As August progresses and summer slowly comes to an end, the discourse around 2025’ssong of the summerquestions whether this year’s pool of newmusiccomes anywhere close to last year’s. This is an incredibly valid question when you remember how spoiled we were in and before summer 2024.
Charli XCX’sBratset the tone for an entire summer aesthetic. Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” finally launched her into pop superstardom alongside “Please Please Please” and the entirety ofShort n' Sweet, while rising stars likeChappell Roanand Addison Rae made their mark with “Good Luck Babe” and “Diet Pepsi.”
Now, with summer almost over,the same magic that saw the rise of some of pop’s biggest names isn’t reaching the same high. TheBillboardcharts continue to be dominated by male artists releasing fairly tame ballads and pop songs. Is it finally time to look elsewhere for summer’s biggest hits?
The Current Billboard Charts Don’t Reflect The Wider Music Landscape
At the time of writing this, Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” sits atop theBillboardHot 100 for its 9th nonconsecutive week, while Morgan Wallen’sI’m The Problemsits at No. 1 for its 11th overall week on the chart. Benson Boone’s “Mystical Magical” is an inescapable earworm alongside 2024’s Grammy-nominated hits like Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and Teddy Swims' “Lose Control.”
These songs and artists are seemingly everywhere, but what audience do they represent?Do they speak for those who treat music as an extension of their own body, analyzing every lyric and crafting playlists to fit their every mood? Or do they represent those who more often treat music as something to simply take up space in the background?
Whether you fall into the former or the latter, the fact that these songs are the ones dominating today’s summer charts is what makes people wonder if there are no contenders for this year’s bouncy, refreshing song of the summer.Our pop stars may largely be absent from releasing new music, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t existing alternatives.
K-Pop Moves Into The Mainstream With Popular Netflix Film
The bright spot that currently stands out on today’sBillboardcharts is the soundtrack to Netflix’s latest hit,KPop Demon Hunters. Amid generic-sounding pop ballads and hits that are over a year old,the film’s fictional artists easily introduce viewers and listeners to the colorfully diverse world of K-Pop.
Withtwo songs in theBillboardHot 100’s top 10and the soundtrack sitting comfortably at No. 2 on theBillboard200, it’s no wonder thousands of people are finding themselves entranced by what this genre has to offer. The characters are treated as idols online, inspiring fan edits, covers, and cosplay.
Songs like “Golden” by HUNTR/X and “Your Idol” by Saja Boys are sung mostly in English, yet they heavily resemblealready existing K-Pop songsby artists that inspired the film’s characters and music. These easy comparisons allow foran accessible avenue for fans to dip their toes into a genre that might otherwise feel too vast and overwhelming.
Summer After Summer, K-Pop Continues To Prove Itself
If you thought your household pop artists took the idea of a summer hit seriously, just wait until you see what K-Pop has to offer. Not only do thesummer-themed K-Pop tracksstart rolling out in March or April, but fans quickly become overwhelmed by how many beach-set music videos and tropical-sounding songs are available so quickly.
The release format of K-Pop is very different from what artists like Taylor Swift or Harry Styles have gotten fans used to, making it a difficult transition at first. Once you get through the summer influx of new releases, you’ll most likely be too excited to ever go back.
K-Pop groups and soloists tend to release the most music between May and August. One minute, you’re wondering where everyone is and the next, you’re wishing they had given you a better warning. Not every new single, mini-album, or full-length album is summer-themed, but a large majority of them are, some more subtle than others.
This year alone gave fans refreshing hits like"THIS IS FOR" by TWICE, “Lemon Drop” by ATEEZ, and “JUMP” by BLACKPINK, each of which debuted on theBillboardHot 100.If K-Pop is present on theBillboardcharts and sharing radio play with the songs mentioned above, why are we still pretending that this summer lacks any real contenders?
The language barrier is what most people cite as their reasoning for not getting into K-Pop, but, once you get past that, you’ll be shocked by how easy it is to appreciate the music like you would any other genre. Most artists these days have even released fully-English tracks, including TWICE and ATEEZ’s latest title tracks.
The idea of a song of the summer is something that every pop music fan focuses on year after year. While some years are better than others,it’s important to look beyond the usual handful of artists when considering different contenders. When Taylor, Olivia, and Charli take the summer off, hundreds ofK-Popartists await your attention.
