In the 21st century, the growing fragmentation of musical sources has made it more difficult for a single song to become overwhelmingly pervasive.
[8] In The Washington Post, Chris Richards describes the song of the summer as "that magical megahit capable of changing the nation's psychic temperature".
[9] Variety's designation of song of the summer is based primarily on audio streams between the weekend after the June equinox and Labor Day.
[15] Music critic Ann Powers introduced a bracket-style competition for song of the summer of 1999 in The New York Times.
[17] The first song of the summer on Billboard's chart was "California Gurls" by Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg.
[1] People would hear the same songs on car radios blasting in traffic, in stores and malls, at clubs and parties.
"[1] Time magazine noted the difficulty of identifying a song of the summer in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic and the isolation social distancing reduced the opportunities of a shared musical experience.