Charli xcx, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar: Who has the song of the summer for 2024?

In recent years, the “song of the summer” has lost much of its meaning: it’s become a marketing ploy to bolster an artist’s streams, or it’s prematurely declared before the summer even begins (eg. Sabrina Carpenter’s chart-topper “Espresso”). To switch things up, we asked our favourite music writers to ignore the charts and the hype, and to share the song that they feel best represents their vibe this summer.

Charli xcx: 365

Much ink has already been spilled about the “summer of ‘brat.’” In addition to being the most acclaimed album of the year (it currently holds an astounding score of “95” on Metacritic), Charli xcx’s sixth LP also “highlights how many young women currently aspire to live,” according to a recent piece in the Guardian: “dirty, hedonistic, happy and braless.” Personally, I can’t speak to the specifics of the “brat” phenomenon, which has taken over both online and physical spaces this summer. As a long-time Charli fan, I’m mostly just happy that the album that finally pushed the English singer-songwriter into the pop stratosphere is one that embraces and elevates her roots as a hyperpop pioneer and club-rat provocateur.

Pondering my song of the summer, I didn’t immediately think of “brat” — my shortlist includes Tems’s “Burning,” Tinashe’s “Nasty Girl,” Waxahatchee’s “Right Back to It,” Dehd’s “Dog Days” and This Is Lorelei’s “All F — ked Up.” But no song hypes me up quite like “365,” the closing track and the evil twin of the album’s hit single “360.”

An ode to the skittish euphoria of a drug-fuelled party lifestyle — “No, I never go home, don’t sleep, don’t eat Just do it on repeat” — “365” the track opens as a redux of “360.” But it takes a wild turn in its second minute — producer A.G. Cook introduces a squelching acid bass line that could have Aphex Twin shaking his ass, before transforming the song a second time into a booming four-on-the-floor rave-up. Taken together, the song is a perfect metaphor for the summer of 2024: noisy, chaotic, unpredictable, desperate, and constantly on the verge of utter collapse. — Richie Assaly

Charli xcx performs alongside Troye Sivan at Scotiabank Arena on Sept. 18.

Camila Cabello feat. Drake: Hot Uptown

If you had told me a month ago that my 2024 draft pick for song of the summer would be a collaboration between Drake and Camila Cabello, I would’ve clutched my pop-loving pearls. But get into your car, roll down the windows, and let the polluted Toronto air weave through your fingers while blasting “Hot Uptown” and try to deny it. I challenge your hips to feel that buoyant, beach-ready rhythm and stay still. I dare you to hear those lusty back-and-forths between Drake and Camila and not slip into main character mode.

The best summer songs are escapist, and “Hot Uptown” takes you places. You’re on a club’s sweaty dance floor, hair and makeup somehow still perfectly intact. You’re getting ready for one of those quintessential summer nights that could go in a million directions. But in the way the track sounds like “More Life” vintage Drake, you’re also travelling back in time to a pre-Kendrick beef era, when Toronto’s ‘6ix God’ delivered cringe-less bangers. Nothing pairs with a hot summer day quite like pop, nostalgia and a cold one. — Emilie Hanskamp

Shaboozey: A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Quick PSA: if you’re embarrassed to admit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey has a complete chokehold on you this summer, don’t be! Look, does Shaboozey have all the makings of a one-hit wonder? Absolutely. Is the song a bit corny? Yeah. But does belting it at the top of your lungs with your best friends over a few too many Mooseheads by the water make you feel like you will be young forever? Hell yes. Chances are, three years from now, we will all look back and grit our teeth, ashamed that for a fleeting moment, it was our favourite song, but personally, it is already a tune that will forever time-stamp a particular period of my life.

On top of that, we are in the middle of a pretty incredible Black Country renaissance (Beyoncé pun intended). This year, we have seen two Black artists, for the first time, simultaneously hold the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts, with Beyoncé doing it back in February with “Texas Hold Em’” and Shaboozey following suit this month with “A Bar Song (Tipsy). While everyone loves Beyoncé, Shaboozey’s blend of easygoing country and hip-hop is the arguably better gateway into the genre. If you enjoy him you should check out Cleve Francis, Willie Jones or Rhiannon Giddens. — Vernon Ayiku

Shaboozey plays the Danforth Music Hall on Sept. 13.

MJ Lenderman: She’s Leaving You

Summer is a time for young love. Or at least that’s what many summertime hits would have you believe. But what about the unlucky in love? What about the soon-to-be divorced dads still in denial? Cue the latest single from unassuming indie rock sensation MJ Lenderman. Over guitar licks reminiscent of ‘90s-era Built to Spill, Lenderman breaks it to his oblivious buddy that it’s just too late: “No time to apologize for the things you do.” His advice? “Go rent a Ferrari and sing the blues, believe that Clapton was the second coming.” It would all be too bleak if it wasn’t so damn catchy.

