Caption: Artists featured on Billboard’s 2025 Songs of the Summer list.
Credit: https://www.billboard.com/charts/summer-songs/
What is a “Song of the Summer?” The term “Song of the Summer” refers to a song that dominates pop culture and embodies the season. A song like this is catchy, upbeat, and evokes memories of summer. In 2022, the song was “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush according to Billboard. This song, although released in 1985, was brought back and used in the latest season of the show, “Stranger Things 4.” After a long awaited release, fans eagerly blew through the season, excited to find out what Hawkins’ fate was. The song became somewhat of the season’s theme song, and who knew that Kate Bush would become so popular with teens years later. The summer of 2023 brought a wave of country to popular music. Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” was played everywhere from the Carolina mountains to the Gulf Coast beaches to the West Coast. Madeline Sappington (10th) remembers Summer 2023, “I remember hearing that song a lot, in the car on the radio and other places.” said Sappington. While Wallen as an artist was somewhat controversial, there’s no doubt, “something tells me this ain’t over yet” will bring back summer memories for many, for years to come. When polling Pace Academy high school students about their choice for the song of this summer, there wasn’t a clear winner. While the majority included artists from Billboard’s top hits such as Sabrina Carpenter, ROLE MODEL, Sombr, Kendrick Lamar and Morgan Wallen, it is not surprising that answers varied. We have a very diverse student body. Summer plans and experiences are unique. Why is it that a certain song can bring back specific, vivid memories? According to the Georgia Institute of Technology, different areas of your brain, such as the hippocampus (responsible for storing and retrieving memories) and the amygdala (the emotional center) are working alongside the ears when you listen to music. “This is partly why certain songs are not only memorable but also deeply emotional.” said Yiren Ren, an Adjunct Researcher in Cognitive Brain Science, at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Unsurprisingly, given the explosion of new music this summer and the variety of ways to access it, there was no clear Pace Academy “Song of the Summer.” However, if you hear your song of the summer 20 years from now, you will think back on the times you spent with your friends by the water, a family road trip to see relatives, or maybe your first summer job. Whatever you were listening to, we hope you had a great summer.