2024 has already delivered some unforgettable moments in the music scene. From releases such as “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” by Tommy Richman, which peaked at the second position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, to “Water,” which shot the South African singer, Tyla, to success seemingly overnight. The record placed first in the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Chart for over eight consecutive weeks and has accumulated over 220 million views on YouTube since its initial release.
The summer season stamped 2024 as a golden year for music, from the bright green electronic-pop record, Charli XCX’s “Brat” to Sabrina Carpenter’s laid-back pop beat, “Espresso.”
Here are our top songs and albums that captured the essence of Summer 24’.
Brat, Charli XCX
A simple, light green with lowercase letters spelling “brat” is the cover of the latest studio album by British pop singer Charli XCX. The singer’s latest album has broken countless records since its release on June 7. For many, this album seemed to break out of the “clean girl aesthetic” era, which portrays a minimalistic approach to fashion and can be seen as a way of life for many, which has accumulated over 390 thousand hashtags on TikTok alone.
“Brat” is defined by its messy and seemingly pungently rebellious style, a complete turnaround from the simplicity of this “clean” look. In an interview with Jake Shane, host of the podcast “Therapuss with Jake Shane,” XCX describes brat as “b****y and very direct; a little confrontational.”
Similarly, in an interview with Annie and Nick of the “Sidetracked” podcast for BBC, XCX shares that a brat summer is essentially “trashy; just like a pack of cigs and a bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra.” It becomes clear that Brat is not just an album, it’s a movement.
With over 137.1 thousand posts, the #BratSummer trend has sparked multiple TikTok trends, including a dance to XCX’s song “Apple,” which debuted on the album and has since gotten over 1.6 million videos to its sound. This trend has also sparked the use of the term “brat” to describe others. Its once-negative connotation has turned into one that’s uplifting.
On July 21, XCX took to X, formerly Twitter, to say “kamala IS brat,” which is a reference to American presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, who announced her bid for presidency shortly following Pres. Joe Biden’s drop out of the race. The tweet has since garnered over 55.5 million views and has been used as a part of the vice president’s campaign.
XCX shared in a recent TikTok video that a “brat” is a “girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes. Who feels herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like, parties through it, is very honest, very blunt.”
The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 Chart and No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart. This wouldn’t be XCX’s first chart-topping release, her last album “Crash” similarly peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart in April 2022 following its March 2022 release.
Some may also see the album as a celebration of womanhood while also being a commentary on female friendships in the music industry, as denoted by the track “Girl, so Confusing,” and its subsequent remix featuring Lorde, another pop singer who many in the industry have confused for each other, and who many fans have speculated the song is about.
“You always say, ‘Let’s go out/So we go eat at a restaurant/Sometimes it feels a bit awkward/’Cause we don’t have much in common/People say we’re alike/They say we’ve got the same hair/We talk about making music/But I don’t know if it’s honest,” XCX sings over autotune and an abrasive electronic beat.
In a TikTok video released before the release of “Brat,” XCX reacts to the speculation that there might be a diss track on the album, specifically referring to “Girl, so Confusing.”
XCX said the song is “just about how it’s so complicated being an artist, especially a female artist, where you are pitted against your peers, but are also expected to be best friends with every single person constantly, and if you’re not, you’re deemed a bad feminist, and that to me is such an unrealistic expectation.”
The track was named one of Pitchfork’s Best New Tracks and peaked at No. 2 on the Dance/Electronic Streaming chart and No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100.
XCX also released a remix for another one of her tracks, “Guess,” featuring pop singer Billie Eilish. The track was produced by New York-based DJ and producer, The Dare, who released his first full-length album on Sept. 6, “What’s Wrong with New York?”
The remix debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. and has garnered over 24 million views on YouTube since its Aug. 1 release. XCX released the deluxe version of the album, “brat and it’s the same but it has three more songs so it’s not” on June 10.
“Espresso,” Sabrina Carpenter
This summer’s soundtrack was served with a shot of Espresso, as pop artist Sabrina Carpenter released her hit song “Espresso” in April 2024. Its popularity spilled into the summer, easily making it the single of the season. The song peaked at the No.1 position on the Billboard Global 200 chart.
With the success of the hit single on streaming, Carpenter decided to make it a double shot, dishing out a playful 1960s-themed music video to accompany her hit single. The video currently has over 694,000 views on YouTube.
One Twitter user pointed out the music video’s similarities to the 2013 cult-classic Disney Channel original film “Teen Beach Movie.” This could be a nod to her contribution to the movie’s 2015 sequel, “Teen Beach 2,” where she wrote the song “Rescue Me,” used in a school dance scene. Carpenter started her career on the Disney Channel, portraying Maya Hart in “Girl Meets World.”