That seems to be Lenderman’s specialty. The 25-year-old from Asheville, North Carolina has turned heads as the guitarist in the shoegaze-cum-country band Wednesday and for his 2022 breakout album “Boat Songs,” which featured lyrics about cussing neighbours, dead heroes and a “beat-down rodeo clown.” One critic recently called him a “generational songwriting talent.” Lenderman is indeed a wry wordsmith, but it can be easy to miss the joke. By the end of “She’s Leaving You,” it’s not his voice singing that refrain but that of Karly Hartzman, Wednesday’s frontwoman — and his recent ex. — Ben Mussett

On Oct. 19, Lenderman plays a sold-out show at Lee’s Palace in support of his upcoming album “Manning Fireworks”.

Billie Eilish: Lunch

Billie Eilish might have the finest pop album of 2024 on her hands in the form of the astonishingly deep, mature and three-dimensional “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” but we’ll see what the field has to offer over the next five months. In the meantime, the Los Angeles-bred prodigy – and her producer brother Finneas O’Connell – can easily stake claim to what stood on delivery, still stands and probably will stand for the duration as the single of the year with “Lunch.”

This thing just doesn’t get old and continues to fend off all contenders to the throne, including Eilish’s own utterly bonkers follow-up epic “L’Amour de Ma Vie.” “Lunch” is inexhaustible in its appeal. A casual slab of Sapphic erotica (“I could eat that girl for lunch / As she dances on my tongue / Tastes like she could be the one”) set to a delectably sauntering bassline, the tune plays around with its central simplicity so expertly – through Eilish’s endlessly clever lyrics (“She’s the headlights / I’m the deer”) and equally clever vocal affectations and the artful deployment of effects, layered atmospherics and coy guitar twang here and there to flesh out its sinewy minimalism – that it gives you something new to chew on every time you hit “repeat.” And hit “repeat” you do. Because when the stabs of electro-shocked post-rave “whooomp/whooomp” suddenly kick the whole affair to an entirely unanticipated next level of awesomeness you didn’t even know the song needed at the 2:25 mark and usher you to a point of absolute, delirious satisfaction at being in the presence of a perfect pop song it cuts out mere seconds later. Begging you to hit “repeat.” And hit “repeat” you do. Because it’s a perfect pop song.

This tune is nuts. Nuts. Nuts on a number of levels worth exploring from various cultural, pop-historical and sociological contexts down the road, but for the purposes of this discussion “Lunch” is simply the pop hit to beat for 2024, summer and beyond. — Ben Rayner

Chappell Roan: HOT TO GO!

Chappell Roan released “Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” in 2023, but these synth-pop bangers landed in my playlist this spring, positioning Roan for prime summer rotation. Roan is a queer pop icon, singing about longing, hook-up culture and the drag of compulsory heterosexuality with a kind of sardonic ebullience I’ve never encountered before (Sabrina Carpenter comes close — maybe it’s a Gen-Z thing?) “HOT TO GO!” is my song of summer because it’s pure fun. There’s counting, spelling, a fast beat, and playful lyrics narrating a hook-up quest. Not only that, but it mentions the heat (classic song of summer move!), doubles as a calisthenics workout, and most importantly, it’s the kind of joyful song that 12-year-old me would have learned the dance to at a sleepover. — Katie Daubs

Kendrick Lamar: Not Like Us

On its face, “Not Like Us” is merely a fun West Coast-coated rap track that’s immensely danceable. Employing producer Mustard to soundtrack a summer anthem with a catchy hook, snaps, slick one- and two-liners and memorable lines has been a known hit recipe for nearly a decade.

But with its context of Lamar’s ongoing beef with Drake, “Not Like Us” — a venom-dripping diss track that’s corroded Drake’s legacy — is tailor-made to haunt him everywhere he goes. It’s on TikTok spawning dance trends. It’s on YouTube, where the music video is interwoven with pro-community cuts and anti-Drake imagery. It was also on Twitch, where thousands tuned in live to watch Lamar’s “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” concert on Juneteenth, where Lamar played “Not Like Us” five times in a row with an ever-growing onstage crowd.

Most importantly, it’s overrun Drake’s home base: the club. Every night.

“Not Like Us” is everywhere, and every form of interaction has been a pleasure to consume. The dances are cool, the music video is vibrant, and the concert was effervescent. The song has become so ubiquitous that lyrics to diss Drake that were originally the whole meal of the song have receded into becoming part of a larger platter. Lamar’s ability to merge the song’s vivacious production with his jubilant deconstruction of Drake has made it one of the most memorable songs in years. — Démar Grant

Gracie Abrams (feat. Taylor Swift): us

A wordy track laced with allusions to poets and heartbreak might be an unlikely contender for song of the summer. But Gracie Abrams and Taylor Swift make it work, on a lilting, pulsating anthem called “us.,” from Abrams’ sophomore album, “The Secret of Us.”

