Tag: seasonal

10 Wild Card Tracks Join Spotify’s Songs of Summer 2025 Editorial Picks

July 23, 2025

The days are longer, the nights are warmer, and the soundtrack of summer keeps evolving. Back in May, Spotify’s global editors kicked off the season with our annual Songs of Summer predictions, blending cultural expertise, editorial instinct, and streaming data to spotlight contenders for this year’s defining anthems.

But summer never stands still. Now that we’re halfway through the season, our editors are shaking up the list with 10 new “wild card” tracks—songs released since our initial reveal or experiencing a recent surge in global streams. These wild cards reflect what’s resonating with listeners right now, capturing the moments and moods dominating culture across the globe. For example, global streams of “Illegal” by PinkPantheress shot up 155% on Spotify in the last month, while Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” and Addison Rae’s “Fame is a Gun” both charted on Spotify’s Global Top 50 following their releases.

From high-speed dance floor bangers to bold main-character anthems, this year’s wild cards cut across genres and tap into the euphoric feeling of summer. There’s breezy optimism, infectious energy, and a few surprises along the way.

Spotify’s 2025 Songs of Summer: Midseason update

Listed alphabetically by artist first name; wild card picks in italics

“Our team of editors are constantly monitoring listening trends and cultural signals from around the world to understand what’s truly connecting with audiences,” said J.J. Italiano, Head of Global Music Curation and Discovery at Spotify. “Our wild card additions are a reflection of that real-time curation. Whether it’s the innovative production of ‘No Broke Boys’ or the intensity of ‘ALAMBRE PùA,’ each of these songs has captured a specific energy that listeners are gravitating toward right now. They represent the diverse sounds and stories shaping the season across borders.”

A summer celebration in Los Angeles

To toast summer’s next musical moment, Spotify’s annual Songs of Summer party landed Wednesday in Beverly Hills, featuring performances from Ravyn Lenae and Jessie Murph—two artists making waves on this year’s list.

Grab Your Sunnies and Celebrate With Our Songs of Summer Predictions

June 6, 2022

a hot pink inner tube sitting on top of a cartoon splash of water

The sun is out, the weather is warm, and it’s time to find the perfect song to pair with that umbrella in your drink. Every year as summer rolls around, the Spotify music editorial team scours all the hottest new tracks to determine which will dominate your speakers as the quintessential Songs of Summer. So apply your sunscreen, grab those shades, and get ready for our global Songs of Summer predictions for 2022. 

Again this year, the songs that speak to long hazy summer days, beach trips, and cool drinks span many genres—hip-hop, Latin, pop, country, indie, dance, and more—as well as moods, so there’s a song for every moment. 

As you’re planning the next summer soiree, might we suggest adding “As It Was” by Harry Styles and “Big Energy” by Latto to your queue? Or cranking up “Ojitos Lindos” by Bad Bunny (feat. Bomba Estéreo) when you’re hanging poolside? How about pressing play on Post Malone and Doja Cat‘s new track “I Like You (A Happier Song)” as you kick off your vacation road trip?

And there’s more where those came from. Without further ado, Spotify’s Songs of Summer 2022 predictions, in alphabetical order:

To determine this list of songs, which we predict will be on repeat over the next three months, our curation teams pay attention to a number of factors, including the track’s current trajectory and cultural impact, combined with forecasting based on prior years’ knowledge of what tends to pop throughout the summer. But we also took this moment to see what other summer trends are emerging as people start to enjoy more fun in the sun.

The temperature is rising on these summer trends

Summer is a time to shed layers and get out in the sun—we all know about 2019’s viral “hot girl summer” moment. Now, there are nearly 170,000 “hot girl summer” user-generated playlists on Spotify worldwide. And this year, we’re already seeing new seasonal themes emerge.

User-generated “feral girl summer” playlists have surged more than 320% in the past three months.  Some of the top-added songs include “Psycho” by Maisie Peters, “Get Into It (Yuh)” by Doja Cat, “Thot Shit” by Megan Thee Stallion, “I Did Something Bad” by Taylor Swift, “Promiscuous” by Nelly Furtado (feat. Timbaland), and “Act Up” by City Girls.

Searches for “coconut girl summer” have surged nearly 950% this year, with top-added songs for these playlists including “Island in the Sun” by Weezer, “Diet Mountain Dew” by Lana Del Rey, “Santeria” by Sublime, “Malibu” by Miley Cyrus, and “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley & The Wailers. 

The “coastal grandmother” trend is buzzing on Spotify as well—average daily plays of related playlists have skyrocketed nearly 5,000% over the last month!

a graphic design that's yellow, blue and green that lists songs that make up coastal grandmother playlists on Spotify

And when it comes to the drink of summer, some fans think that Dirty Shirleys are in. That seems to be true on Spotify—”dirty shirley” user-generated playlists saw nearly a 95% spike in average daily plays over the past month.

Makin’ a splash

We’re bringing back the Songs of the Summer chart for the second year in a row, so you can keep track of your favorite artists all summer long and see whose hits are climbing as the temperature rises. Follow @SpotifyCharts on Instagram and Twitter to catch the latest Songs of the Summer chart published every Wednesday, starting this week on June 8, 2022.

Grab your favorite ice-cold beverage—whether it’s a cool lemonade or a Dirty Shirley—and listen to our full Songs of Summer playlist below. And as we know, all good things come to an end—including summer. Check back here as the weather cools to learn which song was crowned the most-streamed song of the summer.

The New Summer Breakouts Playlist Is Your Soundtrack for the Season

June 28, 2021

What’s the soundtrack to your summer? At Spotify, we’re taking bets on which breakout artists and songs will be racking up streams and sharing these songs in our new Summer Breakouts playlist, available to users across the U.S. and Canada.

Curated by Spotify’s editorial experts with tracks they predict will pop off this summer, the playlist also ranks the order in which they appear to fit each user’s taste based on the music they love.

 

From artists like BIA and Tai Verdes to Dayglow and Audrey Nuna, the playlist provides a range of new music to explore. Each week, the songs on the playlist will refresh, giving you more artists and tracks to discover and share. No matter your plans, you’ll have the perfect summer playlist for any moment. 

Ready to discover the artists and songs that we think will hit it big this season? Check out the Summer Breakouts playlist.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXbAmP7AvWeiR