We’ve done this show every year (except 2012) since 2011. (We maybe even did it in 2010. We probably did. I just can’t prove it.)

So it’s a bit of a tradition. It’s a tradition that… makes some people angry, we realize.

And that has a lot to do with how we define the term ‘song of the summer.’ We use the Amanda Dobbins definition:

Let’s be clear about how this works: There is no such thing as a ‘personal’ song of summer. We do not anoint multiple songs of summer. There can only be one; the Song of Summer, by its very definition, is a consensus choice. It is the song that wrecks wedding dance floors. It is the song that you and your mother begrudgingly agree on (even though your mom has no idea what rhymes with ‘hug me’ and won’t stop yelling it in public). It does not necessarily have to hit No. 1 on the charts, but it should probably be on the charts because it must be widely played. It must bring people together. It must be a shared enthusiasm.

So it’s our job here to figure out what song from 2023 will get added to the long list of song of the summer classics like “Party Rock Anthem,” “Call Me Maybe,” “Despacito,” and “Blurred Lines.”

And if we’re wrong, well, it really just won’t matter at all.

GUESTS:

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