Songs we couldn’t escape from this summer

Image Credit: The CU Tiger

This summer we saw a myriad of new releases, filling our lives with music all the way, music every day, music like the 20 dollar smoothies in LA. Many songs were good, some were bad, but these were the top 5 tunes we couldn’t escape from this summer:

DISCLAIMER: These songs were collected based on multiple charts from different streaming platforms and their frequencies on the radio. Other experiences may vary.

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5. Risk it all, Bruno Mars

Produced by Bruno Mars and D’Mile

Image Credit: Spotify

The second single from Bruno Mars’ newest album The Romantic, this inescapable tune matched the success of the previous hit single, I Just Might, which was released a couple months prior. It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 100, and became Bruno’s 12th number 1 single.

4. Drop Dead, Olivia Rodrigo

Produced by Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro

Image Credit: Spotify

The lead single, released on April 17th, 2026 from Olivia Rodrigo’s newest album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. Following her previous studio album GUTS, this was the first taste of new music fans got after three years of waiting. Though the album title may hint melancholy ballads, drop dead is an upbeat and joyful track, and as Olivia Rodrigo says where the feelings of the album start to “ebb and flow.” Many describe the song as “so catchy and nostalgic” or “makes [them] feel like crying,” which points me to a conclusion: If it’s written by Olivia Rodrigo, it’s feminine intuition that it won’t be a miss.

3. hate that i made you love me, Ariana Grande

Produced by Ariana Grande, Ilya Salmanzadeh, and Max Martin

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Ariana’s most recent album Petal took the industry by storm when its feral hands in pop culture. Its lead single, hate that i made you love me, discussed not only her relationship developments, but her experiences with overzealous public scrutiny during the filming of Wicked.

2. Stateside, Zara Larsson + Pink Pantheress

Produced by PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson, The Dare, Aksel Arvid, Oscar Scheller

Image Credit: Genius

Stateside was originally Zara Larsson’s feature on PinkPantheress’ second album Fancy That, but was remixed a couple months later, featuring Zara Larsson, who boosted the song’s chart-topping success. Receiving 1.5+ million streams per day, it rivals Zara’s other chart-topping hits (which we also thought about putting in this article).  The real reason behind its massive viral boost, however, was back in the Winter Olympics 2026. American figure skater Alysa Liu charmed millions with her gold-winning performance to Stateside, leading to its massive momentum and appearance on radio rotation from February to June 2026. 

1. Dracula, Tame Impala + JENNIE

Produced by Tame Impala, JENNIE, and Kevin Parker

Image Credit: Spotify

This earworm of a collaboration between Tame Impala and JENNIE on Tame Impala’s album Deadbeat became a massive global hit. Peaking at number two on the Global 200 and number one on the overall Radio Songs chart with over 62 million in audience impressions, it’s definitely one of those tunes that you’ll catch yourself singing whether you like it or not. Like many of the chart topping songs, it became a viral trend on Tiktok, boosting millions of new streams. 

There were many more incredibly popular songs this summer, but overall the 2026 summer was a great period for pop music!