Song Of The Summer

July 18th, 2011 | 5:00 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Song Of The Summer Countdown: Katy Perry And Adele Are Neck And Neck At Summer’s Halfway Point

[Click here for a larger image]

This marks our eighth week of charting this year’s Song Of The Summer contenders, and it’s been quite the race so far. Adele‘s unstoppable behemoth, “Rolling In The Deep,” has been at the top of the charts for five of those weeks, and Katy Perry‘s “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” has held the top spot for three of ‘em. However, it’s Perry’s jubilant anthem about the joys of getting blackout drunk that has all of the momentum in its favor after grabbing the top spot in our VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown for the first time this week.

At the moment, everyone who isn’t named either Adele or Katy Perry is currently playing for third place, but that’s a tight race, too. Pitbull and LMFAO each continue to hold strong with their club-friendly megahits, while Lady Gaga‘s “The Edge Of Glory” makes its highest appearance on the charts so far this summer, despite its video being widely panned as being too underwhelming and not up to snuff with the rest of Gaga’s video canon. It’s also worth noting that OneRepublic‘s “Good Life” would also find itself in the running for the top prize, if not for a total lack of traction on YouTube and LastFM.

One last note: Rebecca Black‘s follow-up to “Friday”—a song which might just be the most popular (and hated) song of 2011 so far—is scheduled to be released at 8 p.m. this evening. We should know in less than 24 hours time whether this song has got what it takes to make a late summer run at #1.

July 11th, 2011 | 1:53 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Song Of The Summer Countdown: Katy Perry Stakes Her Claim To Another S.O.T.S. Crown

[Click here for a larger image]

You know the moment when, near the end of horror movies, the seemingly-dead killer pops back to life, only to be shot/stabbed/poked-in-the-eye-with-a-wire-clothes-hanger by the protagonist? Well, if the Song of the Summer Countdown were a horror movie –this analogy is admittedly a stretch, but just follow us here for a sec– and Katy Perry were the doe-eyed Final Girl, then Adele would have to be the villain of our race.

Last week, after being unseated the week prior by “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” “Rolling In The Deep” came back from the grave to make one final (?) run at the #1 position. However, on this week’s just-updated Song of the Summer countdown, Katy Perry once again asserted her dominance as the Queen of the Summer Songs to claim the top spot back from the British songbird. However, the race is nowhere near over yet.

Pitbull and Ne-Yo’s ode to joys of pre-apocalyptic nookie, “Give Me Everything,” continues to climb its way up the charts; its third-place position this week marks the song’s best performance on the charts to date. LMFAO‘s “Party Rock Anthem” is currently sitting atop the Billboard and iTunes charts, and OneRepublic‘s “Good Life” burst into the Top 10 in its first week on this chart, no doubt propelled by Ryan Tedder’s recent appearances on NBC/Universal linear properties, The Voice, Platinum Hit and the Today Show (corporate synergy at its finest!). It’s entirely possible that the zeitgeist could blow in the direction of any of these songs and put some serious wind behind their sails (and sales), but at this point, it sure seems like Katy is once again the girl to beat!

July 7th, 2011 | 5:15 pm by Nick Minichino

Monica’s New Single “Anything” Stacks The Deck With Past Song Of The Summer Heavyweights

When Monica and Rick Ross talked to MTV a year ago about collaborating, their mutual admiration society vibe didn’t exactly lend credence to the possibility. Yet here we are! Missy Elliott, reinvigorated after being away from the game to attend to her health issues, flips another Notorious B.I.G. track, and once again, Lil’ Kim is also on board. (In 2007, it was a “Juicy” sample for Keyshia Cole‘s “Let It Go”; this time around Missy reworks “Who Shot Ya.”)

July 5th, 2011 | 6:00 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Song Of The Summer Countdown: Adele, America Can’t Quit You

[Click here for a larger image.]

Well, for those of you who thought you had heard the last of Adele‘s “Rolling In The Deep” after it was bested by Katy Perry‘s “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” in last week’s Song Of The Summer Countdown, Adele will have you know that she’s not the type to go out quietly. Adele’s composite S.O.T.S. score slipped by one point from last week, but thanks to Katy Perry’s slippage of four points, we have ourselves the first ever tie in this here humble countdown!

In other chart insights, the summer of Pitbull continues to roll along nicely. “Give Me Everything,” which features Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer, just hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, which factors both sales and radio airplay in its formula. The song seems unescapable at the moment; Pitbull and Ne-Yo performed it both on the Today Show and The Voice last week alone, continuing to give it some much needed momentum as we begin to approach the dog days. But as huge as this song is in its current incarnation, we can’t help but wonder how big it would’ve gotten if Shakira had sang the hook (as she was originally supposed to)?

One other interesting factoid for you S.O.T.S. watchers out there. If you check out the Top 100 songs on Metrolyrics, a site that is solely dedicated to helping readers find out what some of their favorite vocalists are actually singing, their current number one is “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj (which seems to be making a nice run of its own right now). If we were to take a guess as to why this song is popping over the rest, we would have to say that the speed at which Nicki raps probably confuses a lot of her listeners, so getting a helping hand with the lyrics really comes in handy when, like Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez, someone asks you to start spontaneously rapping!

June 30th, 2011 | 5:10 pm by Nick Minichino

Stereogum Readers Name Foster The People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” As The “Indie Song Of The Summer”

Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks - Music Videos

We’ve speculated at length (and crunched not a few stats) to help determine what is 2011′s Song Of The Summer. Stereogum has also been wondering about this subject, so the “indie rock blog” polled its readership, and the results are in: the Stereogum Indie Song of the Summer is “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People, who, you’ll remember, is our latest You Oughta Know artist. Watch the video for “Pumped Up Kicks” above, or check out their stripped-down, You Oughta Know Live version.

