We’re now well into September, the unofficial start of Autumn here in North America. It seems like a great time to look back and think about the “Song of the Summer.” But first, the roundup.
Roundup
Music
After a notoriously slow first half of the year, the new music calendar has continued to pick up recently. The biggest album release recently was Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend (September 29). While it’s been generally well-received, for me it was just the third best album released that day, trailing new albums by Toronto’s own The Beaches, and merci, mercy. Man’s Best Friend‘s greatest strength is in its expansion of the things that made Carpenter’s previous album, Short and Sweet, such a phenomenon: its sharp and funny lyricism and unabashed exploration of contemporary dating and sexuality. But these are also the album’s red flags, and I’m concerned she’s at risk of becoming a parody of herself.
Songs
- “The Subway,” by Chappell Roan (still, for ever and always.)
- “Thirst Trap,” by Audrey Hobert
- “crushing,” by sombr
Albums
- Who’s the Clown, by Audrey Hobert
- No Hard Feelings, by The Beaches
- Don’t Take It to Heart, by merci, mercy
- Double Infinity, by Big Thief
- Dream Ride, by G Flip
Reading
Booker season has continued to dominate my reading, interspersed with some lighter fare and nonfiction titles. It’ll be a while before I’ll be able to source the last two titles on the longlist, so this will be my final update of this kind:
Booker Prize Longlist Ratings (11/13)
Brilliant: 1. Seascraper, by Benjamin Wood; 2. Endling, by Maria Reva
Deceptively Good: 3. One Boat, by Jonathan Buckley
Excellent: 4. Flashlight, by Susan Choi
Almost but not Quite: 5. Love Forms, by Claire Adam; 6. Audition, by Katie Kitamura; 7. Misinterpretation, by Ledia Xhoga
Awards Bait: 8. The South, by Tash Aw; 9. The Land in Winter, by Andrew Miller
Low-Hanging Fruit: 10. Universality, by Natasha Brown
Not for Me: 11. Flesh, by David Szalay
In Focus: The Song of the Summer
Because last Summer was so dominated by massive hits from Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Charli xcx, this Summer was always going to have a hard time measuring up. Add to this the general disappointment in 2025’s music releases, and perhaps it’s no surprise that conversation about this year’s ‘Song of the Summer’ started almost the moment the calendar turned to June – and by mid-June, the narrative was already “There is no song of the Summer!” The Miley Cyrus album in May made initial waves that quickly faded, and June albums by HAIM and Lorde were well-received but didn’t have the bops that make for a ‘Song of the Summer.’ The biggest early contenders were “Headphones On” by Addison Rae and “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter, and the latter is still getting a lot of streams, even if it hasn’t dominated the Zeitgeist. What has dominated the Zeitgeist, however, has been KPop Demon Hunters and its soundtrack, specifically the track “Golden” by HUNTRIX. It may be the most unlikely “Song of the Summer” in recent memory, but it would seem to claimed the title. Not even my personal Summer obsession, Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” which made a huge splash when it was released in August, has been able to tamp the “Golden” Supremacy. (I polled my Instagram followers and about 55% voted for “Golden,” with just under 40% choosing “The Subway.” I received a couple comments that “The Subway” was their song of the year but that it didn’t have the fun Summer vibes to be the Song of the Summer, and fair enough.)
Matthew Root 