<\/p>\n
Why is there no Song of the Summer 2025?<\/p>\n
This time last year, we had Sabrina Carpenter<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s \u2018Espresso\u2019, Kendrick Lamar<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s \u2018Not Like Us\u2019, and the entirety of Charli XCX\u2019s ‘Brat’<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n No such luck in 2025 – with a lot charting songs still being 2024 hits, like Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars\u2019 \u2018Die With A Smile\u2019, Chappell Roan\u2019s \u2018Pink Pony Club\u2019 and Kendrick Lamar\u2019s \u2018Luther\u2019.<\/p>\n So, where\u2019s this year\u2019s undeniable, culture dominating, consensus favourite Song of the Summer?<\/p>\n The Euronews Culture team got fed up of waiting for a common consent and decided to share their picks for the tracks that should be under consideration for the hit song of the Summer. Here goes…<\/p>\n Tyler, The Creator announced his ninth studio album, \u2018Don\u2019t Tap The Glass\u2019, on 18 July and released it three days later, making it the Summer surprise we didn\u2019t know we so desperately needed. And compared to last year\u2019s \u2018Chromakopia<\/strong><\/a>\u2019, this is\u00a0a change of pace.<\/p>\n The soul searching of 2024 is replaced by a taut, 28-minute long collection of IDGAF dance bops. There are some great tunes, including \u2018Don\u2019t You Worry Baby\u2019, \u2018I\u2019ll Take Care Of You\u2019, \u2018Ring Ring Ring\u2019 and \u2018Sucka Free\u2019.<\/p>\n However, for my money, the standout is opener \u2018Big Poe\u2019 – and my pick of the Song of the Summer 2025.<\/p>\n It opens with Tyler delivering a set of instructions to the listener: “Number one, body movement\u00a0– no sitting still\u00a0\/ Number two, only speak in glory – leave your baggage at home \/ Number three, don’t tap the glass<\/em>“.<\/p>\n The track then transitions to the sample of \u2018Roked\u2019 by Shye Ben Tzur and Radiohead\u2019s Jonny Greenwood, followed up by some glorious Busta Rhymes sampling. And just like that, we\u2019re off to the races. Also featuring Pharrell Williams, Tyler\u2019s kinetic track\u00a0has infectious boom bap beat and synth funk to spare, and sets the tone of the album rather perfectly. <\/p>\n \u2018Don\u2019t Tap The Glass\u2019 may not be an immediate stone cold classic like \u2018Chromakopia\u2019, but its opening track\u00a0certainly made my Summer of 2025 all about not sitting still and wanting to hit the dancefloor. DM<\/strong><\/p>\n Raise your hand if you\u2019re the kind of person who stops dancing in the middle of the club to google lyrics in the hopes of finding a song’s title. Yes, I know that Shazam exists, but I am who I am.<\/p>\n This is exactly what I did\u00a0when\u00a0I\u00a0first\u00a0heard Jo\u00e9\u00a0Dw\u00e8t\u00a0Fil\u00e9\u2019s \u20184\u00a0Kamp\u00e9\u2019 in late June. The French-Haitian\u00a0singer, known for his heavy Afro-Caribbean\u00a0influences,\u00a0released the song as a single in October 2024.\u00a0A cover from a Haitian classic, it\u00a0quickly\u00a0found great\u00a0success and crossed borders through\u00a0Tik Tok. Even Madonna\u00a0posted a video<\/strong><\/a> of herself dancing\u00a0to\u00a0the beat.<\/p>\n In March 2025, Jo\u00e9\u00a0Dw\u00e8t\u00a0Fil\u00e9\u00a0hit even harder by releasing a remix, \u20184\u00a0Kamp\u00e9\u00a0II\u2019, with Nigerian star Burna Boy.\u00a0The\u00a0new version\u00a0has been played\u00a0over\u00a025 million times on Spotify.\u00a0The\u00a0artists\u00a0performed the song live during Burna Boy\u2019s April concert in the Stade de France, in front of a deliriously hyped crowd.<\/p>\n With \u20184\u00a0Kamp\u00e9\u00a0II\u2019, Jo\u00e9\u00a0Dw\u00e8t\u00a0Fil\u00e9\u00a0initiates Burna Boy to\u00a0kompa, a Haitian merengue dance and music genre. The two\u00a0singers\u00a0mix French, English\u00a0and\u00a0Haitian Creole in this ode to success, ambition and self-confidence.\u00a0The result is a\u00a0joyful\u00a0fusion of Nigerian and Haitian\u00a0cultures.<\/p>\n And trust me when I say that you\u00a0won\u2019t be able to get enough of the song\u2019s addictive \u201cda-da-da”s\u00a0and\u00a0jubilant\u00a0outro.\u00a0By the end of the summer,\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0hopefully\u00a0be able to sway your hips\u00a0like a pro\u00a0kompa\u00a0dancer.\u00a0SM<\/strong><\/p>\n I first listened to Irish singer-songwriter CMAT’s Take A Sexy Picture Of Me while on my way to a party. <\/p>\n Strutting through the late afternoon sunshine, touching up my lipstick in a car window reflection, it’s the kind of song that floods you with sass.<\/p>\n My favourite summer tunes often start this way, playing at just the right moment to capture the season’s solitary moments of calm and optimism. This time, it’s not just personal.<\/p>\n After being released in May, the song’s catchy hook “I did the butcher, I did the baker” took off on TikTok, complete with a viral dance routine. If you watch enough of these, it will start to haunt you, then irritate you, like a little chipmunk nibbling away at your temporal lobe. But if you listen to the full song – or even better, watch CMAT’s live performances of it – its country-infused glam is an instant mood lifter; a sonic equivalent of slipping off a heavy cardigan and feeling the sun’s warmth on your skin.<\/p>\n Without a doubt, it should be this year\u2019s Song of the Summer. AB<\/strong><\/p>\n With the weather in London being especially good this year, I\u2019ve been spending a lot of the long evenings cycling around the city, exploring, headphones on, music blasting, pretending I\u2019m in a low-budget music video… And lately, the song I keep coming back to is \u2018Da Du Dah\u2019 by the London-based collective Kokoroko, from their newly released album \u2018Tuff Times Never Last\u2019.<\/p>\n The whole project is a delightful mix of Afro-jazz, funk, soul and gospel goodness, but this track in particular has legitimately cast a spell on me. The bassline is one of the funkiest I\u2019ve heard all year and the joyous horns and catchy vocal lines bounce off each other in a playful call-and-response that alters my brain chemistry in the best possible way.<\/p>\n The accompanying music video for the song, directed by the supremely talented Akinola Davies Jr.<\/strong><\/a>, is equally charming – offering a slice-of-life glimpse of London while imagining the seven-piece band as kids wandering the streets – all shot on gorgeous 35mm film. <\/p>\n I can\u2019t get the track out of my head. And honestly? I’m more than ok with that. TF<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nTyler, The Creator \u2013 \u2018Big Poe\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Jo\u00e9\u00a0Dw\u00e8t\u00a0Fil\u00e9\u00a0&\u00a0Burna Boy\u00a0– \u20184\u00a0Kamp\u00e9\u00a0II\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
CMAT – ‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Kokoroko – \u2018Da Du Dah\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n