Billboard's Top 20 Songs of The Summer 2026 - Ranked WORST to BEST

 

Billboard's Top 20 Songs of The Summer 2026 - Ranked WORST to BEST

Hey guys, it’s Fire back with something new!! I’m ranking Billboard’s 2026 Songs of the Summer from worst to best!!

Every summer, Billboard compiles a 20-song list of the best-performing songs of the summer. They use Hot 100 data tracking from Memorial Day through Labor Day. When I was still on Pulse, I would participate in their annual rankdown of the list. But since I left Pulse earlier this year, this article is kinda my way to still stay in touch with what’s popular during the summer. It’s also a way to assess my thoughts on a year in popular music about halfway through before my year-end lists in January of next year.

And as for my thoughts on 2026’s pop music...WOW, I can’t remember the last time in my 9 years of chart-watching where I was this off from the consensus. I’ve seen so many critics and TikTokers call this one of the worst years ever for music so far, and I genuinely don’t agree. I guess 2019 is the closest I can think of to matching how far off I am on the consensus (I still think that year is goddamn dismal, don’t @ me). I’ll probably discuss it more in my year-end lists, but while I won’t deny that this year might honestly be more stagnant than 2025, I still think the quality was really plentiful. It feels like the biggest trends in every genre in the mainstream right now can be summed up by looking at the biggest artists of the year in each genre. Pop? Zara Larsson riding 2016 nostalgia to a massive career resurgence and Olivia Rodrigo dropping her critically acclaimed album and going in bold new directions in her career. Rap? Drake drops 3 albums in one night, all of them bad, and as a result breaking a record by taking up 42% of the Hot 100 in one week (seriously, I’ll give the critics this—2026 has been a really rough year for rap). R&B? Olivia Dean followed through on her massive breakthrough at the end of 2025. But the genre that’s really running the table this year is country—Ella Langley pushed forth a wave of women seeing commercial success, helping the genre see a banner year while also igniting some really exhausting and disingenuous discourse. Anyways, let’s get started on this ranking!! I’ll try to keep things somewhat brief to save my larger commentary for my year-end lists—so let’s start off with...

 THE 3/10s - TERRIBLE TIER

20. Dominic Fike - Babydoll (#20 SOTS)

I’ve hated Dominic Fike since I first heard his worldwide 2019 hit “3 Nights”, where despite a decent hook, his delivery was awful and dragged the whole song down as a result. The only songs I’ve liked from him were his songs for the Barbie and Across The Spiderverse soundtracks. So seeing this song become his biggest US success to date has genuinely been infuriating, because this might just be the worst song I’ve heard from him. The cod reggae-influenced production sounds undercooked as shit and I genuinely can’t stand Dominic Fike’s delivery. For someone who’s mixed race of many different races, his smug tone, lousy “singing”, and his really tryhard rapping make him sound like the whitest person you’ve ever heard. This song is also less than 2 minutes meaning if I hear this shit on the radio (which it’s been all over), it isn’t even worth changing the station. It’s just a lousy undercooked nothing of a fart of a song that, in case you couldn’t tell, is a lock for my worst list this year. If the only reason you headline UCSD’s music festival is, if I understood my IRL friend correctly, because the alternative was Wooli as headliner, that’s a spectacularly low bar to clear. According to that friend, Slayyter was a supporting act in that festival. Someone needs to be fucking slapped for making this guy headline instead of her.

 THE 4/10s - BAD TIER

19. Malcolm Todd - Earrings (#19 SOTS)

I first heard of Malcolm Todd when he randomly got the all-caps “WORST OF THE WEEK” treatment for a seemingly harmless song on Billboard BREAKDOWN in 2024 for his song “Chest Pain (I Love)”. Recently, I listened to all of Mark’s “WORST OF THE WEEK”’s and yikes, he was right on the money with his Malcolm Todd revulsion. “Earrings” might honestly be the “best” song I’ve heard from him because the spacey guitar doesn’t sound terrible, but the whole song falls apart when Malcolm Todd steps up to the mic. He’s obviously doing the lousiest Steve Lacy impersonation I’ve heard in some time, with the attempted genre-blending production and those awful vocals. I know Steve Lacy’s voice on “Bad Habit” was kinda bad, but at least he sounded charming!! But Todd delivers every line in this flat monotone delivery and he sounds more like a dorky kid that the high school jocks would shove into a locker. And that’s the reaction I have when he lifelessly sings “extra, extra, read all about it”—I just wanna shove this kid into a locker. Basically, this song makes me feel like a high school bully. Steve Lacy is literally back charting right now! We don’t need this bad ripoff.

