Sunshine, serotonin, and vibes. That’s all we wanted out of this Summer season, which means bops, bops, bops. As the season begins to wind down, we know all of you (like us) have spent the summer in the perfect swimsuit, polishing those sunglasses, streaming viral tunes, and curating perfect “Song Of The Summer” playlists, but before you throw in your beach towel, allow us to offer up some fiery suggestions for you to consider.
So grab your sunscreen, a floppy hat, and your favorite summertime drink because we’re about to turn up the heat (while we still can) with these 12 songs that should be contenders for your song of the summer!
‘Pick Your Poison’ – Knox
We’ve been fans of Knox since before the release of his viral TikTok hit ‘Sneakers,’ and have seen him live five times! He’s becoming one of our favorite singer-songwriters of all time (seriously, we may have put him on this list twice!), and ‘Pick Your Poison’ is one of our favorite singles off his debut album Going Going Gone. It’s also one of the best songs for Song of the Summer, with hypnotic beats and inviting lyrics; it’s hard not to dance along to this track as we enjoy a lounge by the pool. The high-energy Knox gave us with this track turns us into feral versions of ourselves (in a good way), and we could parkour our way up a skyscraper as long as we’re listening to it.
We can’t wait for this song to get its true day in the spotlight – like we NEED it to have its day asap. Stream Going Going Gone here!
‘give me a break!’ – Michael Clifford ft. Awsten Knight
We’ve been screaming into the abyss about MC1 for years now, and when Michael announced his first single, ‘Cool’ off his debut album, we thought we’d never recover. Then he went and released a song with THE Awsten Knight from WATERPARKS, and it’s put us in an early grave. The concept is intellectually deep and captivating, but it’s presented in an entertaining and lighthearted way. This collab has us in a chokehold, and we have it on every Summer playlist we’ve created since its release. It’s fun, quirky, and everything we could have asked for from a Michael Clifford song. Stream his album Sidequest here!
‘TOO BAD’ by G-Dragon ft. Anderson .Paak
The king is back, and we are obsessed with this song! It’s perfect for any pool party or summer celebration. You can dance to it if that’s your vibe, or have it on in the background while you sip a summer drink and mingle with the masses. It showcases the talent G-Dragon has – from the lyrics to the dancing; it’s very versatile, and will add some life and fun to any summer playlist (and therefore your summer hangs). We love how this song makes us feel and will always jump at the opportunity to turn it on and turn it up!
‘Sunsetter’- Calum Hood
Speaking of being put in a choke-hold, CALUM HOOD! We never expected to get MC1 and CH1 all in the same year, but here we are! ‘Sunsetter’ is a track off Calum’s debut album ORDER Chaos ORDER. Unlike most of the songs on this list, ‘Sunsetter’ is for those who enjoy more slowed-down, chill summer anthems. You get all the best parts of a catchy summer tune, but presented in a more relaxing way, and we absorb every second of this song like we absorb the sun rays shining down on us. It’s the perfect summer reset song! Stream the album here!
‘Voyager’ -KIHYUN
This song feels like driving down an open highway with the windows down, sun shining on our skin, and the speakers blasting as we turn up the volume. It encompasses all the vibes of a summer day and takes us to paradise with every note as the vocals serenade our senses like a perfect summer sweet treat and invite us back for more – how could we say no? It’s also on our current obsession playlist, so we’re qualified to tell you that it needs a home on your playlists – ASAP!
‘Voicemail’ – Knox
‘Pick Your Poison’ may have been our favorite single off Knox’s debut album, but ‘Voicemail?’ That’s our favorite Knox song of all time! We’ve had it on repeat since the album came out, and we would be shocked if it wasn’t our #1 song of the year. If we could have put the entire Going Going Gone album on this list, we would have! With a sound reminiscent of an early 2000s angsty, coming-of-age movie soundtrack, we fell in love with it the moment it trickled through our speakers and altered our brain chemistry for the better. We pretty much replaced all of our oxygen with this song, so we knew it’d be our song of the summer, and we predict it may be high on the list as yours, too!
‘Could Be Love’ – poolhouse
We found this song on TikTok, and one user said that “this song could be the new ‘Teenage Dirtbag'” (a bold statement to make) with just a few tweaks! Naturally, it sparked our curiosity, and we stayed for the show. We loved it immediately (of course, we did), even before the edited version, and whether or not you agree with the above statement, we think you’ll love it anyway! It’s a chill summer tune that will have everyone singing along in no time, and max out the relaxation vibes.
‘Manchild’ – Sabrina Carpenter
We couldn’t make a summer songs playlist without including this gem! We can get down to this song – anywhere and anytime. It’s not quite what we’re used to seeing from Sabrina, but we love it all the same. It’s a hypnotic tune with all the sunshine vibes (well, maybe minus the lyrics, LOL), and we’ve blasted this beauty from our pool speaker all summer long. It’s the best pool song around, and if you don’t believe us, jump in and find out!
‘I Feel Good’ -BOYNEXTDOOR
Have you heard? This is THE summer of rockin’ K-pop tracks, and this song by BOYNEXTDOOR is high on our list of seasonal bombshells. It’s very catchy and invites us to dance around like there’s no tomorrow. We might call this the summer of dance because of how many of the songs on this list make us want to get up and move our feet. ‘I Feel Good’ is the perfect name for a song that makes us feel like sunshine is radiating out of our chests, and it will make your summer playlists hot. Hot. HOT!
‘cliché’ by MGK
We LOVE MGK so much, and this song gives us so much serotonin that our brains transcend into a deep state of happiness. ‘Cliche’ is one of our favorite songs on this list with such fun melodies and poetic lyrics – this song lives rent-free in our heads all day! It made its way onto all of our summer playlists this season, and it may be in the running for our favorite MGK song ever. You won’t regret adding it to your playlists and indulging in a little taste of summer!
‘Sick Of Me’- Alex Coles ft. maryjo
We are obsessed with this song! We’ve had it on repeat since its release, so we could learn every beat drop, lyric, and guitar riff and put on a GRAMMY Award-winning performance. It became our whole personality tbh. It’s one of those songs that lures you in and takes over your senses with every note – a sign of a masterpiece. It’s the perfect hypnotic dance anthem for any summer celebration that needs ALLLLL the vibes.
‘Lemon Drop’ – ATEEZ
Yet another K-pop song that has made our list for being hot hot HOT this summer! It’s one of the recent releases that has lived in our head rent-free as we survived the summer heat, and it’s all we can do to contain ourselves when we hear that first beat drop at the beginning of the song. ATEEZ sure know how to bring the heat themselves with their killer dance moves and harmonious vocals that put us in a trance every single time. It’s no surprise this track would be in the running for song of the summer!
We want to hear from you! What song is your Song of The Summer? Did we list it here? Which song from our list did you vibe with the most? Let us know in the comments below or by tweeting us @TheHoneyPOP! You can also hit us up on Facebook and Instagram!
Craving more sweet tunes? We’ve got just the thing!
