MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Every year, fans debate which hit is the song of the summer - the song, or songs, that define the season of beaches and barbecues. Well, this year, that race has been dominated - at least technically - by one song. But NPR's Stephen Thompson says there is a new contender making a breakthrough this week.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: Songs of the summer are, by definition, hit songs, which is where the Billboard charts come into play. There's even a Songs of the Summer chart that keeps track of which songs are ruling the charts from May to September. This year, by the numbers - for the first half of the summer, at least - there's a runaway winner, "Ordinary" by Alex Warren.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ORDINARY")
ALEX WARREN: (Singing) Something so out of the ordinary. You got me kissing thе ground of your sanctuary.
THOMPSON: "Ordinary" has been the No. 1 song in the country for seven of the last eight weeks, but it's not exactly a fizzy pop banger of the kind that's typically associated with songs of the summer. It's soaring, but it's not playful. This week, a song of the summer contender that does feel like summer makes its presence felt in the Top 10 for the first time. The rising R&B star Ravyn Lenae jumps from No. 12 to No. 7 with the biggest hit of her career, "Love Me Not."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVE ME NOT")
RAVYN LENAE: (Singing) And, oh, it's hard to see you, but I wish you were right here. Oh, it's hard to leave you when I get you everywhere.
THOMPSON: If your name isn't as big as, say, Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen or Taylor Swift, it can be hard to draw attention to a new song. Huge stars often debut near the top of the charts, and the songs that stick around tend to crowd out newer songs for months on end. There are songs in the current Top 10 that were also there an entire calendar year ago, so the ascent of "Love Me Not" feels momentous, doubly so because it doesn't sound much like its neighbors in the Top 10. It's buoyant and timeless, a poppy R&B throwback that speaks to the quick-hit sugar rush of TikTok just as well as it fuels the vibe at pool parties, barbecues and beach hangs.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVE ME NOT")
LENAE: (Singing) He love me not. He loves me. He holds me tight, then lets me go.
THOMPSON: Ravyn Lenae isn't a newcomer. She put out her first EP a decade ago, when she was still a teenager. Still, "Love Me Not" is her first song ever to crack the Hot 100, let alone the Top 10. Even for "Love Me Not" itself, it's been a long road. The song was released back in May of last year and only gained traction thanks to a surge of interest on TikTok months later. Now that "Love Me Not" has fully arrived, the Top 10 finally has a song of the summer that sounds like summer.
Stephen Thompson, NPR Music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVE ME NOT")
LENAE: (Singing) And oh, it's hard to see you, but I wish you were right here. Oh, it's hard to leave you when I get you everywhere. All this time I'm thinking we could never be a pair. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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