Each year, music writers like to play a game where we attempt to predict the "song of the summer," the track that, come September, will define the preceding months of sand and sunshine. It's a bit of an arbitrary distinction — there is often more than one "it" song — but this annual exercise is not entirely without its merit. The so-called "song of the summer" provides a much-needed window into the past; it's a metric, flawed but unambiguous, of who we were and what we danced to.
Here are our guesses for 2017's summer anthem:
The Frontrunner
"Despacito – Remix" (Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber)
It's a shame that most Americans only happened upon Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's foot-stomping, hip-shaking "Despacito" after it was remixed and translated – the original is a masterclass in sultry club smut – but it's a blessing it made it to U.S. listeners in some form, however diluted.
The musical equivalent of a street dance on a summer night, "Despacito" is the most block-party-ready beat on this list, a key determinant in the "song of summer" race. This danceability ought to keep Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's reggaeton collaboration bumping on the radio until at least September.
A mid-April release, however, raises the question of whether "Despacito" even deserves to be considered a "song of summer." As a purist, I vote no. But the track's immense and unwavering popularity suggests I might be on the wrong side of history.
Possible upset
"Feels" (Calvin Harris ft. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, Big Sean)
Should "Despacito" take an unlikely tumble, Calvin Harris' "Feels" is sure to be first in line to inherit the crown. Harris' track, the newest off of his forthcoming album, features a who's who of "song of summer" vets. Pharrell Williams (of "Happy," 2013's song of summer) takes lead on vocals, Katy Perry (whose album "Teenage Dream" ruled summer 2010) sings back-up and Harris, no stranger himself to the summer music landscape (see 2016's "This Is What You Came For" and 2014's "Summer"), crafts a ska-guitar infused rhythm that is sipping coladas laid-back yet irrefutably vivacious.
Some speculate that "Feels" is a diss track intended for Harris' ex-girlfriend and Perry's long-time nemesis, Taylor Swift. After the Perry/Swift "Swish Swish" kerfuffle a few weeks ago, this slight intimation of further bad blood between the two superstars might give Harris' song the boost it needs.
Dark horse
Anything off "Melodrama" (Lorde)
Despite being the best track of 2017 so far, Lorde's "Greenlight" made little to no splash when it dropped in March as the first single from "Melodrama," the Aussie wunderkind's sophomore album. Since then, Lorde has released a handful of electrifying singles – the last-call party anthem "Sober" and scream-it-from-the-sun-roof "Perfect Places" – to similarly insufficient fanfare.
Now with "Melodrama" out in full, it seems only fair that Lorde have her day in the sun. My pick: the brooding and brilliant "Supercut." Because of Lorde's predilection for the ponderous, however, it might take a miracle, or a remix, to put this track in the pop pantheon where it belongs.
Long shots
"I'm the One" (DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne)
There's only room for one Justin Bieber-led track on the top of the summer charts and "I'm the One," with its clunker of a chorus, is not it.
Something off the yet-to-be-released "Kaleidoscope" (Coldplay)
Coldplay hasn't been on its A-game since "Viva La Vida" (or "Mylo Xyloto" if we're being generous). And yet "Something Just Like This" is still kicking around the charts, so I suppose it's possible that Chris Martin has a head-banger hidden up his sleeve.
"Wild Thoughts" (DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller)
On "Wild Thoughts," a conspicuously raw guitar undercuts Rihanna's efforts to do for the word "wild" what she did for "work" last year.
"Bad Liar" (Selena Gomez)
The track has a little too much sizzle and not enough pop to play in the big leagues. Regardless, you ought to check out Gomez's bonkers video, which features the former child star in every role, including that of a mustachioed gym teacher.
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