What Will Be 2015's Song of the Summer? Here Are Some Predictions

It’s finally June, which means Song of Summer season! There have been some amazing ones over the years, Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back,” TLC’s “Waterfalls,” Nelly’s “Hot in Here” and Carly Rae Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe,” to name a few.

Since most of these popular songs are usually released right around Memorial Day, let’s pull out the old crystal ball and see what we can predict about which song will rule this summer.

Any hints from last year’s songs?

Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” was absolutely everywhere. I danced to it at four separate summer weddings. Other songs you had to have been a) cryogenically frozen or b) in a sensory deprivation chamber to avoid hearing: Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me” or John Legend’s “All of Me,” which I heard at least five times a day. Each.

Aside from the fact that Smith and Legend both talked about love, I don’t necessarily see a real pattern emerging from these songs.

What I’m hoping it won’t be:

I’d really like summer 2015 to be a time for some fresh talent, so let’s eliminate the major contenders who have already had multiple summer anthems. I’m looking at all of you: Katy Perry, Maroon 5 (who is a strong contender with both “Sugar” and “The Summer’s Gonna Hurt”), Bruno Mars and Rihanna.

I’d also love to avoid one hit wonders hoping to recapture a previous title. As much as I liked all the copycat videos of Carly Rae Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe” (particularly the incredibly popular one of the US Olympic Swim Team), I’m hoping her latest earworm “I Really Like You” fades into obscurity. I love Tom Hanks, but even he can’t make me look forward to a summer of endless replays.

Expected Contenders:

Kelly Clarkson’s seventh album Piece by Piece was released in February and first single “Heartbeat Song” was a modest success. I'd be surprised if her second single “Invincible” didn’t make the summer top 10. After all, what's summer without a little empowerment?

I also wouldn’t count out the staying power of current members of the Billboard Top 20: Ellie Goulding with her hit “Love Me Like You Do.” If this was the early-2000s, this entire speculation would be over with the news of a new Britney Spears single, but "Pretty Girls" doesn't seem to be catching on (although one should never count out Britney). And there's the current #1 song in the countnry, Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” feat. Kendrick Lamar. 2015's Song of the Summer could turn into a battle of the pop stars.

Of course, there’s also Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again,” which shot to the top of the charts along with Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance.” Did they peak too early for a summer anthem though?

Wildcard Pick:

As much as some of these songs seem like locks, I still want to root for the wildcards. Personally, I’m hoping for OMI’s reggae-inspired song “Cheerleader,” which is already a hit in the UK.

What song or artist are you rooting for? Leave it in the comments!