What Is the Song of Summer 2023?

Spotify has released its top streamed songs of summer 2023, but are any of them actually the definitive song of the summer this year?

According to Spotify, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” was the top-streamed song in the U.S. this summer, marking the first-ever country song to claim the title.

Rounding out the top five were “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma; “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift; “fukumean” by Gunna; and “vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo.

Watch Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” Music Video:

Another huge country song, Luke Combs’ cover of “Fast Car” took the sixth spot, with the remainder of the top 10 rounded out by “Kill Bill” by SZA; “See You Again (feat. Kali Uchis) by Tyler, The Creator; “un x100to” by Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny; and “You Proof” by Morgan Wallen.

Globally speaking, “Ella Baila Sola” took the top spot, with other major artists such as Jungkook, Miley Cyrus and Harry Styles all nabbing placements in the top 10.

READ MORE: Who Was Spotify’s Most-Streamed Artist of 2022?

While these tracks were all arguably big — huge, even — this summer, were any of them the definitive, cultural juggernaut song of the summer? Say, for instance, like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” in 2007? Or Robin Thicke’s controversial “Blurred Lines” in 2013?

Spotify’s list comes at a time when many people online aren’t really sure 2023 had a culturally defining song of the summer that ruled our collective airwaves like in years past.

The conversation was sparked on Aug. 1, when a popular Twitter account declared, “There’s no summer song this year.”

The declaration went viral with people both agreeing with and debating the sentiment. “Nothing hits this summer,” one person tweeted, while another weighed in, “There definitely is [a song of the summer] … I just haven’t hear[d] it once,” in reference to Wallen’s song.

Many BTS fans insisted that Jungkook and Jimin’s respective solo singles deserve the title of song of the summer due to their massive numbers and broken records.

Another person claimed that the reason there’s seemingly no song of the summer this year is because of Justin Bieber’s absence from the music industry.

Others noted that Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s viral “Barbie World” collaboration is the most obvious choice for song of the summer, given the Barbie movie’s major success in theaters and how omnipresent both the song and film have been.

One person even joked that Ryan Gosling’s song from the movie, “I’m Just Ken,” could easily be given the title.

Meanwhile, countless others argued that “Planet of the Bass,” TikTok comedian Kyle Gordon’s mega-viral Eurodance parody, is, for all its satire of the genre, the clear contender due to its blissful, summer-friendly production and the way the upbeat song united people online.

What do you think 2023’s official summer of the summer really is? Let us know by leaving a comment or hitting PopCrush up on Twitter or Facebook.