Two new Song of the Summer contenders emerged today: “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall,” Coldplay‘s previously-announced new single, and “Lighters,” a leaked track from Bad Meets Evil’s Hell: The Sequel EP, featuring Bruno Mars.
“Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” has as big a hook as any Coldplay single before, but not much in the way of a chorus (much like “Clocks,” which hardly suffered for it). The Big Country-esque guitar solo and pinch of sidechain compression make it sound simultaneously retro and current, and its lyrical stabs at a communal experience of a solitary expression cast a wide net.
Bad Meets Evil, the duo of Eminem and Royce Da 5’9″ of MC supergroup Slaughterhouse (which Eminem signed earlier this year) have just as much a stake in the Song of the Summer fight with “Lighters,” the single that surfaced online last night. Em’s verse is a little corny but Royce kills it as always, and for once, he has a catchy hook to spit alongside, courtesy Top 20 Countdown favorite Bruno Mars, whose chorus about seeing “a sky full of lighters” from a stage sounds appropriately summery. This is only a leak, of course, but Hell: The Sequel comes out a week from Tuesday, so the track is not far from single status.
Do these songs have a shot at the Song of the Summer crown? Let us know what you think in the comments!
