What’s the song of summer for 2024? Sugary contenders range from ‘Espresso’ to ‘Too Sweet’

Looks like there’s a good chance a drinking song will be the official song of summer in 2024.

No, we don’t just mean we could have another rowdy summer hit about pounding alcohol. You know, like last summer’s biggest single, “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen.

This summer, we have a couple big song-of-summer contenders that instead reference coffee drinks: Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Hozier’s “Too Sweet” are brewing up a lot of attention using caffeinated beverages for romantic metaphors. Carpenter’s tune name-drops Mountain Dew, too.

Granted, there’s still a boozy mix out there for 2024 hits, too. Hozier’s tune also references whiskey. Wallen’s latest hit, “I Had Some Help” — written by and sung with Post Malone — has a refrain about hitting the bottle too hard. And then there’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Nashville newcomer Shaboozey, a shamelessly blatant attempt at a drinking hit that’s spreading like Jell-O shots at a frat party.

Whatever your poison, here are the leading candidates for songs to be blaring out of car windows or pumping out of Bluetooth speakers at the beach this summer — ranked in rough order from most likely contenders to trending longshots.

“I Had Some Help,” Post Malone & Morgan Wallen. The multifaceted Malone and the so-complicated Wallen have found true bromance with MVP assist from AutoTune in this song asking a woman to take some blame in a romantic breakup. Yeah, right.

“Espresso,” Sabrina Carpenter. The former Disney TV star has been trying to cross over to pop music stardom for years and firmly landed it with this ultra-catchy hit in which she compares herself to the highly caffeinated drink, keeping boys up late at night.

“Too Sweet,” Hozier. The howling Irishman of “Take Me to Church” fame is enjoying his biggest hit yet with this love song dressed up as a funky little groover, in which the love interest offers a sweet counterbalance to his whiskey and black coffee. So Irish!

“A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey. If you can’t tell by the title or the chosen stage name by this Auto-Tuned country music newbie, this one’s all about drinking. Duh. He even worked “Jack Daniels” into the chorus while co-opting J-Kwon’s 2004 hip-hop hit “Tipsy.” It’s as formulaic as Nashville gets, which means it’s probably going to be an even bigger hit by summer’s end.

“Million Dollar Baby,” Tommy Richman. After blowing up on TikTok, this falsetto-laden, braggadocios party track went straight to No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and has made an instant star out of a 24-year-old college dropout, an affable singer and rapper akin to fellow Virginia native Pharrell Williams.

“Good Luck, Babe,” Chappell Roan. After opening Olivia Rodrigo’s spring tour with Lady Gaga-like stage dynamics, this Missouri pop singer is breaking out on festival stages this summer with her perfectly timed, dramatic synth-pop hit about a love affair with a closeted woman. It’s an undeniable earworm and a universal heartbreaker.

“Get It Sexyy,” Sexyy Red. The St. Louis rapper with the love for Y’s blew up after she opened tour dates for Drake last year. Now, she has landed her own bawdy, sexually charged hit in the vein of “W.A.P.” Sample lyrics: “I’m so [expletive] sexy, yeah, my skin is glistening.”

“Capricorn,” Vampire Weekend. The hipster indie-rock world’s most summery band returned from hiatus and is on a hot-ticket summer tour hitting outdoor venues almost everywhere except in Minnesota. You can nonetheless expect a big, breezy singalong when this lightly swaying ditty about growing up is played at their two-night stand at the Armory, July 30-31.