Song Of The Summer: Wiz Khalifa, Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 And Others Battle It Out

Song of the summer: it’s the song that you just can’t get out of your head, the song that plays on one radio station and then five minutes later is playing on another. The song of the summer is the one guaranteed to fill a dance floor and, when played back many years later, is likely to conjure up images of what that summer meant for you. No doubt you have some songs that come to mind when you think about your most important summer as a teenager.

As the Tampa Bay Times put it, the song of the summer can become synonymous with the entire year in music, which has record labels and artists themselves clambering to take out the ubiquitous title.

So which song will take out the title of Song of the Summer for 2015? Even though it is only June and the final determination isn’t made until September, Billboard is already looking towards the song of the summer for 2015, and have ranked the current top 50 contenders based on a variety of factors. Given that Billboard were the ones to come up with the song of the summer idea originally and have given out the top honors every year since then, it makes sense to pay attention to their song of the year predictions, even at this early stage.

As of today, Billboard have got Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” as the number one contender for song of the year 2015, even though it is already firmly planted in the No. 1 position on Billboard’s Hot 100 at this early stage. They have their reasons, though, and think so highly of the song that they feel it is likely to remain high in the charts in the coming weeks until September.

Jason Derulo is currently in Billboard’s second position with his song, “Want to Want Me,” which has a feel-good vibe that they liken to 2013’s song of the year, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke, and iconic 2012 song of the year, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen.

Maroon 5 is currently coming in at No. 4 four with “This Summer’s Gonna Hurt”– with a a few provisos. Chris Lopes, the Senior Vice President of Promotion at Interscope records, noted that some songs are just built for summer, and that Maroon 5’s cleverly named “Summer” song will need to be heavily edited from its original R-rated version, but that otherwise the timing and appeal of the song make it a heavy contender.

“The desire [for] the biggest record possible at any time is constant, and we don’t promote songs with the specific goal in mind of being the biggest of a certain time frame. Still, you do know a summer song when you hear it, so there can be a greater sense of urgency when timing a release.”

Taylor Swift is sharing the respectable No. 10 position with Sam Smith at the moment, but with “Bad Blood” gaining in popularity every day, it would be unwise to rule her out at such an early stage.

I was never a Taylor Swift fan but then 1989 came out and bad blood music video and everything is so catchy and just like…..she’s perfect

— Syd (@SydneyEskin) June 14, 2015

YES! @taylorswift13 & @kendricklamar have the number one spot with this hour’s MOST REQUESTED song – #BadBlood! Turn it uppp!

— Z100 New York (@Z100NewYork) June 14, 2015

Greg Thompson, Executive Vice President at Capitol Records, agrees that taking out the song of the summer is a big achievement for any record label. Thanks to Katy Perry’s smash hits in both 2008 and 2010, Capitol Records know how it feels to take the top honours.

“It makes your summer vacation sound that much better.”

Which song is your pick for 2015’s song of the summer?

[Photo: Jamie McCarthy, David Becker, Jun Sato / Getty Images]