And The Indie Song Of Summer 2011 Is? [Stereogum]

June 29th, 2011 | 2:30 pm by Nick Minichino

Coldplay Rave Under The Blacklight In “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall”

Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall - Music Videos

The first thing Coldplay‘s fun new video for “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” might bring to mind is the Shynola-directed Chris Martin and the ~~Purple Crayon~~ Box of Chalk video for 2009′s “Strawberry Swing”. (It’s certainly what some fans are thinking.) This video, however, is actually the sixth directed by the band’s college buddy Mat Whitecross, and his bright, stylized clip, with splashes of Michel Gondry and, yes, Shynola, might be better described as “Coldplay Goes to Madchester.”

The arrows point to the Ha?ienda entrance!

June 27th, 2011 | 3:00 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Song Of The Summer Countdown: Will Katy Perry Claim Her Third S.O.T.S In Four Years?

[Click here for a larger image.]

For the first time since we started counting down this year’s Song Of The Summer, someone other than Adele is sitting in the proverbial cat bird’s seat. Weirdly enough, though, “Rolling In The Deep” has been usurped by another song that audiences first heard back in 2010.

While we’re plenty excited that Katy Perry‘s “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” knocked Adele out of the top spot, we can’t help but lament the fact that Katy Perry is still ruling the airwaves with songs from her Teenage Dream album. If you’ll recall, that record came out way back on August 24, 2010, but last year’s Song Of The Summer, “California Gurls,” was released even further back (May 11, 2010, to be exact). And if you flip the calendar back to the summer of 2008, Perry’s first smash single, “I Kissed A Girl,” was that summer’s biggest party jam.

So, folks, you tell us: What exactly is it about the summertime that makes you want to listen to Katy Perry? Why does her particular blend of breezy pop music make you want to roll your windows down and turn the singles from Teenage Dream up? Let us know in the comments, and check back here next week to see if Katy can fend off the likes of Britney Spears, Pitbull and Lady Gaga to keep the top spot in VH1′s Song Of The Summer countdown!

June 21st, 2011 | 2:00 pm by Nick Minichino

DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince Kick Off Another Summer With “Summertime”

DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - Summertime - Music Videos

It’s the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere?officially the first day of summer?so even though the season’s lazy days are ahead of us, what better time to start looking back at the evergreen songs of summers past? This morning, the Village Voice‘s Sound of the City blog ran an extensive Q&A with DJ Jazzy Jeff about one of the most enduring summertime songs, his own (with the Fresh Prince) “Summertime,” which turns twenty this year. Will Smith channeled his own nostalgia for Philly summers past (while in Los Angeles shooting the first season of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) into a timeless nostalgic anthem.
Read more…

June 20th, 2011 | 1:45 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Song Of The Summer Countdown: Is The Summer Of Pitbull Nearly Upon Us?

[Click here for a larger image]

Now that we’re four weeks into this year’s race to determine the Song Of The Summer, the race is finally starting to heat up. Adele still has a firm grasp on the #1 spot, but closer analysis reveals that the gap between her and those who would gladly take her position is closing (thanks to minor slips in iTunes sales and the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown this week).

While Adele isn’t giving up her throne anytime soon, it looks pretty clear at this point that Miami rapper Pitbull is shaping up to have his Best Summer Ever. He’s currently got three songs resting comfortably in the S.O.T.S. Top 20: He contributes guest vocals to both Jennifer Lopez‘s “On The Floor” and Shakira‘s new chart entry, “Rabiosa,” and he’s also the lead artist on the club-friendly “Give Me Everything.” Not only that, his new single with Marc Anthony, “Rain Over Me,” is just starting to bubble up and could make a strong run itself after his new album, Planet Pit, drops tomorrow.

Also, while we’re talking about potential songs that could dethrone “Rolling In The Deep,” keep an eye on Lady Gaga’s “The Edge Of Glory” next week. The video just debuted on Thursday night, and even though it underwhelmed many upon its release, the song should benefit greatly from increased exposure in the wake of Clarence Clemons’ tragic passing this week.

Got any thoughts on the Song Of The Summer? Tweet us @vh1 or leave your comments below!

June 16th, 2011 | 8:15 pm by Nick Minichino

Lady Gaga Plays Rent‘s Mimi In “The Edge of Glory” Video

Lady Gaga premiered the music video for “The Edge of Glory,” her third Born This Way single, tonight on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance. “The Edge of Glory” is the not only one of the album’s standout tracks (and in the running for Song of the Summer) but also the first remotely organic single from the album, which is to say both that the song was not a planned single but enough of a hit with listeners that it was released to radio and that the video is low-concept, particularly compared to the “Born This Way” and “Judas” videos.

Gaga has said the song is a tribute to her late grandfather, but through director ~~Joseph Kahn~~ Haus Of Gaga‘s eye, “The Edge of Glory” is about Gaga’s early days in lower Manhattan. In the MTV documentary Lady Gaga: Inside the Outside, she discussed playing metal records onstage with Lady Starlight before she got her break, and her starry-eyed reminiscence of her Lower East Side experiences are translated visually, and through the lens of Gaga’s love of musical theater, into somewhat of a recreation of the choreography of “Out Tonight,” a number from the musical Rent. She dances and prances all over a fire escape and up and down a block, and her leathered-out getup reads as positively throwback (not in a bad way).