Summer music recap: Harry Styles has a hold on 2022 music

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Megan McKay, Contributing writer

As students get settled back into the new school year, it means summer is officially over. However, summer’s pop hits never disappoint as music streaming services are hit yearly with lots of songs to define the summer. There were a ton of big releases this summer, from Harry Styles to Lizzo, and fans were blessed with some of these artists’ best songs of the year. To recap the biggest hits, Billboard’s Top 100 closes out each season with the most popular songs of the summer.

The Billboard chart is based on cumulative performance on weekly streaming, airplay and sales from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Billboard has just recently released its Top 100, and I’m going to share my thoughts. Before I do, I wanted to mention, left off the top 10 list, OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried”. OneRepublic released their hit in May, and it soared to new heights accompanied with Tom Cruise’s new film “Top Gun: Maverick.” OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder jokingly told WRMF, “‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is a $200 million music video for our song.” The record-breaking box office film is doing all the promoting for the groups hit, which peaked at No. 12 on the charts.

Coming in at No. 10 for Billboards 2022 Songs of the Summer is Bad Bunny’s “Titi Me Pregunto.” No. 9 is Harry Styles’ “Late Night Talking” and No. 8 is Beyonce’s “Break My Soul”. Glass Animals comes in at No. 7 with “Heat Waves” followed by No. 6 which is Bad Bunny
and Chencho Corleone’s “Me Porto Bonito”.

The only song of the summer not released in this decade is Kate Bush’s classic song “Running Up That Hill”. Coming in at No. 5, this hit is no surprise to fans of the Netflix series “Stranger Things.” “Stranger Things” is set in the 1980s and frequently features 80s blasts-from-the-pasts, so it was not expected that Bush’s hit would become a worldwide sensation when exposed to the newer generations. The song had a big influence on some of the best scenes of the season.

Star Sadie Sink’s character’s favorite song (“Running Up That Hill”) was prominent throughout the fourth season. The song quickly became a symbol of hope as she narrowly escaped death, therefore leading it to becoming a sort of anthem. “It really didn’t [get old]. I have such an emotional and personal connection to ‘Running Up That Hill’ and it really lent itself to tapping into the character,” Sink said in an interview with Vulture.

It is interesting to note that popular U.K. singer’s song, when released 37 years ago, did not receive nearly the same amount of recognition as it has today. During its time, the song had reached No. 30, though Bush’s songs had never been successful internationally. With the presence of TikTok and streaming services like Netflix, it became the most streamed song of June. With the resurgence of her song, Bush has been estimated to have made over $2.5 million and counting according to Fortune. I believe it is safe to assume that the 80s hit will always remain a staple in “Stranger Things”, but it is best to leave the joy of binging and the vibrance of Bush with the summer.

To continue with the Billboard’s best hits, at No. 4 is Future’s “Wait for U” ft. Drake and Tems, and at No. 3 is Jack Harlow’s “First Class.” In addition to Harlow’s hit, TikTok has once again contributed to another summer hit at No. 2 with Lizzo’s “About Damn Time.” Both Lizzo’s and Harlow’s hits have become viral phenomena with choreographed dances on Tiktok. Lizzo specifically continues to blow the roof off with massive hits. The singer has won over 18 awards and just recently, at the end of August, earned a prize for her “About Damn Time” music video.

I was surprised to not see Nicky Youre’s popular TikTok smash “Sunroof” not on the top 10 charts as it fell to summer’s No. 15. According to many Mercyhurst students, “Sunroof” was a major vibe for the summer but did not out-perform the rest of the hits from the summer. As of this past week, “Sunroof” currently sits at No. 5 on the Billboard weekly charts.

Finally, we arrive at the No. 1 hit of the summer! Ranking No. 1 for the 12th week in a row with mega hit “As It Was” is Harry Styles. Styles’ song smashed the summer charts and earned MTV Awards Best Pop song. “As It Was” topped the Songs of Summer chart each week this year, and according to Billboard, “It’s the third song in the last four years to sweep a season.”

Fans from Erie and the east coast can even catch Harry Styles’ Love on Tour 2022. He will be performing Aug. 20 through Sept. 21 at Madison Square Garden. For the next 15 days, MSG in New York City will be Harry’s House.

We hope to see Billboards Top 100 stay for longer than the summer months, however many have already dropped off the charts. Only two titles from last years’ Songs of the Summer appeared on the charts, so it is safe to say they will always be hits, but will be staying with summer.