Turn It Up: Our Songs of Summer Predictions Plus the Hottest Summer Trends
From the dance floor to sandy beaches, people are celebrating the start of summer with sultry songs and temperature-raising tracks—and Spotify is getting right into the mix with our annual Songs of Summer predictions and trends. But first, let’s check out what listeners are streaming around the world.
Tracking the hottest global streams
To help visualize what’s hot worldwide, we’ve created a map that highlights the most popular tunes in more than 100 countries across the Northern Hemisphere. The map will update weekly, starting May 27, to show the latest sizzling tracks from different countries.
Click the white dots on the map below to see what’s trending in far-off destinations.
Our crystal ball of summer predictions
Each year, we publish a list of the red-hot hits our global curation team thinks will pop off this summer. The team looks at a number of factors, like streaming numbers and current trajectory, and uses future forecasting to predict Spotify’s Songs of Summer, listed here in alphabetical order:
- “4EVA (feat. Pharrell Williams)” by KAYTRAMINÉ, Aminé, KAYTRANADA
- “All My Life (feat. J. Cole)” by Lil Durk, J. Cole
- “Baby Don’t Hurt Me” by David Guetta, Anne-Marie, Coi Leray
- “Calm Down (with Selena Gomez)” by Rema, Selena Gomez
- “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift
- “Cupid – Twin Ver.” by FIFTY FIFTY
- “Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)” by Dua Lipa
- “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma
- “Fast Car” by Luke Combs
- “Favorite Song” by Toosii
- “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen
- “Miracle (with Ellie Goulding)” by Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding
- “Moonlight” by Kali Uchis
- “Not Strong Enough” by boygenius
- “Peaches & Eggplants (feat. 21 Savage)” by Young Nudy, 21 Savage
- “Rhyme Dust” by MK, Dom Dolla
- “Unavailable (feat. Musa Keys)” by Davido
- “VAGABUNDO” by Sebastian Yatra, Manuel Turizo, Beéle
- “What It Is (Solo Version)” by Doechii
- “WHERE SHE GOES” by Bad Bunny
From Coastal Cowgirl to cruel summer, here’s what’s trending
Overall, there are more than 32 million user-generated “summer” playlists on Spotify, and here are the biggest trends driving streams on Spotify this summer.*
- Seasonally relevant: When it comes to the most-streamed song with “summer” in the title, Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” takes the spot with more than 96 million streams between April 1 and May 30, 2023. Runner-ups include “Summertime Sadness” by Lana Del Rey, “Summer” by Calvin Harris, and “Summer of ’69” by Bryan Adams.
- Bringing big Barbiecore: There are over 500,000 “Barbie” and “Barbiecore” user-generated playlists on Spotify, with playlist creation spiking nearly 270% on May 26 after the Barbie film trailer was released. Top tracks are “Barbie Girl” by Aqua; “Toxic” by Britney Spears; “Wannabe” by Spice Girls; “Oops!…I Did It Again” by Britney Spears; “Barbie Tingz” by Nicki Minaj; “California Gurls” by Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg; and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper.
- The Little Mermaid makes a splash: Following its May 26 premiere, global streams of The Little Mermaid’s soundtracks, both original and new, saw a nearly 230% spike in daily average streams. Song standouts include Halle’s new rendition of “Part of Your World” and “For The First Time,” Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs’ “The Scuttlebutt,” and Jonah Hauer-King’s “Wild Uncharted Waters.”
- The vibes continue for Coastal Cowgirls: Over the last three months, we’ve seen a nearly 2,000% increase in the creation of user-generated “Coastal Cowgirl” playlists on Spotify—featuring laid-back, sun-soaked sounds from artists like Zach Bryan, Kacey Musgraves, Taylor Swift, Fleetwood Mac, Leon Bridges, The Chicks, Miley Cyrus, and John Mayer. To get more song inspo, check out our interview with Coastal Cowgirl “It” girl Paige Lorenze.
- Picking up the pickleball: As the pickleball frenzy picks up around the world, we’ve seen a more than 205% increase in “pickleball” playlist streams in May 2023 compared to May 2022. Popular tracks include “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire, “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor.
As your summertime inspiration abounds, check out our Songs of Summer playlist to listen to all of Spotify’s track predictions in one place.
*All data reflects listening in the Northern Hemisphere unless otherwise noted.