaming services.

Reneé Rapp’s second full-length album, Bite Me, came out Aug. 1. While some of her singles, such as “Leave Me Alone” and “Mad,” gained popularity, it wasn’t enough to put them in the running for song of the summer.

Grammys’ Best New Artist of 2024, Chappell Roan, came out with yet another popular single, “The Subway,” in July. It quickly made its way on to radios, but whether it was timely enough to be the song of the summer was unclear. 

“I listened to the new Travis Scott album,” senior Kelsey Asselin said. Scott’s 20-song compilation, “JACKBOYS 2,” came out in July and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. Despite her fondness for the album, Asselin wouldn’t consider any song off of it the song of the summer. “It’s not something that would play on the radio all the time,” she said. 

Marian’s consensus on the song of the summer seems to be varied.

Freshmen Tenely Miller and Brynn Wagner both agreed that “What I Want” by Tate McRae and Morgan Wallen had their votes. Morgan Wallen had another vote from senior Lauren Camp for his song, “Superman.” 

“I think the song of the summer is ‘party 4 u,’” junior Emily Ortmeier said, referring to the Billboard charting song by Charli XCX. 

Senior Cady Porter believed it was the “Mystical Magical” by Benson Boone, the song that became a viral TikTok sound that hit everyone’s For You Page (FYP). 

The question then is, if there are so many different opinions on which song was the song of the summer, was there really one?

Though some have songs in mind, a few students don’t think there was a winner. 

“I don’t think there was a song of the summer,” freshman Maggie Stover said. 

Senior Sarah Yiel had a similar opinion. She said, “[There were] none that really caught my attention.”

With the results all over the board, at both Marian and across the internet, the question seems to fall to the individual.