Rolling Stone examines the growing gap between chart success and club impact when defining a “song of the summer”. DJs argue that the season’s real anthem is the track that transforms a crowd, rather than simply the song with the most streams or radio plays, reflecting how personalised DJ selections and online trends have weakened the old consensus around major hits.

DJ Rosegawd cites Yung Miami’s “Spend Dat” as a song that has sparked intense reactions in clubs, including during an NBA Finals watch party, while it reached Number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other club favourites include Trim’s “Coconut Water”, BabyChiefDoit’s “Ghetto Love Story” and older songs such as Amerie’s “1 Thing”; by contrast, the charts’ top 10 has featured artists including Ella Langley, Olivia Dean and Tame Impala. DJs compare today’s fragmented landscape with 2017’s “Bodak Yellow” and Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 hit “Not Like Us”, songs seen as unusually universal.