As the world has gotten a slice of pre-coronavirus normalcy this summer, it has gotten new music and even a few concerts. New summer jams like Lorde’s “Solar Power”, Doja Cat’s “Ain’t Shit” and Lizzo’s “Rumors” featuring Cardi B have joined releases from earlier this year that stayed in people’s regular rotations like “Peaches” by Justin Bieber, “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” by Lil Nas X and “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat featuring SZA.
For the rest of the time we have warm weather (or when you start missing the warmth once the snow starts falling), here is my collective list of all the best music from this summer:
Starting off strong with some albums from the spring that have consistently been in everyone’s headphones. Leading the pack are ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE by BROCKHAMPTON and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift, both released on April 9. The singles “Buzzcut” and “Count on Me” from ROADRUNNER have never brought anyone bad vibes and fit with just about any summer playlist. “Taylor’s Version” of “Love Story” was released back in February but in addition to the third single and ‘From the Vault’ track, “Mr. Perfectly Fine”, the two are great to play at full volume anywhere, anytime.
The month of May brought several highly-anticipated albums including Better Mistakes by Bebe Rexha, SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo and Scaled And Icy by Twenty One Pilots. Rexha’s “Break My Heart Myself” and “Sacrifice” both trended on TikTok and have over 30,000 combined videos using them. Following the success of “driver’s license”, Rodrigo’s debut album included the tracks “good 4 u” and “deja vu” that each amassed millions of uses on TikTok. SOUR also included songs like “traitor” and “favorite crime” that pair well with any case of summertime sadness. Scaled And Icy, the sixth studio album by Columbus, Ohio, natives Twenty One Pilots, was released May 21 following their April 2020 single “Level of Concern”, written about the pandemic.
June was very busy for the music industry, including (but not limited to) new albums such as Culture III by Migos (June 11th), Planet Her by Doja Cat (June 25th), Home Video by Lucy Dacus (June 25th), I Know I’m Funny haha by Faye Webster (June 25th) and Call Me If You Get Lost by Tyler, The Creator (June 25th). Planet Her tracks “Ain’t Shit” and “Get Into It (Yuh)” are still popular on social media as the album remains high up on the Billboard album chart two months post-release. Lucy Dacus’ “Hot & Heavy” has over 5.3 million streams on Spotify and several other tracks have over a million. Tyler, The Creator’s single “WUSYANAME” has been a fan favorite song of the summer.
The second half of July brought in Sling by Clairo, Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night by Bleachers and Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever. The latter took over millions of ears with singles such as “Therefore I Am” and “Lost Cause” before the album hit streaming services on July 30th. Her highly anticipated second album is still at No. 1 atop Billboard’s album chart and its high amount of sales should come as no surprise solely based on the success her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?. Sling provides a more chilled out, relaxed happiness. You can picture yourself with a cold drink on a front porch swing when listening, perfect for a breezy summer day. Bleachers’ third studio album, Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night feels like the soundtrack of a movie and radiates the same energy as late-night summer hang outs with friends.
August isn’t over quite yet, but it will come to a close having consisted of some exciting new music. Lizzo came back with a bang on August 13 with the single “Rumors” featuring Cardi B after having not released music since April 2019. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and currently has over 23.7 million streams on Spotify. The self love and female empowerment themes of “Rumors” have consistently been present in Lizzo’s music — “Truth Hurts” and “Good as Hell”, for example — and there is no doubt that won’t continue as we enter this new era of her career. Lorde also made a similar highly-anticipated return with the single “Solar Power” back in June and her third album of the same name came out on August 20. Its melancholy yet whimsical tones give it a lighter, more upbeat feel than her previous album Melodrama.
Overall, this summer has been one of my favorites when it comes to new music. I know I will still be jamming to most– if not all– of these songs once the leaves are no longer green and snow starts to dust the ground.
Tate Raub is a sophomore studying strategic communication at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Tate know by tweeting her @tatortot1310
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