This summer’s lessons thus far are dire (avoid the lettuce, stay inside). This summer’s song-of-summer lessons, thankfully, are far less restrictive: hit the club (or don’t), stay hydrated (or don’t), find a seasonal hookup (or stay blessedly single). Like deciding an official soundtrack for the season, the choice is ultimately yours.
The Bonafide Contenders
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Ella Langley: “Choosin’ Texas”
Something is afoot this season with Ella Langley’s fall 2025 hit, a Miranda Lambert co-write that’s spread across grocery store aisles, karaoke rooms, and dive bars to near-total saturation. I wasn’t expecting my dyed-in-the-wool Deadhead mom to text me just how much she loved it last week, just days after my Don Toliver-loving teenaged cousin did the same. Perhaps it’s the rumored love triangle at the song’s core driving the stock, but I propose a different theory: “Choosin’ Texas” is a perfect ballad, lean and warm-blooded, the equivalent of good home cooking. —Hattie Lindert
Beyoncé: “Morning Dew (Donk)”
The summer B’Day was released, I spent countless hours in a muggy computer room studying its dynamic visuals with the kind of concentration my school teachers would have paid to see. While “Morning Dew (Donk)” was originally recorded during sessions for Beyoncé’s 2013 self-titled album, its breezy central hook—“donkey-donkey-donk/ey-donkey-donk”—was a far better fit for that sophomore LP (or at least the deluxe anniversary edition, where it will appear this fall). Produced by Pharrell and The-Dream, “Morning Dew” has an effortless beat that unites twerking claps, crepuscular chords, and the flirty swagger of Bey’s mid-aughts era. It’s made for soulful summer hookups as easily as it is the boozed up, tight-skirted girls at the club. —Kiana Mickles
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Tyla: “SHE DID IT AGAIN” [ft. Zara Larsson]
A year ago, I declared Zara Larsson’s “Midnight Sun” the song of the summer—and was nearly laughed out of our staff meeting. Well, who’s laughing now! “Midnight Sun” has ridden a Barbie-pink convertible to No. 15 on the Hot 100, and her Girls Trip remix album proved the road to main pop-girl status need not be walked alone. “SHE DID IT AGAIN” isn’t your standard summer jam—less for the streets than for the sheets, or the strip club for that matter—but it still feels like a celebration. Larsson, technically a featured artist here, and South African superstar Tyla don’t have much regard at all for the men they’re addressing; instead, their focus is on maximizing their joint slay, hyping each other up via a string of flexes (“Body like a bottle”), Y2K callbacks (“‘Oops did it again’ like Britney”), and SEO-optimized kiss-offs (“We are not a team, this is not FIFA.”) No flukes detected. —Walden Green
Olivia Rodrigo: “expectations”
The bar is in the ninth circle of hell for straight men. All a guy really needs to do to stand out in the dating scene is pay the tab and listen a little. Olivia asks for more. On “expectations” she knows what she wants: a passionate, working professional. The track was born when her longtime producer, Dan Nigro, challenged her to write a mantra song. “expectations” comes from a place of abundance; the maximalist synths are a hand to the face, shutting out unworthy suitors. Nigro closes it out by echoing the chorus’s chant “she’s got big expectations.” Set your standards high enough, the song suggests, and your reputation will eventually precede you. —Heven Haile
Drake: “Shabang”
Maid of Honour is the most consistent of the three new Drake records, but the best way to experience the triple-disc is to make your own playlist of highlights off all three. Case in point: “Shabang,” Iceman’s slinky song-of-summer contender. It’s the latest product of Drake’s underrated gift for seizing upon phrases ripe for global mind control (“hotline bling,” “God’s plan”). “Shabang” isn’t cynical, though. He kicks back with a hookah pipe and an Onda Civic over Manish and 40’s plush sample work, skipping through his nemesis’ latest album (he might’ve made some points…) and cracking jokes like the groupchat demon in your life. It’s the calm and confident Drake hit I’m rooting for this summer. —Mano Sundaresan
Madonna: “School”
Between producer Stuart Price’s exquisite continuous mix and the uncharacteristically confessional tone, Madge’s 15th album demands you commit in full; every cut here has a purpose. While there are a few legitimate song-of-the-summer contenders here (“Bring Your Love,” “Danceteria,” “L.E.S. Girl”), I’m buzzing in “School,” the breathless climax to the back-half’s introspective come down. All breathy pads, bassweight, and pitched-down male whispers, it’s sonically akin to sliding your slick, sweaty body against someone else’s, or rolling around in satin sheets. There’s a reason the entrance to Madonna’s hot-commodity Knockdown Center pop-up was between her legs. Her bag has always been body music, and “School” is Confession II’s throbbing, veiny heart. —Hattie Lindert
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
