For the past 3 months, we all have been in the sun, chilling by the ocean, playing video games, possibly working our summer jobs or just sleeping for 3 months straight. You could have also been listening to this summer’s most popular jams while on your summer break, and although school is back in session, you can still go back to your summer playlist and relive the best music of this summer, from Sabrina Carpenter to Eminem, Post Malone and Morgan Wallen to many more.
Chappell Roan
Chappell Roan is an up-and-coming pop artist that has a unique style compared to other artists in the music industry. Her music often features upbeat, catchy and heartfelt lyrics while also including some storytelling, like in her song “Pink Pony Club.” Recently, Chappell has become more popular through her standalone single, “Good Luck, Babe!” that was released Apr. 5 of this year. The song has a very dream-like vibe to it and the song draws you in with its unique song style from Chappell’s vocals.
“Good Luck, Babe!” has caught the internet’s attention. Some of her other songs from the past are trending as well, like “Hot To Go!” that was originally released Aug. 11, 2023, but it is now popular and considered one of the top contenders for this year’s summer song according to the Billboard Hot 100. This track is upbeat and energetic as compared to “Good Luck, Babe.” The lyrics are playful and makes you want to dance along. At the MTV Video Music Awards on Sep. 11, Chappell was awarded the Best New Artist of the year.
Eminem
Eminem is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Eminem gained mainstream popularity with his debut album, “The Slim Shady LP,” in 1999, and over many years, he released more albums, got more awards, and became extremely famous. He is known as one of the most famous rappers ever because of his fast rapping and well put rhymes. This summer, Eminem released a single called “Houdini” on May 31 as a preview to his twelfth album, “The Death of Slim Shady.” Eminem samples songs like “Abracadabra” by the Steve Miller Band as well as his own song “Without me” as the instrumental to the song. The lyrics can be crude, but it goes back to how he used to write in his first few albums and brings back a nostalgic feeling. A music video was also posted the same day the single was published. The track was an excellent way to excite people for the album that would later be released on Jul. 12. At the MTV Video Music Awards, Eminem was awarded Best Hip-Hop for his track “Houdini.”
Post Malone and Morgan Wallen
Post Malone, a famous pop and R&B singer, is no stranger to Hollywood with many of his songs being popular like, “Sunflower” and “Rockstar.” Morgan Wallen, another famous musician who specializes in country pop, is also quite popular having released the number one song of 2023, “Last Night.” On May 10, Post Malone released a song called “I Had Some Help” featuring Morgan Wallen. The song is a mixture of country and pop, has catchy lyrics and has been played on the radio nonstop. It has been in the top 5 for over fifteen weeks.
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish is a very talented artist that has dropped many amazing tracks that reach high on the Billboard Hot 100, and she has won nine Grammys. She has three albums that are well known as well as her brand new fourth album is called “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT,” which was released May 17 this year. The album is a mixture of her original dark tunes with some intense and soft tracks. The lyrics to all the songs are deep, meaningful and often portray some of Ellish’s personal experiences. All the songs came out the same day, but some have gained more popularity than others.
The most popular track on “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” is titled “Birds of a Feather.” The song explores themes of connection, unity, friendship, and sticking with people like yourself while using a very mellow and slow tempo like most of Billie’s other songs. This song is one of Ellish’s happier songs and that may be the reason people like it so much. Some students at Hatboro-Horsham High School also love this song and have a deep connection with it; sophomore Rayana Weachter said, “Birds of a Feather reminds me of me and my sister’s relationship… my sister is going to college and I’m worried I may grow distant with her.” Another one of Billie Eilish’s popular songs is one called “Chihiro.” The song title seems to be a reference to a character named Chihiro from a film called, “Spirited Away.” In the film, Chihiro undergoes a self-discovery journey of growth. In this song, Billie seems to explore similar themes relating to the film. Unlike “Birds of a Feather” – with slow instrumental but dynamic lyrics – “Chihiro” instrumental is very upbeat, lively, and fun to dance too.
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar and Drake have been in a feud since Mar. 22, and as a result of their “beef,” four new songs have been written and released by both musicians. The media has loved three of Lamar’s songs, “Euphoria,” “Family Matters” and “Not Like Us.” In all of these songs, Lamar makes multiple comments that reference his clash with Drake, saying he’s sorry to Drake’s son for having him as a father, blatantly telling Drake he’ll make insults directly, and making accusations about Drake being a pedophile. Lamar’s latest song, “Not Like Us,” ended the feud on May 4 between the artists, and these feud-inspired tracks were no longer released by the two artists. Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” got so popular it reached number one in the charts, while Lamar’s other songs were steadily third and seventh as of their releases. Over time, most of the tracks from the feud have faded out of popularity, except for “Not Like Us,” which has remained in the top five since its release. On Sep. 8, Apple Music announced Lamar would be performing for the LIX Halftime Show on Feb. 9, 2025.
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter is a popular singer and actress in Hollywood, and she was even born in Quakertown, Pennsylvania! Carpenter was a child star from Disney Channel and has multiple albums, but her fanbase grew after the release of her newest album, “Emails I Can’t Send fwd.” “Nonsense” and “Feather,” arguably her two most popular songs from this album, reached the Billboard Hot 100.
On Apr. 11, Carpenter released a hot single called “Espresso” that dominated the charts at number three. The pop song is very upbeat and catchy, featuring energetic beats and playful lyrics that further create a fun and summery vibe. The single is great to dance to, and people loved the song so much that it has more than a billion listeners on Spotify. The very next day, Carpenter released the song’s music video. Influencers on social media platforms – like TikTok – loved the song and many believe this is going to be the song of the summer. Recently, however, at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sep. 11, Carpenter’s song, “Espresso,” was awarded the song of the year.
After the success of “Espresso,” Carpenter revealed she was releasing a new album called “Short n’ Sweet.” Three days later on Jun. 6, Carpenter released her second single, “Please Please Please,” with a music video to go along with it. This song, unlike “Espresso,” has a slower tempo and has underlines of emotional vulnerability to the man she is singing to. The song is a touching piece that also showcases a lot of her vocal abilities between going from high octaves to low ones quite quickly. Charlotte Chapman, a junior attending Hatboro-Horsham High School, likes the track as well: “I don’t know what I like about it. I just like the song and the music video.”
On Aug. 23, Carpenter finally released her album, “Short n’ Sweet.” The complete album features a collection of either upbeat tones or heartfelt ballads that all are top-notch songs.
NSYNC
Although NSYNC has only produced one song since 2002 when the band split, one song is becoming popular again, and this time it’s all because of a crude movie that has taken the box office by storm titled, “Deadpool and Wolverine.” Deadpool movies feature soundtracks that include classic rock, pop hits and even cheesy 80’s ballads that usually have an action scene playing; it was no surprise when the hit song of the movie was the classic pop hit “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC. During the scene where the track was played, Deadpool could be seen dancing to the original choreography that was made in 2000. People loved the song and comedic dance so much from the film that it became widespread across social media platforms. The song became so popular that it reentered the Billboard Hot 100 after almost 24 years since its debut.
