The evolution of the song of the summer, from 'Afternoon Delight' to 'I Had Some Help'

The Grammys are in the winter but the best music is celebrated in the summer.

With the release of lively hits like Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" and Tommy Richman's "Million Dollar Baby," the conversation surrounding the Song of the Summer has started. An unofficial honor, determining which tracks become the season's anthem can be complicated.

Unlike summer blockbuster movies, the Song of the Summer can be released earlier in the year, and a true contender must be consistently popular throughout the season, which is measured by streams and radio play. The track must also be a summer song, a factor far more difficult to define.

USA TODAY talked with experts to help pin down what makes a song of the summer, what past unofficial honorees had in common, and what we can expect to rise to the top of the heap in 2024.

Songs of the summer are time capsules of youth

For younger people, summer allows for more time to listen to music, as many students are out of school and going out more, said Philip Scher, a University of Oregon anthology professor with academic expertise in pop culture.

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But their impact doesn't end there, as true songs of the summer live within listeners forever. When Scher hears "Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band, he is instantly transported back to the summer of 1976.

"Once you're older, really when you think of songs of the summer, you're thinking of the songs of the summers of your youth more than anything else," Scher said.

The masses get to determine the winning song twice, once by its hold over that specific summer and again years later.

'Song of the summer' concept emerges around 90s

Summer songs have existed for as long as there's been music, notes Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.

"We Have No Bananas" by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn sold sheet music to the masses ahead of the summer of 1923. "Dancing In The Street" by Martha and the Vandellas came out the summer of 1964 and quickly became a classic, serving as a street anthem for the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements.

But society didn't begin to latch onto the idea of a Song of the Summer until the 1990s, a time when a single tune could shape an entire culture across demographics, Thompson said.

By then the New York Times had begun covering what songs met the seasonal criteria. Around 2010, Billboard began listing the songs of the summer. In 2013, the MTV Video Music Awards introduced its Song of Summer category, first won by One Direction's "Best Song Ever."

Summer songs abide by no rules

When reflecting on the summer of 1983, Thompson refers to "Every Breathe You Take" by The Police as the song. While not being as upbeat or danceable as other summer tracks, it had a catchy enough riff to ride the culture. The next year, Prince's synth and drum heavy "When Doves Cry" would do the same.

Summer songs often feature an rhythmical hook and lyrics about beach trips, pool days or driving with the windows down. Many are quick to single out The Beach Boys discography, with hits like "Surfin' U.S.A" and "Good Vibrations" that embodied the seasonal genre sonically and lyrically.

"That's all true as family resemblances," Thompson said. "If you go through summer songs, a lot of them have a lot of that stuff. But there are actually no rules. A summer song can become a summer song if it penetrates the culture during the summer."

The emotional tones for summer songs are also diverse, even being about heartbreak at times, Scher notes. He recalls the melancholy 1974 track "Billy, Don’t Be a Hero" by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods as a summer song despite being about a man who is killed in war.

"The number one hit of the summer doesn't actually have to be a summer song," Scher said.

Songs of the summer don't need to fit a mold. This year's contenders span across genres, from Kendrick Lamar’s diss track "Not Like Us" to Post Malone's and Morgan Wallen's country collaboration "I Had Some Help" − further proof that summer anthems are whatever listeners decide they are.

Who really decides the 'song of the summer' in 2024

Summer tracks have always thrived in a season particularly welcoming for the pop and rock ’n’ roll genres, and played at public spaces like shopping malls and roller skating rinks.

But with the rise of streaming services and social media, music's cultural zeitgeist has shattered into a million pieces. Same goes for the song of the summer, where anything reminiscent of a consensus is long gone. The number of spaces to support a summer song have been significantly reduced, according to Thompson.

"Radio has completely changed the way we consume it. In one way it used to be you go on out onto a beach or down a fraternity row or whatever, and you'd hear the same songs coming out of speakers," Thompson said. "Now it's more likely that you'll hear the birds chirping or the waves breaking, everybody's listening to their own music through earbuds."

That's not to say that the discussion has dissipated or ever will but the answer to what is the song of summer is up to each person.

"Music ultimately is consumed by individuals," Thompson said. "One individual is going to find some songs emblematic of Summer of 2024 in ways that other don't."