{"id":2126653,"date":"2026-09-03T17:53:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T14:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2126653"},"modified":"2026-09-03T17:53:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T14:53:24","slug":"so-what-was-song-of-the-summer-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2126653","title":{"rendered":"So, What Was Song Of The Summer 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n

Roy Rochlin\/Getty Images Entertainment\/Getty Images; JMEnternational\/Getty Images Entertainment\/Getty Images; Taylor Hill\/FilmMagic\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n

\n
\n

Music<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

So, What Was<\/em> Song Of The Summer 2026?<\/h1>\n
\n

An analysis of the analyses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
by Jillian Giandurco<\/a><\/address>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n

The powers that be are so eager to rush the end of summer. It\u2019s not even Labor Day yet, and we\u2019re already seeing fall fashion trend predictions<\/a> and summer Instagram dumps en masse. It\u2019s a hard pill to swallow for those of us who believe summer doesn\u2019t end until the weather dips below 60 degrees, though even I, a staunch summer supremacist, can admit it feels wrong to continue advocating for the season now that Spotify<\/a> has released its 2026 song-of-the-summer picks.<\/p>\n

While we were busy defending our personal selections<\/a> at NYLON HQ, Spotify was hard at work sifting through streaming data, analyzing cultural impact, and reviewing editorial insight to determine which five songs defined summer 2026. Ella Langley\u2019s \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d made the cut \u2014 unsurprising, considering it just broke the record for longest running non-holiday song to top the Billboard Hot 100<\/a> \u2014 as well as \u201cRein Me In\u201d by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean<\/a>, which broke a similar record in the UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cDai Dai,\u201d Shakira and Burna Boy\u2019s anthem for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was also represented, as was Yung Miami\u2019s addictive chart-gainer \u201cSpend Dat.\u201d But there was one song that reigned supreme, and that was \u201chate that i made you love me\u201d by Ariana Grande. According to Spotify, \u201clove me\u201d was the most-streamed song of the summer, spending 89 days in Spotify\u2019s Global Top 10 this summer. (To put it into perspective, summer usually lasts around 93 days.)<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Courtesy of Spotify<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

TikTok also concluded its song-of-the-summer race earlier this week, and to be frank, the results were much bleaker. Only two of Spotify\u2019s selections made it onto TikTok\u2019s top 10, \u201cDai Dai\u201d and \u201cSpend Dat,\u201d with songs like \u201cEarrings\u201d by Malcolm Todd<\/a>, \u201cGhetto Love Story\u201d BabyChiefDoit, \u201cEnd of August\u201d by Noah Kahan, \u201cSelf Aware\u201d by Temper City, and \u201cDance\u2026\u201d by Slayyyter rounding out the bottom of the chart. NYLON has no comment on half of these songs, but we\u2019re happy for Slayyyter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As for TikTok\u2019s top three SOTS picks, only one of them was released within the last decade: \u201cCinderella\u201d by Mac Miller feat. Ty Dolla $ign. The 2016 track came in at no. 2, right above Lenny Kravitz\u2019s \u201cIt Ain\u2019t Over Til It\u2019s Over\u201d (from 1991, long before most TikTok users were even born), and below the 2010 classic, \u201cThe One That Got Away\u201d by Katy Perry. This also happened last year, when eight of the top 10 selects<\/a> were from previous years. We\u2019re not ones to fearmonger, but if that\u2019s not a sign that culture is on its way out, we don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Courtesy of TikTok<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Of all the songs represented, only two \u201chate that i made you love me\u201d and \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas\u201d have held steady in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10. And if we had to pick between these two, objectively we\u2019d have to give it to \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas.\u201d But in all honesty, we still maintain that the bottom of the charts<\/a> is where it’s at \u2014 song of the summer included. As far as we\u2019re concerned, any SOTS 2026 round up that doesn\u2019t include \u201cAin\u2019t In LA<\/a>,\u201d \u201cmaggots for brains,\u201d or \u201cThe Feeling\u201d might as well be irrelevant.<\/p>\n