The summer of 2025 is almost here and there’s still no officialpopsong of the summer. Throughoutmusichistory, there’s typically at leastone song that dominates the charts during the warmer months.From 1960s hits like The Beach Boys' “I Get Around” to Katy Perry’s 2010 single “California Gurls,” summer anthems are an important part of the season.
However, it’s almost summer, and there have been several debates around the song of the summer without a sure answer. Luckily, there are a lot of trending songs right now that could potentially define the season. There are also a few artists who could drop new singles and take the music industry by storm in the next few months. Here are our picks for song of the summer, and the artists we hope to see contributing soon.
11Sally, When The Wine Runs Out
Role Model
Role Model has been on the rise for the past few yearsand his song “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” has become his most popular hit yet. Not only does it have the carefree nature and natural charm of a summer hit, but Role Model has done a lot to promote it. The singer decided that every night on tour, he would bring a girl from the audience onstage to be Sally.
However, at a few performances, including an appearance onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the singer brought out a celebrity instead. Reneé Rapp, Bowen Yang, and Conan Gray have all joined Role Model on stage for “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out.“The singer is definitelygearing up to be music’s next big star, and his single has the potential to be a major hit this summer.
10Ordinary
Alex Warren
Alex Warren is a new artist whose debut album,You’ll Be Alright, Kid, is set to be released on July 18th. “Ordinary” is the lead single off the album and was actually released in February of this year. However, the song has maintained popularity and is currently#1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. The song has some rock, pop, and country influences, and its lyrics follow a love story. It might not sound like a typical summer song, as its production feels a little heavy, butits chart success proves that as summer nears, music fans have been enjoying Warren’s song.
9Manchild
Sabrina Carpenter
In 2024, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” quickly became the song of the summer after she surprise-dropped it in time for her Coachella debut. Not only did the song’s upbeat production and light-hearted lyrics make for a summer anthem, but her beach-set music video did, too.Carpenter recently announced her seventh studio album,Man’s Best Friend,will be out on August 29th. However, before the album’s announcement, she surprise-dropped another single.
It’s hard to tell if “Manchild” will be as big of a summer hit as “Espresso” was, but it certainly has potential.
Her song “Manchild” isperfect for the summer with its country-pop production and amusing lyrics. The song references some of Carpenter’s past relationships where her partner wasn’t particularly intelligent and couldn’t do anything for himself. The ’70s-esque music video, seemingly inspired by old Western films, also contributes to the song’s summer feeling. It’s hard to tell if “Manchild” will be as big of a summer hit as “Espresso” was, but it certainly has potential.
8Mystical Magical
Benson Boone
Benson Boone has become another breakout star in recent years. The singer competed onAmerican Idolseason 19 and built a following on TikTok after withdrawing from the competition. After his breakout hit “Beautiful Things,“Boone has gone viral on TikTok again for his single “Mystical Magical.“The most prominent part of the song that has become the subject of many social media jokes is the way Boone sings the lyrics “moonbeam ice cream.”
However, Boone has had a great sense of humor about it, and the jokes have only made his song more popular.Boone’s vocals have been compared to Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco,and he’s also adopted some characteristics of Harry Styles and Freddie Mercury. Whether fans are enjoying the song or teasing Boone about it, “Mystical Magical” is gearing up to be a huge hit this summer.
7What I Want
Morgan Wallen Feat. Tate McRae
Morgan Wallen has been a rising star in country music over the past few years, and this year, he might just have the song of the summer. While Wallen has had a lot of successful songs throughout the year,his new single “What I Want” has taken the #2 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100. The single features pop singer Tate McRae, who is also a rising star in the music industry.
The pop singer has beencompared a lot to Britney Spears, due to her intense choreography on stage and in music videos. McRae has mainly stuck to pop music, so her collaboration with Wallen was a little out of left field. However, based on its success, music fans are clearly enjoying it.
6Party 4 U
Charli XCX
Charli XCX had a huge breakout year in 2024, and the summer of 2024 truly belonged to her. After over a decade in the music industry, Charli XCX released her sixth studio album,brat, prompting social media to declare the summer,Bratsummer. The singer is currently promoting the album on tour and while it remains popular,one of her older songs recently went viral.
“party 4 u” has become a massive hit on social media, five years after its initial release. This prompted Charli XCX to finally release it as a single and give it its own music video. The song has appeared in various TikTok edits, typically using movie and TV show characters who the song applies to. Whilebratsummer is sadly in the past,Charli XCX could find herself dominating the season again with “party 4 u.”
5Nokia
Drake
2025 may have begun as Kendrick Lamar’s year, as his February Superbowl performance made him the talk of the town and got everyone on his side of the feud. However, it’s almost officially summer, and Drake is ready to take over.The Canadian rapper released “Nokia” in March, and it’s only gotten more popular since. Like a lot of his recent music, “Nokia” has a very upbeat pop-trap production, making it the perfect song for summer.
The song is currently #10 on Billboard’s Hot 100, meaning that, despite coming out three months ago, fans are still enjoying it. Clearly, Drake has not let the backlash surrounding his Lamar feud stop him from putting out dance songs that his fans love. It’s very likely fans will be blasting “Nokia” all summer long.
4NUEVAYoL
Whether he has the #1 song of the moment or not, Bad Bunny has maintained great levels of success since his debut album dropped in 2018. He’s also become agreat representation of Latin music in pop culture. This summer, Bad Bunny could contribute to summer with his hit “NUEVAYoL.”
The reggae song was released in January, but fits perfectly into the summer months because of its dance-worthy production.Even Spotify included it on their list of potential songs of the summer, proving it has a good chance of growing in popularity.
3Chappel Roan Is A Contender
The Pop Star Dominated Summer 2024
While a lot of artists have released great songs for the summer, a few artists who haven’t still have time to contribute.Chappell Roanalso played a huge role in pop music last summer. “Hot To Go” and “Pink Pony Club” were massive hits, and the latter isstill in the top 15 on Billboard’s Hot 100.While her 2025country hit “The Giver"didn’t make as much noise as expected, Roan could release another single just in time for summer.
The star released her debut album on September 22nd, 2023, and fans have been anticipating her sophomore album may come sometime in 2025. If that’s the case, summer is the perfect time for another single release to tease the upcoming album. Roan may have dominated 2024, buther fans wouldn’t mind if she made 2025 her year, too.
2Olivia Rodrigo Could Define Summer 2025
The Star Has Been Dominating Festival Season
Olivia Rodrigo’s latest album also came in September 2023. Since then, she’s been promoting the album,GUTS, on tour and at various music festivals. Most recently, Rodrigo performed at Gov Ball in New York, where shebrought out Talking Heads singer David Byrne to sing “Burning Down The House.“However, Rodrigo hasn’t released any new music since March 2024, when she dropped the deluxe edition of her album calledGUTS (Spilled).
The good news is, during the red carpet for theOlivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tourpremiere,Rodrigo teased that another album was coming. Unfortunately, she didn’t reveal when fans could expect the new album. However, like many other artists,Rodrigo has been on a two-year cycle with her albums, releasingSOURin 2021 andGUTSin 2023. If she were to continue this cycle, a new album could drop this year.
It would be even better if, before dropping the album, Rodrigo released a fun song just in time for summer. In 2023, Rodrigo’s “Vampire” was a summer release and became a huge hit. She could make her fans' year if she repeated this pattern in 2025.