The song’s an antidote to the bubble gum glimmer of Sabrina Carpenter and the hyperpop of Charli XCX, an intense and introspective banger about longing and regret. In the production we hear classic Abrams flourishes, the stacked vocals and hazy percussion, but the bridge is pure Swift, recognizable from its sharp lyrics and relentless thrums of electric guitar.

“That night you were talking false prophets and profits; they make up the margins of poetry sonnets,” croon the starlets, twin flames in clever songwriting. “You never read up on it — shame, could’ve learned something — Robert Bly on my nightstand, gifts from you, how ironic,” they continue, weaving in licks of ethereal ukulele and strings.

“us.” is a great song of the summer in the same way Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life” is a great beach read — it’s not all sunshine and pool parties, but you can’t put it down. This is one of Abrams’ catchier crooners and one of Swift’s more balanced collaborations; at times, you can’t tell who’s singing, and the sonic texture of the track makes for a fascinating listening experience. — Aisling Murphy

Gracie Abrams will open all six Toronto dates on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, taking place in November.

Olivia Rodrigo: Obsessed

With pun fully intended, I am so obsessed with Olivia Rodrigo’s latest single from the deluxe (or “Spilled”) edition off her sophomore album “Guts.” Rock isn’t going to be fading into obscurity any time soon if this firebrand has anything to do with it. “obsessed” pairs timeless youthful angst with a fun, singalong chorus that both kids wearing Nirvana T-shirts and their parents can appreciate. The under-three minute earworm features punk-approaching riffs from both producer-in-crime Dan Nigro and Rodrigo mentor and guitar heroine St. Vincent. Rodrigo may only be 21, but she definitely knows how to expand her fan base to gen-Xers like myself — in the last year alone she’s declared Rage Against the Machine as one of her all-time favourite bands, in addition to releasing “obsessed” on vinyl as part of “Guts: The Secret Tracks” (Via Jack White’s Third Man Records to boot!) Another legitimizing highlight has been having the iconic Breeders join her on the still-ongoing Guts World Tour. — Gilles LeBlanc

Speed: The First Test

Between the distorted guitars and groovy bass lines, there’s a secret weapon to the second half of Speed’s track “The First Test,” one of the singles off their first LP “Only One Mode” that came out earlier this month. It’s a rather unusual and unexpected addition to a song by a band in the hardcore punk scene, which often focuses on heavy breakdowns, tough-guy lyrics, and violent moshing and dancing. But in this instance, it’s angelic and kind of peaceful — and it surprisingly works?

Yeah, it’s a freakin’ flute. Don’t knock it until you listen to it.

The Australian band, known for their crushingly electric live performances, have taken the genre up a notch, and are experimenting in ways that most bands wouldn’t dare to (plus, it’s helpful when your lead vocalist is a classically trained musician). Hot on the heels of an impressive spring North American tour opening up for metalcore giants Knocked Loose, Speed is taking the hardcore scene across the globe by storm, and it’s clear they’re not going to be slowing down anytime soon.

The summer’s the time to be active, and if you’re looking for a good pick-me-up before a workout or a long drive to the cottage (with the windows down and volume on full blast, of course), then “The First Test” might be that dose of musical medicine you’re looking for. — Justin Smirlies

Earth, Wind & Fire: September

Confession time: I haven’t found a 2024 vibe that meets my criteria as my go-to musical celebration of summer. It’s not that there isn’t, in my opinion, a lot of good songs out there this year; there just aren’t a lot of great ones that properly reflect the carefree jubilation of a season we all wait nine months to rejoice and inhabit.

And for the song in question to qualify and pass my litmus test, it must contain the following elements: light, festive lyrics; an exultant arrangement beefed up with great horn blasts; a soul-stirring, uplifting tempo that sets my limbs in motion and a punchy, irresistible melody that buries itself so immediately and deeply into my cranium that I groove on it for days — whether it’s on a listening device or on repeat in my head — without tiring of it.

Combine those essentials and you have my perennial summer favourite — the irresistible, irrepressible “September” by R&B geniuses Earth, Wind And Fire. Co-written by EWF singer Maurice White and guitarist Al McKay and lyricist Allie Willis and recorded in 1978, this incredibly fun anthem kicks in from note one: a dual guitar-and-bongo buildup into a call-and-response explosion of horns and an uncontainable groove before the briefest moment silence before White sings, “Do you remember/the 21st of September” and then the euphoria kicks in.

True, the tune addresses the last day of the season, but every time I hear this happy love song — without fail — it floods me with nostalgic memories of summer romance, sandy beaches, humid weather, spontaneous dancing, refreshing drinks and beautiful, bikini-clad women lounging around the pool and working on their tans without a worry in the world.

It is the sound of sunshine. — Nick Krewen

You don’t have to wait until September to see Earth, Wind & Fire — the group plays Budweiser Stage on July 23.