 

18. Drake - Janice STFU (#5 SOTS)

I know Drake stans were lighting up for ICEMAN, mainly because Drake seemed to have intent with this album—he’s the bad guy. And even knowing that, “Janice STFU” is utterly lousy. It could’ve possibly worked as a devastating diss track to Kendrick if the beef wasn’t over TWO YEARS AGO!! Drake is basically recycling all of his strongest jabs at Kendrick and refining them, as if he’s imagining his ideal picture-perfect scenario of what he would’ve done in hindsight. The production is also bad—tuneless rage synths that sound like a migraine and a distorted hook that pitch-shifts Drake’s voice in a way that sounds faulty. This isn’t “Meet The Grahams”, it’s if “The Comeback Song” from Bizaardvark was played completely unironically.

17. STELLA LEFTY - Boston (#6 SOTS)

...I wasn’t planning on putting this song in the bad tier. I mean sure, it’s basic as piss musically and it’s so far away from country that it makes Florida-Georgia Line look like Johnny Cash in comparison, but I thought as a pop song, it was kinda cute. But then every bit of backlash started piling up and that made it harder to defend. If you can make a convincing enough case for a song and I can’t refute it, that can do a lot to sway my opinion. It started with this Bluesky post from Todd:

Like damn, it’s impossible to refute this, even if you like the song. Then the plagiarism allegations started stacking up. And then I noticed the chorus melody sounded just like Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” and the plainness of the entire song just soured on me. Yes, she did interpolate Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” without proper songwriting credit. She only added the proper songwriting credits when Noah Kahan’s team determined the melodies sounded similar. That prompted an immediate examination of her entire catalog and as of writing, we’re up to 5 plagiarism accusations. Depending on when this goes up, it might even be more. I’ll probably have more commentary on my thoughts regarding blatantly taking inspiration from existing music when this likely makes my worst list, but for now I’ll just leave this review at the fact that Stella Thefty is a very appropriate nickname TikTok gave this girl.

 THE 6/10s - DECENT TIER

16. Drake - Shabang (#18 SOTS)
I did not expect to open the YouTube audio for this and see so many people dunking on it. And yeah, ICEMAN did have a few decent songs, and while this is no “2 Hard 4 The Radio”, this is fine. Drake’s flow is pretty unimpressive, but he certainly can make this song pretty catchy. And screw it, I don’t mind the chipmunked sample. There’s so much worse than this on the album, y’all. This isn’t that bad.

15. Bruno Mars - I Just Might (#11 SOTS)

I never wanna hear this song again. This song is completely fine—Bruno Mars is a consummate showman and if you’re in the mood, this song will absolutely take you for a fun ride. So why do I never wanna hear this song again? Well, this song has been all over the radio this entire fucking year and I’m so sick to death of it. I feel like every single synth riff, trumpet blast, and word that Bruno sings have just been etched into my DNA. And the more I hear this, the more it feels like a retread of what he did on “Treasure” and “24K Magic”. I still don’t dislike it (I did like it the first time I heard it), it’s not one of those “overplay alone makes me hate it” songs like “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals, but please, I need a break from this. I have a feeling though that in 2028 I’ll hear this with fresh ears and I’ll like it again—it happened with “good 4 u”, I can see it happening with this.

 THE 7/10s - GOOD TIER

14. Luke Combs - Be By You (#17 SOTS)

I wish “15 Minutes” got a single push from this Luke Combs album, but this is a perfectly serviceable love ballad in the meantime. The production creates a romantic and intimate atmosphere and Luke Combs is really good at selling passion and sincerity. It’s a cute little song, I like it.

 THE 8/10s - GREAT TIER

13. Taylor Swift - I Knew It, I Knew You (#2 SOTS)

Before anyone asks, I haven’t seen Toy Story 5 yet—I’m waiting until it comes to Disney+ later this month—so I don’t know how this plays in the film. As a song though, I can say that this is pretty great—it easily clears everything from The Life Of A Showgirl. Part of it is absolutely the fact that this is Taylor’s return to country music. That harmonica evokes a nostalgic feeling, which is perfect for the song’s subject matter. It’s a song about Taylor encountering someone from her youth and reminiscing over those innocent times. This has the potential to grow on me more if it fits in the context of the movie, but even if it doesn’t, congrats Taylor on making a great song—you’re out of my bad graces for now after The Life Of A Showgirl.

