As the summer wraps up, it’s fun to look back and see one aspect of what made this past summer truly memorable: the music scene.
Whether it was deliberately listening or just hearing it over the speakers in a clothing store, there were a number of artists and songs that got big and stayed big this past summer.
One prevalent artist was Charli XCX, who released her album, BRAT, in June. “Brat Summer” was a phenomenon that occurred due to the popularity of BRAT. “Brat summer [is] living carefree, wearing whatever you want, [and] acting on impulses” Junior Wynonna Tuang explains. BRAT can be characterized by the iconic neon green color now dubbed “Brat Green,” as well as its basic lowercase black font.
According to Tuang, the best song released this past summer was Gracie Abrams’ “Close To You,” the second single on her album The Secret of Us. She says that it’s a good summer song because “the lyrics are basically about love and crushes, so people naturally connect to it more and wanna sing along.”
In Junior Lilah Colonis’s opinion, “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter was the most memorable song this summer. “I think the vibes were definitely there,” says Colonis. “Although it got overplayed, I do think it had an addicting beat that made you want to keep listening to it.”
Another popular album this past summer was Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft. Released in May 17th, its pre-summer release allowed for it to be streamed heavily during the summer.
“Between Billie’s album and Sabrina’s new album and single, [this summer’s music] has been great,” Colonis states.
Chappell Roan is an artist who recently skyrocketed into popularity with hits such as “HOT TO GO!”, “Casual,” and “Good Luck, Babe!”
Junior Madeline Stchur gives credit to Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” as the best song from the summer, due to how “fun and engaging” it is. The chorus of the song, “H-O-T-T-O-G-O, you can take me HOT TO GO!” is accompanied by a short and simple dance that adds to the overall engagement of the song.
Despite its 2023 release, Kid Laroi’s song “NIGHTS LIKE THIS’ didn’t chart on the Billboard Hot 100 until July of 2024. “Kid Laroi[‘s] ‘Nights Like This’ was definitely the song of my summer,” Senior Julianna Raschello says. “I feel as though it truly captured what it felt like.”
Junior Scott DeBiasi believes that the best song released over the summer was “Lithonia” by Childish Gambino. DeBiasi says, “The emotion conveyed by his voice, along with the heavy guitar riffs, just click really well.”
The students of Waterford High School are mostly in agreement about what makes a good summer song.
“What makes a song good for summer is an upbeat sound that you can listen to over and over again,” says DeBiasi. “Personally, I remember my past summers by a song.”
“A good summer song needs to be fun and upbeat because that makes people more likely to dance to it and feel good,” Schtur adds, “I think this summer brought back a lot more pop music, which definitely allowed the summer to feel more fun and happy.”
On the contrary, Tuang states, “A good summer song [is] laidback, not too intense.”
From genres of pop to rock to indie, there was a song for everyone to take in and enjoy. In DeBiasi’s opinion, “This summer has been good for music, [there’s been] a lot of recognition and publicity in the industry for upcoming artists.”
