News

This year’s song of the summer is a ballad, not a banger. Here’s what that says about us

This year’s song of the summer is a ballad, not a banger. Here’s what that says about us

FILE - Alex Warren performs at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif., on Aug. 9, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Park/Invision/AP, File) Photo: Associated Press


By BRIDGET BROWN Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Every year, summer arrives with a buzzing energy. School’s out, the sun is shining, music is blaring out of car windows and speakers are blasting on the beach.
But this summer, the beaches seem quieter. The playlists feel aimless. The radio waves aren’t being dominated by the usual upbeat, sing-along tune. Where is our song of the summer?
In this age of fractured listening habits, it’s hard to fully quantify a yearly winner. However, Billboard’s weekly Song of the Summer chart attempts to crown one each year by tracking streaming, airplay, and sales between Memorial Day and Labor Day in the U.S. Often, the song is effervescent, from Katy Perry’s “California Gurls,” the inaugural pick in 2010, to last year’s “I Had Some Help,” by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen.
But for the past 14 weeks and counting, the top spot has been held by a love ballad: Alex Warren’s “Ordinary.” As Berklee College of Music professor and forensic musicologist Joe Bennett notes, the February release is “a fair bit slower than the mean average for the Hot 100, or for a historical song of the summer.”
So how has Warren’s romantic slow jam rested comfortably in the top spot for virtually the entire summer?
Listeners are turning back to familiar hits
One reason why “Ordinary” has maintained its top spot might be that the competition is scarce this year. The song of the summer is typically released far before the solstice, but even so, interest in the latest offerings from our favorite pop stars is also waning, leaving little competition for Warren. For instance, the likes of Justin Bieber and Sabrina Carpenter have given us new music this summer season — but nothing has taken off like “Ordinary.”
According to a mid-year report from Luminate, the company that produces data for the Billboard charts, listeners are clinging to the past and choosing older tunes.
Streaming on new tracks declined by 3.3% in the first half of 2025, compared to 2024. Only three of the report’s 10 top songs — based on on-demand audio streams in the U.S. — were released in 2025. Most of the songs on Billboard’s charts have been there for dozens of weeks, like Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” which currently sits at No. 8 on the summer chart, and has been on the Hot 100 for 63 weeks.
Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s vice president of music insights and industry relations, says the disinterest in new music, combined with our wistful listening habits, is also leading to the resurgence of “recession pop.”
“Recession pop” refers to music that was originally released leading up to and following the 2008 financial crisis. “We’re actually seeing pop music from those years outpace the growth of the industry at large. It highlights a sense of nostalgia and potentially bigger themes of escapism,” Marconette explained.
In addition to the pop hits of the late aughts, the shelf life of last year’s songs has proved long, crowding the space and leaving little room for new music to break through. Last summer was “an absolute tsunami, surplus, exuberance of pop,” says Paula Harper, a musicologist and assistant professor at the University of Chicago.
“When I’ve talked to folks about the 2025 song of the summer, it’s not uncommon for them to cite a song from one of the 2024 releases — and then they sometimes get jumpscared when they realize how long ago those songs actually originally came out,” Harper said, pointing to TikTok as one engine that kept their popularity going.
What does the popularity of ‘Ordinary’ say about listeners?
It’s not unusual for the song of the summer to be a ballad — think Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License.” But they’re not designed to rule the season.
“It’s not going to keep the mood of the barbecue lively, it’s not going to pep up the pool party,” Harper says of “Ordinary.” “Ultimately, it’s engineered for something other than song of the summer status.”
Ethan Hein, an adjunct professor of music at New York University and the New School, says listeners’ gravitation toward a song like “Ordinary” reveals something about their well-being.
“When I teach songwriting, I always assign a fun pop banger as one of the projects, and this year no one felt much enthusiasm for it, or turned in somber tracks like ‘Ordinary,'” he said. Hein thinks the disinterest in typical upbeat pop signals a contempt for both the present and the future.
“Usually, pop music is aimed at young people. I remember being a kid in the ’80s and ’90s and thinking how futuristic all the synth pop, hip-hop and techno sounded,” Hein said. “But now, I don’t know a lot of young people who are excited about the future.”
Music psychologist Ray Leone, who studies the intersectionality of music and health, says people may be favoring “Ordinary” because it is the antithesis of a seemingly extraordinary state of the world.
“There seems to be chaos every day, no matter where you look,” Leone said. “I think to counter that, people are looking more inward. Looking for something personal to connect to. It’s almost as if a song like this speaks to us on a personal level as opposed to a collective level.”
Warren’s love song, written about his wife, seems to be acting as a beacon of light in dark times.
“Songs of love and devotion are a constant in our world,” said Bennett. “Whatever else is happening in our lives, someone somewhere will always be singing a timeless love song.”

News

20 hours ago in Lifestyle

Lice concerns rise as children return to school. Here’s what parents can do

Children have returned to school and are bringing home stories about the things they learned and the friends they made. But some parents are concerned they could also be bringing home a tiny nuisance — lice.

2 days ago in Lifestyle

One path to kick-starting a healthier lifestyle: Start small

Wellness advice seems to be everywhere these days, but change can be hard. How do you start a journey toward better health that you can stick with, and not be overwhelmed?

2 days ago in National

Camp Mystic plans to reopen in Texas next summer, a year after floods killed 27

The owners of Camp Mystic say they plan to partially reopen next summer the all-girls camp where 27 campers and counselors were killed during catastrophic floods that swept through the Texas Hill Country in July.

2 days ago in Entertainment

Emotional Jimmy Kimmel says in late-night return he never intended to make light of Kirk’s killing

Jimmy Kimmel returned to late-night television Tuesday after a nearly weeklong suspension and, in an emotional monologue where he appeared close to tears, said that he wasn't trying to joke about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

2 days ago in National

3 people shot at immigration facility in Dallas and the shooter is dead, official says

Three people have been shot at an Immigration and U.S. Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas and the shooter is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the agency's director said.

3 days ago in National

Man who represented himself is found guilty of trying to assassinate Trump at Florida golf course

The man who was charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course last year tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen shortly after being found guilty of all counts on Tuesday.

4 days ago in Entertainment, Trending

ABC ends Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension and his show will return Tuesday

ABC will reinstate Jimmy Kimmel's late night show in the wake of criticism over his comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials with the network said Monday.

4 days ago in National

Trump ramps up retribution campaign with push for Bondi to pursue cases against his foes

Eight months into his second term, President Donald Trump's long-standing pledge to take on those he perceives as his political enemies has prompted debates over free speech, media censorship and political prosecutions.

4 days ago in Entertainment

Christopher Nolan to lead Directors Guild of America

Christopher Nolan has been elected to lead the Directors Guild of America, the organization said late Saturday. The Oscar-winning "Oppenheimer" filmmaker said in a statement that it is, "one of the greatest honors of my career."

4 days ago in National, Trending

4.3 magnitude earthquake jolts the San Francisco Bay Area and people report feeling a sharp shake

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 rocked the San Francisco Bay Area early Monday, waking up many people, with more 22,000 saying they felt it, according to the United States Geological Survey.