What Will the 2021 Song of the Summer Be?
This year, like any other, all of pop is vying for control of the charts during the sweatiest season. But the stakes are higher this summer, since we all need a song that defines the joy of renewed social bonds amid a desperately coveted reopening. Thankfully, plenty of artists understand the assignment of making the world feel alive again, be it with a raging breakup anthem or a sweet, fruit-based serenade. As always, what should and what will rule the summer are two different things. Below, we take a closer look at some of the biggest contenders and a few favorite outliers. Saweetie: Best Friend [ft. Doja Cat]  In the last 15 years, the song of the summer as a concept has become codified with its own rules and rhythms. Though Rihannas Umbrella marked a turning point in 2007, and Billboard launched an official Song of the Summer chart in 2010, the competitive aspect of the whole thing really started heating up in 2013 and 2014. It was around then, in our unfortunate summer of Iggy Azaleas Fancy, that I read something on the subject that has stuck with me ever since: This is usually when someone raises his hand and is like, Oh, Ive really been enjoying the new Spoon single, thats my song of summer. Which no, Amanda Dobbins wrote on Vulture. No, it does not. Theres a social contract when it comes to songs of the summer, one that is still being worked out as life continues to open up. Though the charts suggest another Doja duet will be the contender to beat (see below), Best Friend has shown impressive staying power since being released early in the yearand I only see it growing in the zeitgeist. The video itself is proof of concept for a zero-fucks-given Saweetie/Doja buddy comedy I would very much watch, but, like Lizzos Truth Hurts before it, get this songs ber-catchy chorus in a cute movie montage (or just an endless parade of trailers), and thats a wrap, folks. Jillian Mapes  Doja Cat: Kiss Me More [ft. SZA]  Several things feel off about Doja Cats new album rollout, like the fact that its coming out on Dr. Lukes label or that the whole Planet Her concept looks like what might happen if Chromatica lost its franchisee license. But you wouldnt know any of that just from hearing the lead single, which is why Kiss Me More has a perfectly good chance of following last years Doja Cat hits Say So and Like That to become a bubblegum pop-rap smash. As a song, it goes down easy: plausibly sexy but reasonably tameits mostly about French kissingwith a very vaguely tropical flavor, like a pia colada seltzer. The emotions get briefly more complicated when SZA comes in for a guest verse, but Kiss Me More isnt deep or insightful; this isnt the season for deep and insightful. This song will give tens of thousands of people coming off a period of limited social contact an immediate excuse to make out on the dancefloor. Anna Gaca  Justin Bieber: Peaches [ft. Daniel Caesar & Giveon]  The most glaring thing about Peaches is that it doesnt feel like a Justin Bieber record at first. Its instantly too smooth, too dreamy, too warm. (He takes his bad-ass bitch where?) But this is Journals-era Bieber skating over a track with two of the most tonally distinct R&B singers aroundboth of whom make him sound not only fresher but more relaxed on his own single. Daniel Caesars verse is sweet enough to forget hes singing about trading true love for Mallorca, and when the song transitions to Giveons sonorous reflections on romance as surrender, it makes for a pleasant contrast. A smooth-as-ever Usher salvages the remix from transient houseguests Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, adding lived-in harmonies to an already suave song. Sure, its easy to reject the allure of Peachesfrom the wistful opening chords to Biebers edgy ad-libs and the final finger snaps, its such a targeted summer anthem. Yet something tells me that when fall breezes start drifting in, this song will be among the few that evoke memories of a uniquely carefree, social season filled with gratitude for life, fun, and touch. Like the best fruits, neither summer nor love seems to last long enough to really savor. Clover Hope  Megan Thee Stallion: Thot Shit  For the third year in a row, Megan Thee Stallion has put forward an unimpeachable contender for song of the summer. Like Big Ole Freak and Savage before it, Thot Shit is a call-to-action for a permissive, indulgent good time: throw ass, sip something, feel yourself. Longtime collaborator LilJuMadeDaBeat offers a propulsive siren of a beat, and Meg laces it with her unwavering commandments for a season of aspirational post-pandemic debauchery. Neither the sound nor the conceit of Thot Shit are especially innovative, and that is precisely the point.