12. Bruno Mars - Risk It All (#13 SOTS)

Now, while “I Just Might” really wore on me from the overplay, “Risk It All” has still held up well for me. A song like this could easily fall into generic AC ballad territory, but what’s always kept this fresh to me are those mariachi horns and the Latin Soul instrumentation—it gives the song a flavor that most generic AC ballads lack (see any of my 90s worst lists). I doubt this will be remembered as a classic from Bruno Mars in 10 years, but I still really like it.

11. Ella Langley - Be Her (#3 SOTS)

I’m still really happy that Ella Langley has broken through so tremendously this year. But at the same time, god, has it ignited some of the absolute worst discourse I’ve seen since, well, 2023. I’ll probably talk more about how the discourse surrounding Ella Langley is very revealing of how uninformed people are about country music in my best list (I’ve genuinely had to resist the urge to scream at some of my IRL friends’ takes), but for now I’ll just leave it at this: I believe Ella Langley might lean a bit conservative, but I don’t see much more to suggest she’s more conservative than Kacey Musgraves, who’s an established modern darling of country music. Get back to me when Ella actively says something problematic (and actual proof, not AI slop). As for “Be Her”, it’s not my favorite on Dandelion, but Ella’s weary delivery works for selling her envy at this other girl she sees as perfect. It’s also just really catchy with its dance-pop percussion and even a bit of nu disco influences. You know, I think I’m starting to get why Spectrum Pulse was so agitated this wasn’t given a pop push. It’s not my favorite country/disco-ish fusion—it’s not “High Horse”—but this is still great.

10. Ella Langley & Morgan Wallen - I Can't Love You Anymore (#7 SOTS)

I’ve seen people use this collab as “proof” that Ella is MAGA, and it’s just so disingenuous. Morgan Wallen is the biggest country act of the decade and Ella Langley is a huge breakthrough rising star in this genre. And in a genre where radio is still the primary driving force for success, this can easily be explained with “Ella wanted an established country artist to get her onto Nashville radio”. It’s not like Tate McRae where a B-list popstar wanted a #1 hit badly and was willing to sacrifice her dignity to associate with Wallen. Country music is literally a genre where connections matter to get onto the radio. Again, get back to me when y’all have indisputable proof that she said something problematic. And it’s a shame that this kinda overshadows the song itself, because it’s great. Morgan Wallen arguably sounds the best he’s sounded in years and he and Langley have pretty great chemistry. I do think this could’ve afforded to be a bit more sad or melancholic to cultivate a stronger atmosphere, but this is still great.

9. Ariana Grande - hate that i made you love me (#4 SOTS)

This song admittedly picks up some uncomfortable subtext given her current public drama and the album as a whole. That said, “hate that i made you love me” is still great and has only grown on me over the course of 2026. Ariana’s lower register sounds gorgeous and it makes her high notes at the end of the song sound stunning. It’s far from my favorite of hers—it’s no “Into You”—but this is still great.

8. Tame Impala & JENNIE - Dracula (#10 SOTS)

Yeah, I’m being serious here—I really don’t get the hate towards this song and this remix. The original song was a pretty good nu-disco leaning cut about diving straight into the escapism of the night, where the escapism is isolation. This remix with JENNIE of BLACKPINK frames the escapism more as external, where instead of isolation, what Kevin Parker is chasing is something, or someone tangible. And JENNIE honestly does a great job at playing the enticing seductress pulling Kevin Parker fully into the thrill. And that reframing honestly elevates the song as a whole for me. Fuck it, this is absolutely overhated—great song!

7. Olivia Dean - So Easy (To Fall In Love) (#8 SOTS)

Yeah, the overplay admittedly did make this cool on me a tad, but this is still great. It’s very Bri ish (complimentary), with its sophisticated yet playful, warm, and inviting tone. Olivia Dean absolutely sells herself as someone you’d wanna be with. A phrase like “it’s so easy to fall in love with me” should come off as arrogant, but here it comes off as inviting!! It’s definitely so easy to fall in love with Olivia Dean and this song, but before we get to Olivia who is the popstar of the year for me, we have to talk about...

THE 9/10s - INCREDIBLE/EXCELLENT TIER

6. Ella Langley - Choosin’ Texas (#1 SOTS)

...the song that I may love, but has made country music discourse thoroughly exhausting to listen to this year. I know I’ve already touched on the backlash towards Ella Langley in previous entries, but I wanna hammer in just how disingenuous the discourse has been—when I was about to listen to Dandelion when it dropped, I saw a news article reporting on an AI video of Ella Langley defending ICE. Said article didn’t bother to mention the video was AI nor did they source the video and I was this close to skipping the album. I’m not gonna bother reiterating my complaints about the discourse. But I will say that as much as I love this song, I feel that it’s much of the reason 2026’s charts have felt so stagnant. As of writing, it’s spent 21 weeks at #1—literally the record without Christmas songs! And yeah, “Choosin’ Texas” is absolutely incredible, it’s very rare to have a country crossover smash that’s as purely neotraditional as this. But back to my point that this song is why this year has felt so stagnant—it has such a towering lead on everything else for the #1 song on the 2026 YE. According to TOTC, there’s literally a bigger gap between it and the current YE #2 than there is between the current YE #15 and current YE #100!!! It’s an incredible song though, so I’m not complaining to see it become so huge.

