It's September. With just a few days of summer left on the horizon, it's time to look back at the heatwave that was the last few months. In April, we offered some options up to the gods and tried to predict what the Song of the Summer would be. We didn't do so hot, to be honest. Let's see what was actually important for the last couple of weeks.
Here's the final tally on 2015's Song of the Summer:
OMI, "Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)"
This German remix to a 2012 reggae song managed to take over the planet. It's impossible to deny how fun "Cheerleader" is. This is the summer that Omi became a global superstar.
Proof of Victory: Billboard said that based on chart performance, "Cheerleader" is its difinitive song of the summer. It drummed up 395,673,118 Spotify plays.
Taylor Cosign: Yes, in San Diego.
Did We Call It? Yes, obv.
Jidenna ft. Roman GianArthur, "Classic Man"
Jidenna's kooky anthem for dressing well was pretty much inescapable in the dog days of June.
Proof of Victory: Kendrick Lamar found time in his very busy summer to cut a remix of the fashionable track. 34 million plays on Spotify means Jidenna made a solid impact, even if he go away (even if he go away).
Taylor Cosign: The classic woman has never met the classic man.
Did We Call It? Nuh uh.
Major Lazer & DJ Snake f. MØ, "Lean On"
Major Lazer and DJ Snake brought huge hooks and a world sound to MØ's smoky vocals and absolutely took over.
Proof of Victory: Spotify named this song its "Global Song of the Summer," for netting almost 400 million plays. It did even better on YouTube with almost 500 million views. This song was massive.
Taylor Cosign: Nah.
Did We Call It? Sad to say, no.
Silentó, "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)"
Every summer has its dance crazy and Silento managed to spin a couple of them into viral gold.
Proof of Victory: His "Watch Me" mashup spawned an unstoppable amount of vines. I mean, even Paula Deen did it.
Taylor Cosign: Taylor Swift has never hit the whip.
Did We Call It? No, we do not have any teens on staff.
The Weeknd, "Can't Feel My Face"
Abel Tesfaye's breakout smash was absolutely everywhere this summer, but didn't become #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 until mid-August.
Proof of Victory: Even though it got a late start, "Can't Feel My Face" was America's most-listened-to song on Spotify this summer. The Weeknd is here to stay.
Taylor Cosign: Duh, in New Jersey.
Did We Call It? This was released in early June!
David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha & Afrojack, "Hey Mama"
Summer and Nicki Minaj go together very perfectly. This David Guetta song that features Nicki's vocals was huge worldwide.
Proof of Victory: The song nabbed 283,551,248 YouTube views. That's absolutely huge.
Taylor Cosign: Nope, but she did duet with Nicki at the VMAs.
Did We Call It? We should have known Nicki was coming to steal the summer.
Future ft. Drake, "Where Ya At"
Future's DS2 could be heard blasting out of pretty much every car in America this summer. But while "I Serve The Bass" and "Fuck Up Some Commas" banged, this Drake assist got a bunch of attention.
Proof of Victory: 10 million Spotify plays is nothing to laugh at. Plus, Beyoncé danced to it onstage at Made In America.
Taylor Cosign: She would never be able to match Esco's moves.
Did We Call It? This song wasn't out when we made our picks, but we did have a Future song on our list.
