As Billboard has yet to announce which smash will officially be crowned the Song of the Summer 2020, we reflected on the past 20 years of hits that turned up the heat.
Nelly topped our critics’ picks with his 2002 club banger “Hot in Herre,” a quintessential summertime ode that rolls through all kinds of heatwaves but only cranks up the intensity with the “ah ah” groans.
Usher, Katy Perry and Drake are the only three lead artists to notch more than one Song of the Summer: Usher reigned in 2001 with “U Remind Me” and again in 2004 with “Confessions Part II,” Perry went from “I Kissed a Girl” in 2008 to “California Girls” featuring Snoop Dogg in 2010, and Drake didn’t stop with “One Dance” featuring WizKid and Kyla in 2016 because he had fans “In My Feelings” in 2018. Jay-Z has feature credits on two summertime anthems, “Crazy in Love” by his wife Beyoncé in 2003 and “Umbrella” by Rihanna in 2007.
Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus took last summer by storm when they hit the “Old Town Road” and trotted victoriously for a record-breaking 19-weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.
So which Song of the Summer from the past two decades do you still play back? Vote below!