5. Zara Larsson - Midnight Sun (#14 SOTS)

Just gonna say it—I called it when I reviewed the album last year: “[...]if you’re looking for an album that should’ve soundtracked the summer of 2025 instead of the nothingness we actually got, I’ve got one for you!” I actually feel so vindicated that this became such a huge hit this summer. I love the fidgety dance-pop production and Zara’s vocals. She showcases her underrated vocal range and expressiveness as she sells the pure euphoria of being in love. When I imagine how it feels to be in love with someone, this song is the auditory representation of that sensation. I’m glad Zara Larsson broke out of the Khia asylum, now to see where she goes from here.

4. Olivia Rodrigo - stupid song (#15 SOTS)

Now here’s the Olivia that’s the popstar of 2026 for me! “stupid song” isn’t my favorite song on you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love (in fact it’s probably one of the weaker songs on the album for me), but it’s still excellent. It feels very Taylor Swift circa Lover. The bridge that alternates between the shouted interjections and the speak-singing in particular reminds me a lot of “Cruel Summer”. I love how happy the song is, it literally sounds like someone who is in love. At the same time though, it has a minor key edge to it that makes it fit amazingly on the album. It’s not my favorite on the album, but it’s still incredible. But before we get to what is my favorite on the album, we’ve got another Olivia Rodrigo song to talk about...

THE 10/10s - FANTASTIC/PERFECTION TIER

3. Olivia Rodrigo - the cure (#16 SOTS)

Fun fact—this is my best friend’s favorite on the album. It’s a very valid choice in my opinion, because “the cure” is fantastic. The slow buildup makes the drum breakdown at around the 3:30 mark feel so satisfying. It’s also just a fantastic transition point on the album. This song and the next one have the most potential to grow on me more when I see Olivia live in December. As for what my favorite on the album is...

2. Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead (#12 SOTS)

This is such a fun and euphoric opener to the album. It’s endlessly replayable for me, with that memorable speak-singing that hits the perfect tone needed for a song about Olivia falling head over heels in love with this guy and that euphoric chorus. Like I said in my discog dive, the only thing that should be different about this song is that it should’ve gone “Pisces and an Aquarius” on the bridge. Get it? Because...yeah, you get it. This is a strong challenger for my favorite hit of the year—it only grows on me with every listen. But to end us off...

My #1 is a perfect song in every regard and I’m ready for it to leave now...

1. Olivia Dean - Man I Need (#9 SOTS)

I meant what I said—this is an impeccably crafted R&B song where every time you think it’s too boringly perfect, the “talk to me, talk to me”’s punch in with note perfect timing. Olivia Dean’s delivery is also deeply soulful and inviting. This is a song that’ll come on at your kid’s dentist’s office and make you start dancing and embarrass your kid. So if I have this many positive things to say about it, why am I ready for it to leave? Well, despite the fact that the song has a slow burn rate, even slow burns eventually wear themselves out. And I’m slowly reaching the point where I’m getting tired of this song playing on the radio. More than anything, it highlights why pop radio is slowly becoming completely obsolete—they aren’t rotating in any new songs fast enough and instead cling onto proven commodities well past their expiration date regardless of the quality. And that makes every bad song unbearable and every amazing song burn out. I felt like putting this song at #1 on this ranking is only fair because not only do I think it’s the best song on the list, but because it epitomizes why listening to the radio is no fun anymore.  I’m hoping Olivia Rodrigo can elevate “drop dead” or “the cure” when I see her live in a magical way so she ends up being the highest Olivia on my best list. This is still perfect, but Ms. Rodrigo is more deserving I fear.

And there we have it! I hope you liked this style of article—maybe I’ll bring it back next year! Maybe that gives you guys a sneak peak at what could make my year-end lists for 2026! My next article should be my best list for 1994, which I’ve actually already started work on! Stay tuned for that and in the meantime, if you wanna comment your own ranking of Billboard’s songs of the summer, I look forward to reading your lists in the comments below!! Until next time, remember to keep it Fire!