As if “Espresso” wasn’t enough to get us through summer nights spent “workin’ late,” Carpenter ended the summer with the release of her album “Short n’ Sweet,” which has seemingly continued the artist’s reign over the charts, debuting at the No. 1 position on Official UK Albums chart. The album also featured fan favorite, “Please Please Please,” which Carpenter originally released as the sister single to “Espresso” on June 6.
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Chappell Roan
This summer, pop artist Kayleigh Amstutz, better known by her stage name, Chappell Roan started a “Femininomenon” with her debut album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” The album features 14 songs, with “HOT TO GO!,” “Pink Pony Club” and “Red Wine Supernova” making it to the top three of her most streamed.
Roan took a unique approach to artistry, claiming to have originally released her album as an “art project.” “Chappell Roan is like… I don’t mean to sound reductive but it’s like an art project for me. Like, my name is Kayleigh; but Chappell is almost like a performance piece,” she said in a podcast interview with comedian Ashley Gavin.
Despite the album’s 2023 release, the self-proclaimed Midwest princess rose to stardom this summer, which has been seven years in the making.
Roan, originally from the small town of Willard, Missouri, moved to Los Angeles on her own in 2018. Her move to LA sparked a collaboration with Grammy-winning producer, Dan Nigro, who has also worked with artists Kylie Minogue and Olivia Rodrigo, who Roan opened for on Rodrigo’s GUTS Tour.
Her collaboration with Nigro would lead to the creation of her song, “Pink Pony Club,” which was inspired by the gay nightclub scene, a theme that is prominent in her music. Roan, who identifies as queer herself, has made it clear that the LGBTQ community has endlessly influenced her music and persona, which she attributes mostly to drag queens.
According to Spotify Charts, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” took its place as the most-streamed album in the United States at the start of August 2024. According to Rolling Stone, “the album’s streams rose 100 percent” since June 1, quickly marking itself as competition for the album of the summer.
Some songs have even earned their dances. Crowds can often be found doing YMCA-esque choreography to the song “HOT TO GO!” at many of Roan’s concerts. According to USA Today, a representative for the Chicago-based music festival Lollapalooza shared in a statement that “Chappell’s performance was the biggest daytime set we’ve ever seen.”
Many wonder what makes Chappell Roan so coveted, or as she often coins herself, our “favorite artist’s favorite artist.” Some might say it’s her camp attire, reminiscent of early 2000’s Lady Gaga, or attribute it to her vibrant persona. Whatever it is, Roan had everyone wanting to join the Pink Pony Club this summer.
“I Had Some Help,” Post Malone and Morgan Wallen
The country music genre is alive and well.
2024 has seen its fair share of country releases and cross-overs, including the release of Beyonce’s highly anticipated “Cowboy Carter,” which broke a plethora of records following its release, as well as Nigerian-American country artist, Shaboozey’s entrance into the world of country, who’s single “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has remained at the No. 1 position of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for over seven weeks. This also includes rapper and singer Post Malone’s crossing to the country world.
Malone is well known for making hits, with six singles making it to the Billboard Hot 100, including “Circles,” and his collaboration “Sunflower” with rapper Swae Lee for the 2018 “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” movie. This time, it isn’t for his rap or pop music, but rather his collaboration with country singer Morgan Wallen for the track “I Had Some Help” on his new album “F-1 Trillion,” released this past month.
Malone’s recent entrance into the world of country has not been unpredictable. On his last album, “Austin,” Malone shared in an Instagram reel that he had played guitar for most of the songs written for the record. Even dating back to his earlier career, Malone has always expressed his interest in the genre, sharing in a 2015 tweet that has recently resurfaced, “WHEN I TURN 30 I AM BECOMING A COUNTRY/FOLK SINGER.”
Malone’s collaboration with country superstar, Morgan Wallen, who had his first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in Feb. 2023 with the release of his song “Last Night,” which remained in that position for 16 consecutive weeks.
“I Had Some Help” is the duo’s first collaboration and has also recently been deemed the “Song of the Summer.” The track was first leaked by Wallen in Dec. 2023, when the singer accidentally shared a clip of the song, and then quickly deleted it.
The song was ultimately teased again by Malone, this time sharing a video of himself singing along to a mix of the song while drinking some beer. The duo went on to perform their then-unreleased track together at Stagecoach Music Festival in California back in April.
The track’s release on May 10 of this year was followed by the release of its music video, which has since garnered over 89 million views. The song has since been used in over 151 thousand posts on TikTok.
Sage West is the Copy Desk Chief for the University Press. For more information regarding this story, email her at [email protected].
Gabriela Quintero is a Staff Writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this story or others, contact her at [email protected].
