BRAT summer, 2024. Coined from the #1 album by pop sensation Charli XCX, the deep basslines, electrocrashing club beats and eccentric melodies made everyone want to get out, shake every bone in their body and ultimately, just have fun. It was raunchy, vehement, and what we needed in a music industry saturated by melancholy from earlier in the year. Charli XCX took the world by storm. And now as 2025 summer comes to a close, it is worth considering: did we have a so-called ‘song of the summer?’ Did any music have such an impression on the summer as BRAT did?
Plainly, yes. There is one song that topped the charts this summer, though it seems to lack the same cultural impact that BRAT had. According to chart data and Spotify, ‘Ordinary’ by Alex Warren was the biggest summer hit. The soft and tender love song topped UK charts for an impressive 12 weeks, becoming the longest #1 single of 2025. It seems that music has become completely unrecognisable compared to music from the year before. This is evident with Spotify listing ‘Love Me Not’ by Ravyn and Lenae and ‘back to friends’ by sombr among the top 5 hits of the summer
It is clear, if not obvious, that there is a pattern here: music this summer is sombre (no pun intended). Hits are thematically sad, yearning pop songs expressing heartbreak or love. This is in major contrast to the ‘365 party girl’ mindset that we manifested last summer. While ‘Ordinary’ is still incredibly popular and remains in the top 10 to date, it is difficult to see if it will hold a legacy like BRAT does, as it still proves relevant with the recent revival of ‘SWEAT’ at Primavera Sound. Even with hits such as ‘Manchild’ by Sabrina Carpenter, ‘Diet Pepsi’ by Addison Rae and ‘Gnarly’ by Katseye mirroring the feel of BRAT, none of these could break through in the way that BRAT did. This summer cannot be marked as a ‘Sabrina Summer’ or a ‘Diet Pepsi Summer’, because, well, it was just pretty ordinary.
It is almost as if music this summer is a hangover from the 2024 party summer that Charli XCX gave us. What once encapsulated the feeling of getting obscenely drunk with friends and having the time of our lives is now replaced by feeling lonely in our uni rooms. However, I am in no way deeming ‘Ordinary’ and other hits of the summer as bad songs. ‘Ordinary’ has beautiful arrangement, strong lyricism and could stand to be an iconic love song in the coming years. But it doesn’t hold the same weight of ‘song of the summer’ like ‘Apple’ or ‘Guess.’ Or even at all. It seems that music lovers are more excited for artists such as Taylor Swift in the autumn, in the hope that their music challenges culture like Charli XCX. Perhaps the latter half of this year will serve more iconic musical moments that hold the same gravity as BRAT summer, 2024 did.
Image credit – Bratgenerator.com
