Top 10 summer songs 2022

The dance music kings are back, and louder than ever. Eight years after their dramatic departure, and two years after beginning to test variations of this cut live, the trio of Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, and Steve Angello have released the first single of their almighty return. And while the news begs at memories of their mid-2010s peak, nothing about the twitchy, drum-heavy cut feels like a look backwards. Instead, it ushers in a new era. Madison Vain

Mayers Sob Rock is a top-notch summer album, a return to form, and a triumph of graphic design. Its such a cohesive statement its hard to single out one track, but if we had to, wed go with this one, a mellow throwback to the adult-contemporary of the 80s. Perfect for the magic hour at your pool party, just as the grill gets lit and the sunburn sets in. Dave Holmes

Radio may favor breezy, three-minute cuts, but all nine minutes and 48 seconds of Tyler, The Creators Sweet/I Thought You Wanted to Dance, off his new album Call Me If You Get Lost, are worth playing on repeat this summer. The track begins as a love story [that's the Sweet side] and while it turns sour in I Thought You Wanted To Dance, it stays groovy and melodic all the way through. Featuring Brent Faiyaz and Fana Hues, both halves of the two-part tracka Tyler signature for the tenth track on each of his albumsare perfect for unwinding on balmy nights. Lauren Kranc

Brutal is many things: a perfect encapsulation of teenage rage, an ode to summer lethargy, and the killer kickoff song from Olivia Rodrigos massively popular debut LP, Sour. [Read the Esquire review here.] While she wrote it for herself, what the Disney star-turned-mainstream-music-sensation may not have realized is that her grunge-pop anthem transcends generational divides. Gen Z and disenfranchised? This works for you. Millennial 30-something grasping at the straws of youth? Also appropriate. Middle aged men hosting a pool party? Absolutely! The thing is, weve all been so insecure we think, that wed die before we drink. Justin Kirkland

The first single from Michelle Zauners third album as Japanese Breakfast is a mission statement of joy. Her first two LPs chronicled her mother's fight with, and eventual loss, to cancer, and worked as mournful dream-pop meditations on grief. But with splashes of funk, glowing synth, and a bright bass groove, Zauner taps into the effervescent side of herself. I wanted to just explore a different part of me: I am capable of joy and I have experienced a lot of joy, she told Pitchfork. All the songs are different reminders of how to experience or carve out space for that. And with everything happening in the world right now, thats exactly the outlookand soundwe need now. Matt Miller

Lorde gets back to the minimalism of her breakthrough single Royals on the verses of this one, but then you blink three times and you feel it kicking in: the hook to be bellowed at pool parties until autumn. Its a little George Michaels Freedom 90, its a little Primal Screams Loaded, the video definitely takes a cue from Humira, and while none of us has successfully made a bong out of a fennel bulb, doesn't mean we won't keep trying. We have all wondered whether we can kick it, especially this year, but I think Lorde is right: yeah. We can. DH

Over the past year, it seems that if Megan Thee Stallion so much as lifts a finger, the world pays attention. Lucky for us, she's doing a whole lot more than that. Enter: Thot Shit, arguably thee tell-off of the season. Its the perfect song for our [mostly, hopefully permanently?] reopened social calendarseven if it's causing an uproar on TikTok. JK

Pop musics favorite chameleons reign remains uninterrupted. Doja Cat, a 25-year-old LA native hot off the release of her third album, Planet Her, moonlights in many genres: hip-hop, R&B, disco, and electro, tying her excursions together with an undeniable, resplendent joy. Thats certainly true here, on this sticky-as-bubblegum roller rink flirtation featuring SZA. MV

Is anyone blending genres as seamlessly as Yola is right now? The singer has created a new space, one that is somehow equal parts soul and country, as well as pop and R&B. Diamond Studded Shoes is a standout, nearly bubbling over with keyboard accents, guitar riffs, and the perfect amount of power vocals. It's all only compounded when you realize the lyrics take a blisteringly upbeat jab at our broken society. 2021s music at its finest. JK

Immovable at number one since its release in late May, Butter continues BTS hot streak and injects pure joy into a stressful, angsty season. In their boastful and bouncy second English-language single, our winter-issue cover guys get just cocky enough to show us they know theyre killing it, yet still name-check ARMY to remind us they know who got them there. US radio airplay still lags behind streaming and sales for this one, but it doesnt matter: this is the unquestioned song of the Summer of Butter. DH

It wont be the Peaches TikTok Make-Up challenge that does it, but eventually you will give into the latest chart-topper from the Biebs. Why not make now that moment? Bieber debuted the unexpectedly vibey cut during his NPR Tiny Desk performance earlier this year, just hours before dropping his Justice LP. Manning the keys, it was an infectious, if slightly random, ode to different regions of the continental United States. [Dont overthink this.] But the pristinely-produced radio version, which also features Daniel Cesar, is almost impossibly smooth. MV

In the last few years, amapiano has become the most popular sound in South Africa. A subgenre of house music, it started as a grassroots, countercultural, DIY movement that thrived in the local clubs. Its the music of freedomlong, joyful, hypnotic dance bangers rooted in deep house. Kabza de Small and producer DJ Maphorisa are at the forefront of this movement, helping spread it across Africa and onto global popularity. On this nearly 8-minute track, Kabza, Maphorisa, and TRESOR show the genres true potential. Its also proof of why the likes of Drake, Usher, Beyonce, Disclosure, and others are paying close attention to this scene. Don't be surprised if this is the next K-Pop, reggaeton, pr Latin trap phenomenon. MM

Summer is when a lot of cool kids go to house parties and a lot of coastal kids hit the beach, and these experiences have not gone undocumented in song. But its also a time when a lot of sadder kids with more cautious parents get packed up and sent to vacation bible school, an experience Lucy Dacus recounts to devastating effect here. The detailsa preacher in a t-shirt, a father who wears long sleeves to hide the evidence of a previous life, a girl whose nerves can only be calmed by secret Slayer sessionsadd up to a short story. Dacus may no longer be a believer, but she makes it clear: the communion of young and skeptical souls can be a miracle. DH

Kings of Leon will likely never be as big as they were at the beginning of their career, when songs like Use Somebody and Sex on Fire enjoyed viral success before things, well, went viral. But on their eighth LP, which dropped in March, it finally sounds like they no longer give a damn. This cut, lifted by an arena rock-sized melody and draped in frontman Caleb Followills drawl, moves with an enviable leisure, comfortable in its mid tempo pocket. Its only misstep? Its mouthful of a title. MV

When Bruno Mars takes on a genrethe 90s new jack swing of Finesse or the early 80s synth-pop of Treasurehe shows he understands the assignment, but thats the essential problem with Bruno Mars: too often his music can feel like an assignment. For the Silk Sonic project, Mars has teamed with Anderson .Paak, and their first track is a flawless tribute to mid-70s R&B with a key change that will make you stand up and cheer. Were no closer to understanding who Bruno Mars actually is, but when his work is this much fun, who cares? DH