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This Year’s Song of the Summer Is a Ballad, Not a Banger. Here's What that Says About Us
Listeners are favoring nostalgia and slower romantic ballads as streaming of new music dropped 3.3% in early 2025, reflecting changes in music consumption and social behavior.
- For the past 14 weeks, Billboard's Song of the Summer top spot has been a love ballad, crowned by tracking streaming, airplay and sales between Memorial Day and Labor Day in the United States.
- Luminate's mid-year report found listeners cling to older tunes as streaming on new tracks declined by 3.3% in the first half of 2025, reducing momentum for fresh summer hits.
- Music psychologist Ray Leone says Warren's love song acts as a beacon amid dark times, with researchers linking its slower tempo and emotional focus to inward listening.
- Beaches feel quieter this summer, and Paula Harper warns Warren's love song won't enliven barbecues or pool parties, though it provides solace for some listeners.
- While energetic anthems usually dominate, ballads have won before, as Olivia Rodrigo's 'Driver's License' shows, so this ballad-led trend is uncommon but not unprecedented compared to last year's summer energy.
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21 Articles
21 Articles
WellandTribune.ca+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
This year’s song of the summer is a ballad, not a banger. Here’s what that says about us
NEW YORK (AP) — Every year, summer arrives with a buzzing energy. School’s out, the sun is shining, music is blaring out of car windows and speakers are blasting on the beach.
Click on Detroit+14 Reposted by 14 other sources
This year’s song of the summer is a ballad, not a banger. Here's what that says about us
Every summer, one song emerges as the inescapable summer anthem.
·Detroit, United States
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This year's song of the summer is a ballad, not a banger. Here
NEW YORK (AP) — Every year, summer arrives with a buzzing energy. School’s out, the sun is shining, music is blaring out of car windows and speakers are blasting on the beach. But this summer, the beaches seem quieter. The playlists feel aimless. The radio waves aren’t being dominated by the usual upbeat, sing-along tune. Where is our song of the summer? In this age of fractured listening habits, it’s hard to fully quantify a yearly winner. Howe…
·Baltimore, United States
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Total News Sources21
Leaning Left7Leaning Right1Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution53% Center
Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources are Center
53% Center
L 41%
C 53%
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