A dispute has been running among pop culture and music fans for the past couple of months: what was the ‘song of the summer’ for 2025?
The concept of a song of the summer is nothing new — a song that everyone knows, topped charts during summer, and universally sums up the culture of that season. This phenomenon has been a thing since recorded music first started becoming regularly distributed, in the 1990s. Some years, it was unanimous, like the 2017 hit “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber or in 2019 with “Old Town Road – Remix” by Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus Other years it can be harder to decide, such as last year’s fight between several hits, such as Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”. This past summer was another war between songs, and Mt. A students gave The Argosy their input on their favourite tunes this summer
It has been rumoured 2025 might not have a song of the summer at all. In the age of the internet, music is widespread and accessible. There are too many strong contenders for song of the summer, especially upcoming contemporary artists’ songs. According to sources such as Billboard, Forbes, and National Public Radio, there are three common top picks, including observations from Argosy reporters and data with opinions from Mt. A students that voted on a poll on The Argosy’s Instagram.
Topping the charts this year was “The Ordinary” by Alex Warren, an American singer-songwriter that was popularized by his social media presence.”The Ordinary” wins in commercial popularity, but is hard-pressed to be considered a summery beach-banging, late-night August drive type of song as a slow, passionate power ballad. Mt. A students did not agree with the data, though, giving the song a whopping six per cent of votes. Following Warren, Billboard highlighted a few other songs that are not usually mentioned in the debate, such as Morgan Wallen’s “Just In Case” or Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile”, likely for lack of that boppy summer energy.
Next in popularity according to Forbes, NPR, and Billboard is Huntr/x’s “Golden”, a power-of-friendship K-Pop song sung by singers EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI. Despite their chart-topping success, Huntr/x is not a real K-Pop group, but part of the newly released animated movie K-Pop Demon Hunters. With its inspiring mix of Korean and English lyrics and bold chords, “Golden” was a hit amongst students at Mt. A, scoring second place on the poll.
Sabrina Carpenter has been sitting on the Billboard charts since 2024’s “Espresso”, coming out with the boppy and sassy “Manchild” this summer to secure her back-to-back contention for the song of the summer. Carpenter has been exploring music for over a decade, and her summer singles have propelled her to official pop star status. Her single, “Manchild” is an example of her retro-inspired synth pop. It was the first listen from her latest album, Man’s Best Friend and was voted as the song of the summer by Mt. A students.
The next song was not mentioned by popular lists like Forbes and NPR and was a dark horse compared to other higher-ranking songs according to Billboard., This track was widely debated amongst students at Mt. A, the passionate and loud “Mystical Magical” by newcomer Benson Boone. Another upcoming popular artist, Boone rose to fame through his success on the internet through TikTok. “Mystical Magical”, is another retro-pop song like “Manchild” which gained traction with younger audiences not only due to its lyrical content but also, the trademark backflip Boone includes during his live performances. Even if it is not included in many big discussions, “Mystical Magical” made its way to late night television, such as being performed on an episode of Saturday Night Live!
Although the contenders for song of the summer were endless, polling and music critics alike have been able to narrow down a select few. With music being so widely available and quick to become popular in the age of TikTok and the internet, choosing the season’s song might grow more difficult as the years go on, especially since everyone has their own taste in music. Statistically, however, the winner is “The Ordinary”, but to the Mt. A community of students, “Manchild” is the song which defined their summer.