Summer 2025. What a time. I remember walking outside for the first 100-degree day in Texas and thinking, “Yeah, this is gonna be a good one.” Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. But even with all  the fun days and long nights, I did not put my finger on a rather critical thing every good summer needs:

An anthem.

Summer 2024 left us with some bangers that captured the vibe. “I Had Some Help” made me feel as if I was two-stepping with Posty. “A Bar Song” had me clapping and daydreaming that I was hammered at a bar off Fifth Street. “Million Dollar Baby” made me feel like I was a lot cooler than I was whenever it was bumping in the car. But overall, these songs really defined and shaped my experiences that summer. 

Did we have any song this summer that matched the vibes of the last? I don’t know, but there surely are some contenders. 

First up is one that we all know just a little too well from the “Boone Meister” himself: “Mystical, Magical.” This hit from earlier in the summer has an intoxicating sound, making you feel like Benson Boone dancing in circles. But aside from the strange, almost meaningless lyrics – and the fact that it played constantly in Targets all over the nation – I think this song might have had the most cultural significance. I swear, every time I opened my Instagram Reels for a quick scroll, it would be playing, and it drove me insane. It even earned the highest honor of having a Crumbl Cookie named after it, which led to a rebirth of the beloved Grimace Shake trend. Even though I have no clue what Moonbeam Ice Cream is, I did jam out to this one a few times.

Next, a hit from America’s favorite freak and former Disney Channel star, the song “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter. I can’t lie, as a confident man, this new Sabrina album made me a little too excited. Nevertheless, anyone can appreciate how good this song is. Maybe it’s stupid, maybe it’s dumb, maybe a little offensive, but it’s so good. It’s not as bright or as hype as some of the summer songs from years past or even Sabrina’s hits of last summer, but it still gave us something to guiltily sing in the car. So for that, I’m thankful.

Lastly, and maybe my personal favorite: “Dark Thoughts” by Lil Tecca. I can’t  lie, after “Ransom” came out when I was in middle school, I thought he would be done. Nope. Tecca blessed us with “500lbs,” and then, even better, he dropped “Dark Thoughts” right in time to give us some great rap for Summer 2025. Just the intro to this song, with a heavy bass beat and some synth in the background, gets me pumped up and my body moving. I’ll abstain from quoting the lyrics from the song (let’s keep it PG in here), but Tecca has some beautiful rhymes on top of this great beat, making it one of my favorite songs of the summer. 

Now, these are just some popular songs that happened to dominate the charts this summer. We all have different tastes, and that’s the beautiful thing about music. Music gives us individuality – the freedom to express ourselves. Music helps explain what we feel but can’t describe. Music gives us all a common bond and shared love that we can understand. Music can mend broken hearts or carry a party deep into the night. This beautiful thing – something we have loved for thousands of years – is just human nature. A song of the summer is simply a two to five-minute recap of how the hot months went –  a way to explain the complex feeling by the push of a button. What a beautiful thing music is, and as we transition into the fall, I can’t wait for what the music of the turning leaves will be.