Tag: Talia Kraines

Your Summer 2026 Soundtrack? Spotify’s Predictions Are In

May 29, 2026

The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify’s global editors have been keeping a close eye on the musical landscape and are ready to unveil the songs they think could shape this year’s soundtrack.

“I think above everything, we all know that a song of the summer is about the vibes,” said Talia Kraines, Editorial Lead, Pop at Spotify. “It’s a song that makes you feel good, that you can listen to outside in the sunshine with your friends, and that has the ability to travel across genres, people, and countries.”

From hot new releases to chart-climbing anthems and surprise viral hits, our picks are made for beach days, road trips, rooftop parties, and everything in between.

And for the first time, we’re letting listeners predict the song they think will be the season’s biggest hit with in-app voting. Just tap “Vote” at the top of the Songs of Summer playlist, then share your pick on social media or via Spotify Messages.

Songs of Summer 2026 predictions

Dance music is a summer staple, but this year we’re seeing several party-ready tracks turning up the heat with a nostalgic twist. “New Religion” (Bebe Rexha and Faithless) and “Jamaican (Bam Bam)” (HUGEL and SOLTO) sample sounds from summers past, while “Talk To You” (ANOTR and 54 Ultra) and “DANCE…” (Slayyyter) channel disco, ’90s house, and early 2000s French electronica.

But the energy doesn’t stop there. Artists from Ghana to Colombia are keeping partygoers moving this season with internationally-inspired sounds. “Kakalika” by DopeNation fuses Ghanaian azonto with South African Amapiano, while “CHÉVERE” by ARIA VEGA and Ryan Castro brings Caribbean and Latin Afrobeats energy. 

Sadboy summer is also trending. Songs like “Freakin’ Out” by Dexter and The Moonrocks, “Babydoll” by Dominic Fike, and “Earrings” by Malcolm Todd are perfect for nights when you’re looking for something moodier.

And for storytelling in song, country is taking us places. Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” and STELLA LEFTY’s “Boston” are rooted in specific locations, evoking the warmth and reflection of long summer nights.

Without further ado, here are Spotify’s 2026 Songs of Summer predictions, listed in alphabetical order by artist first name. 

Whether it’s a pop powerhouse, an Afrobeats groove, or a dancefloor-ready hit, these songs all have one thing in common: the potential to define summer 2026.

Stay tuned! We’ve got more surprises coming all summer long. 

It’s Never Too Early To Spread Festive Cheer, Our Spotify Holiday Singles Are Here

October 15, 2024

The air is turning crisp, and it won’t be long until everyone is walking around with an extra jingle in their step. As our listeners are continuing to seek holiday music earlier and earlier each year, Spotify is ready to give listeners an additional dose of holly jolly with our newly released Spotify Singles as part of our Holiday Collection.

Every year, a selection of artists can choose to record a cover of a classic holiday hit, or an original song that channels the spirit of the season. For 2024, we have five tracks to add to your holiday playlist. “We worked very carefully with each of our artists to pick the perfect holiday song for them—taking into account things like production style, voice, tone, and personality,” explained Talia Kraines, Senior Editor of U.S. Pop at Spotify.

This year’s festive hits are:

“Run Rudolph Run” by Mark Ambor

“Holiday Road” by Kesha

“River” by Max Richter

“Driving Home for Christmas” by Dasha

“Emanuel” by Miel San Marcos

Each track brings a sense of nostalgia as listeners hear some of their favorite seasonal lyrics in a whole new way. “Mark Ambor’s ‘Run Rudolph Run’ is a really rootsy, fun version of the song where you can hear the production he uses in his album, Rockwood, shine through,” said Talia. “It’s authentic and feels very real to him.”

“‘Driving Home for Christmas’ is a holiday song that is huge in the U.K. and Europe but isn’t known very well in the U.S. We saw this as a great opportunity to give this holiday song a whole new audience in America with Dasha while sharing a new version for countries where the song is already beloved,” she adds

And while the ’80s hit “Holiday Road”—despite its name—isn’t a traditional favorite, Kesha’s pop twist makes it a fun, upbeat track perfect for the season. “Her vocals make me think of The Go-Gos or The Bangles here,” noted Talia. “It feels like a monumental year for Kesha, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it—she’s reclaiming her joy and owning her own voice.” 

Find these tracks, as well as past Spotify Holiday Singles in our Holiday Collection playlist.

Introducing Spotify’s 2024 Global Songs of Summer—and Why These Top 5 Tracks Reigned Supreme

August 28, 2024

Every summer, as people across the Northern Hemisphere seek out the perfect songs to soundtrack the season, Spotify is right there with them. The fun starts in early June with our annual Songs of Summer predictions featuring the red-hot hits our global team of editors thinks will pop off. This year, we even gave you our first-ever midsummer update with the top 15 songs from our original list, plus five new wild card additions.

