Now that we’ve made it through the long and chilly Spring and into the warmth of June, it’s time to bust out the summer jams. After all, every year seems to have at least one song that’s playing everywhere, acting as a universally agreed-upon soundtrack to the season… even if no one actually had a say in selecting said anthem.
It’s traditional for taste makers to try and sway the collective musical subconsciousness with suggestions for what should be this year’s sunshine groove. Every summer websites and music magazines rush to be the first to proclaim the season’s winner. This year, however, a new force has entered the race to define the sounds of the summer, and this time, they have the people on their side.
Shazam – the creator of the smartphone app that identifies music based upon an audio sample – has released its “Sounds of Summer 2013” list, a collection of 10 songs that have been popular with Shazam users over recent weeks. The company suggests that these tracks will continue to plague the radio waves, malls, commercials, and more throughout the summer.
It’ll come as no surprise that Daft Punk’s record-breaking “Get Lucky” takes the top spot. According to Shazam, the song has already “received four million tags and has been No. 1 on the Shazam Charts in 91 countries.” Perhaps the success of international tracks “Let Her Go” by Passenger and Icona Pop’s “I Love It” – the latter of which came to many people’s attentions when it appeared in the HBO series Girls – is more surprising, with the two songs taking up the second and third places on the list.
Other tracks that make the list include Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” (which has already been tagged on the service 4.2 million times and “hasn’t yet reached its peak,” according to the company), Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” from the soundtrack to The Great Gatsby, and “Alive” by Krewella, which “has been a mainstay of the dance-focused Shazam Beatport chart.” The latter song in particular has had a steady tag growth, and Shazam believes that it “could be a contender for the summer club anthem.”
While it’s unlikely that the Shazam chart will be the final word on the matter – by dint of its nature, it can only cover what is currently available, and not music yet to be released – it’s fascinating to see an alternate view of what people are listening to and curious on learning more about. Here’s the full list – do you agree with what Shazam data has to say?
1) Daft Punk – “Get Lucky”
2) Passenger – “Let Her Go”
3) Icona Pop – “I Love It”
4) Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines”
5) will.i.am – “Fall Down featuring Miley Cyrus”
6) Krewella – “Alive”
7) Lana Del Rey – “Young and Beautiful”
8) Janelle Monae – “Q.U.E.E.N featuring Erykah Badu”
9) Rich Gang – “Tapout”
10) Chance the Rapper – “Interlude”