Now That’s What I Call Summer: Our Definitive Top 40 Song List
Raise a red cup of appreciation for everything from ratchet anthems to sensual grooves
Sometime between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the song of summer emerges.
It’s usually a bop. It’s sometimes a slow jam. Lately, it’s come with its own dance moves. But like most charting-topping earworms, it’s uncannily memorable. The song — and often the video — creates an unmistakable, emotionally tinged time capture. These tunes become forever bound to the barbecues, cookouts, family reunions, cousin hangouts, repasts, Friday night movie dates, and sneak-out-to-the-garage-and-steal-a-smoke moments of our lives.
There are some places that claim to know the song of summer. They make a big deal out of it. Sometimes they get it right. Often, they get it wrong. But the ZORA team (plus other friends at Medium) put our heads together to make the list that actually matters. So grab your red cup and prepare to sit on your stoop as we recall the culturally verified, right-on-time, “that’s…
