Let’s Shortlist The Song Of The Summer 2014

Let’s Shortlist The Song Of The Summer 2014

When we did this poll last year, we knew even before voting began what the Song Of The Summer would be: “Get Lucky,” obviously. And “Get Lucky” it was. Daft Punk absolutely crushed the competition, garnering nearly 50 percent of the total vote. The next highest vote-getter was Vampire Weekend’s “Diane Young,” which came in a distant second, with a relatively measly 17.5 percent. This summer, though, there’s no such apparent favorite. The song that you will almost certainly hear most over the next few months, “Let It Go,” from the Frozen soundtrack, belongs to no season — it’s been ubiquitous since winter, and will probably continue to be so through next winter. So what does that leave us?

If there’s any one artist who seems most poised to walk home with the trophy, it’s Iggy Azalea, who’s own “Fancy” (featuring Charli XCX) is sure to garner some votes, and who guests on Ariana Grande’s “Problem,” which seems like another potential winner. But Iggy’s appearance on two potential nominees could end up splitting the vote, leaving lots of other contenders with no such conflict. From its title to its hook, Calvin Harris’ “Summer” has an obvious appeal in a race of this nature. To a lesser extent, the same might be said of Parquet Courts’ “Sunbathing Animal.” In a summer during which OutKast are headlining what feels like two festivals a week, it’s not unreasonable to imagine Future’s Andre-featuring “Benz Friends (Watchuola)” coming to represent the season. But Lana Del Rey’s “West Coast” has a humid, sun-baked languor that feels like summer in ways her competition doesn’t even attempt to achieve. And those are only a handful of possibilities. There are so many more to choose from.

So that’s where we stand right now. Here’s how this will work: Just like last year, this process begins with you nominating (in the comments section of this post) the tracks that are, in your opinion, the songs of the summer 2014. At the end of this week, we’ll compile all those nominations (the top ten, most likely) and create a ballot, which we’ll all vote on next week. And then, early next month, we’ll reveal the winner.

And with that, we turn this one over to you. Start shouting out names below and make sure to upvote the picks you agree with so we know the most popular suggestions for the ballot.

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