Whatever Happened to the Song of the Summer?

The summer anthem is missing—and I feel it

I grew up in Toronto when summer had a soundtrack. Saturday bus rides downtown to HMV to buy the latest CDs, MuchMusic blaring from storefronts, Caribana bass shaking the pavement on Lakeshore (or University St if you can remember that far back), and me posted up at my friend’s place—everyone crowding around that RadioShack one-speaker Realistic radio like it was the CN Tower of our block. Every year, there was an undeniable Song of the Summer. You didn’t ask what it was; radio stations told you..

This year, I asked my kids, “So what was the big chune of the summer?”
Blank stares. A couple of artist names tossed out like guesses—no unanimous pick, no instant chorus. And that says something.

Why the moment feels quieter (even though the volume’s up)

• The “monoculture” that crowned one summer anthem has splintered. Streaming and algorithmic feeds have turned all of us into our own program directors; it’s hard for one track to take over everybody’s day. WIRED

• 2025 specifically has been weird: chart watchers note far fewer new hits breaking through, with older tracks and holdovers dominating the season—fueling the sense that nothing brand-new owned the summer. The Guardian

• Discovery now begins on short-form video. In 2024, a huge share of songs that later landed on the global charts first went viral on TikTok—great for exposure, but it also spreads attention across countless micro-moments instead of a single city-wide anthem. Newsroom | TikTok

• Catalogue rules the headphones. In 2024, roughly 73% of streams were for older music, not current releases. Nostalgia is winning the barbecue, and trust me, I’m not complaining. RouteNote

• Shorter, faster cycles. Trends spin up and fade before July hits its stride, making it harder for one song to marinate across patios, parks, and long weekends. Reprtoir

           So no—you’re not imagining it. The conditions that minted giant summer anthems have changed.

The Toronto summers that raised me (a memory lane playlist)

Here’s my personal, R&B-leaning roll call of songs that felt like summer across the city—boomboxes at the park (anyone have ‘D’ batteries?), “Video Dance” parties, and every storefront TV tuned to Much.

Mid–Late ’80s

• Whitney Houston — “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” (1987)

• Cameo — “Word Up!” (1986)

• Nu Shooz — “I Can’t Wait” (1986)

• Salt-N-Pepa — “Push It” (1987)

• Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock — “It Takes Two” (1988)

• Prince — “Kiss” (1986)

• Bryan Adams — “Summer of ’69” (1985)

Early ’90s (new jack, hip-hop, and house outside the corner store)

• DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince — “Summertime” (1991)

• Boyz II Men — “Motownphilly” (1991)

• TLC — “Baby-Baby-Baby” (1992)

• Sir Mix-A-Lot — “Baby Got Back” (1992)

• Tag Team — “Whoomp! (There It Is)” (1993)

• Warren G & Nate Dogg — “Regulate” (1994)

• TLC — “Waterfalls” (1995)

Late ’90s (radio domination + club mixes)

• The Notorious B.I.G. — “Mo Money Mo Problems” (1997)

• Puff Daddy & Faith Evans feat. 112 — “I’ll Be Missing You” (1997)

• Brandy & Monica — “The Boy Is Mine” (1998)

• Next — “Too Close” (1998)

• Christina Aguilera — “Genie in a Bottle” (1999)

• Juvenile — “Back That Thang Up” (1999)

Early 2000s (the last truly universal summers?)

• Nelly — “Hot in Herre” (2002)

• Beyoncé feat. JAY-Z — “Crazy in Love” (2003)

• Terror Squad — “Lean Back” (2004)

• Mariah Carey — “We Belong Together” (2005)

• Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland — “Promiscuous” (2006)

What changed—beyond the charts

• We traded shared speakers for great headphones. The city used to be a giant aux cord; now we’re all on AirPods.

• Gateways disappeared. MuchMusic on the TV wall. Mix shows on the radio. A friend’s house with that one Realistic speaker. Those were funnels that crowned a winner.

• Summer is sliced into micro-feeds. Your kids might have a “song of their summer” from TikTok that you’ve literally never heard—and vice versa.

FAQ

Q1. What is a “Song of the Summer”?
A track that dominates June–August across radio, streaming, parties, and street festivals—so inescapable that everyone in the city knows the hook.

Q2. Do “Songs of the Summer” still exist?
Sometimes—but the monoculture faded. Streaming, TikTok discovery, and personalized feeds split attention, so one anthem rarely unites everyone the way it did in the MuchMusic era.

Q3. Why did the 2025 summer feel quiet?
Fewer truly new breakouts, catalogue listening is still winning, and trends are burning out faster. Net result: no single track marinated long enough to own patios and park speakers.

Q4. What were some Toronto summer anthems back in the day?
Whitney “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince “Summertime,” Brandy & Monica “The Boy Is Mine,” Nelly “Hot in Herre,” Beyoncé “Crazy in Love,” plus local pride moments around Caribana weekends.

What would your Toronto Song of the Summer be this year? Drop it in the comments.