Now, for the big end-of-summer reveal, we’re doing things a little differently. Instead of picking one winner based on streams alone, we’re presenting our Global Top 5 Songs of Summer to capture a more dynamic view of the sounds and moments that soundtracked the season. We also took a more holistic approach to our process, using Spotify streaming data, the expertise of our music editorial team, and cultural impact as criteria.

“Our editors are constantly watching culture evolve and seeing how the music landscape ebbs and flows during certain moments in time,” said Spotify’s Talia Kraines, Senior Editor, U.S. Pop. “The Songs of Summer we’ve chosen this year really reflect the wide variety of sounds our listeners were finding joy in throughout the season, and what resonated with them culturally. We looked beyond the charts—although they still played an important role—to see which songs became a staple in culture throughout the summer. These tracks really encapsulate the unique moods listeners have been leaning into.”

So without further ado, here are the five songs that defined summer 2024 for our listeners around the world—from female pop breakthroughs to country’s global surge to instant hip-hop classics, as featured on our official Songs of Summer playlist.

Spotify’s Global Top 5 Songs of Summer

(Listed alphabetically by artist first name)

“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” – Billie Eilish

“HOT TO GO!” – Chappell Roan

“Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar

“Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter

“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey

To close out the season, let’s unpack each track and the key trends that contributed to its undeniable popularity.

“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” – Billie Eilish

Billie had a refreshing return to tempo this summer with this breezy hit, which boasts more than 855 million streams on Spotify. One of the biggest tracks from her third studio album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, the song reached a fever pitch after Billie’s unforgettable performance at the summer games closing ceremony on August 11. The following day, it was streamed more than 9 million times on Spotify, quickly rising to the top of our global chart.

“HOT TO GO!” – Chappell Roan

In many ways, it has been the summer of Chappell, with “HOT TO GO!” emerging as a 2024 festival favorite and becoming one of Spotify’s wild card picks in our midsummer update.

Globally on Spotify, the track saw its biggest spike of the summer on June 10, the day after Chappell’s showstopping Gov Ball set in New York City. A photo of the artist in her iconic Statue of Liberty costume became the cover of Spotify’s I Love NYC afterward, and the playlist grew by nearly 350% over the following week. Following her record-breaking Lollapalooza performance, Chappell was also featured on the cover of our Hot Pink playlist, which grew by nearly 145% in the week following.

“Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar

This razor-sharp track transcended the rap beef that brought it to life and became a worldwide summer anthem. It also drove massive boosts for Kendrick’s entire catalog on Spotify immediately following its release.

Both globally and in the U.S., “Not Like Us” saw its biggest surge on June 20, the day after Kendrick’s Juneteenth concert in Los Angeles. And after the music video dropped on July 4, the song spent 28 consecutive days at No. 1 on Spotify’s U.S. chart.

“Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter

When “Espresso” first dropped in April, it instantly felt like the song of the summer—before the season had even started. With its beach-themed music video, catchy chorus, and idiosyncratic lyrics (“that’s that me espresso!”), this hit held on to its staying power all summer long.

Since June, the song has spent 20 days at No. 1 on Spotify’s global charts while also topping 25 regional charts in countries like Australia, Malaysia, Jordan, and Singapore.

“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey

With “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey secured an instant hit. Based on a familiar, nostalgic track from the early aughts—J-Kwon’s “Tipsy”—this infectious sing-along rendition crossed borders and topped charts around the world.

Since June, the song has hit No. 1 on Spotify’s charts in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden. It reached No. 1 on Spotify’s U.S. chart for the first time on July 4, solidifying its status as the perfect summer holiday anthem.

“The global success of Shaboozey really exemplifies a shift in the sound reaching new audiences globally—it’s been incredible to see the growth of country music outside of the U.S. over the last few years,” said Spotify’s Emma Vikström, Editorial Lead, Nordics. “Early spring, we saw ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ take off in the Nordics, and Shaboozey quickly reached his first-ever No. 1 in Sweden. Sweden was also the first country in the world that had him at the top of the charts, and he remained at the top throughout the entire summer. And Shaboozey is not alone—we’ve seen many other country stars have unprecedented success in our Hot Hits flagships all over the world. The country genre is breaking through this season like never before.”

The season’s not over yet, so there’s still plenty of time to queue up our Summer Hits 2024 playlist for your next gathering. And if you’re heading out on one last sunny vacation, check out our beach-themed podcast picks and audiobook selections.