song of the summer

The Song of the Summer!

And the winner for summer 2009 is …

“Best I Ever Had”! For sixteen weeks we’ve been monitoring the Song of the Summer landscape — checking the charts, polling our friends, hanging out next to car-stereo shops — and now it’s all over, with Drake at the top of the heap. He couldn’t be here in person to accept the award, and also, we didn’t contact him to let him know about it, but if we had actually gotten in touch with him, and if he had actually responded, he surely would have let us know that he’s overjoyed.

Now, for the genre winners. We’re going to start with the easy ones, giving Country SOTS to Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me,” Indie to Dirty Projectors’ “Stillness Is the Move,” and Throwback to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” Rock is a tougher call — honestly, there just aren’t many good options — so we’re crowning Pearl Jam’s “The Fixer” despite its late entry into the game. Pop might have had an even more disappointing showing, considering the expectations (and as long as you consider “I Gotta Feeling” an R&B song), but we have to admit that Cobra Starship’s “Good Girls Go Bad” totally grew on us. Young Money’s laid-back and honest-to-a-fault posse cut “Every Girl” takes Hip-hop, while the aforementioned “Best I Ever Had” takes R&B (with honorable mention to Keri Hilson’s terrible “Knock You Down”).

Now, for the genre winners. We’re going to start with the easy ones, giving Country SOTS to Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me,” Indie to Dirty Projectors’ “Stillness Is the Move,” and Throwback to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” Rock is a tougher call — honestly, there just aren’t many good options — so we’re crowning Pearl Jam’s “The Fixer” despite its late entry into the game. Pop might have had an even more disappointing showing, considering the expectations (and as long as you consider “I Gotta Feeling” an R&B song), but we have to admit that Cobra Starship’s “Good Girls Go Bad” totally grew on us. Young Money’s laid-back and honest-to-a-fault posse cut “Every Girl” takes Hip-hop, while the aforementioned “Best I Ever Had” takes R&B (with honorable mention to Keri Hilson’s terrible “Knock You Down”).

And that’s it! We leave you with a master list of every song that made even a blip on our SOTS radar. See you next summer.

1. Drake, “Best I Ever Had

2. Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling

9. Jeremih, “Birthday Sex

4. Michael Jackson, “Billie Jean

5. Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me

15. Shakira, “She Wolf

7. Cobra Starship, “Good Girls Go Bad

8. Dirty Projectors, “Stillness Is the Move

9. Jeremih, “Birthday Sex

10. Keri Hilson feat. Kanye West and Ne-Yo, “Knock You Down

11. Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain, “Blame It

12. Pearl Jam, “The Fixer

29. Paramore, “Ignorance

14. Animal Collective, “My Girls

15. Shakira, “She Wolf

16. Mariah Carey, “Obsessed

37. The Gossip, “Heavy Cross

18. Fabolous feat. The-Dream, “Throw It in the Bag

19. Major Lazer, “Keep It Goin’ Louder

20. Jason Mraz, “I’m Yours

21. Japandroids, “Young Hearts Spark Fire

22. Pitbull, “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)

23. Kenny Chesney, “Out Last Night

24. Passion Pit, “The Reeling

25. Drake feat. Lil Wayne and Trey Songz, “Successful

26. Kelly Clarkson, “I Do Not Hook Up

27. Kid Cudi, “Make Her Say

28. Demi Lovato, “Here We Go Again

29. Paramore, “Ignorance

30. Wavves, “Cool Jumper

34. Maxwell, “Pretty Wings

32. Delorean, “Seasun

33. Princeton, “Calypso Gold

34. Maxwell, “Pretty Wings

35. Harlem Shakes, “Strictly Game

12. Pearl Jam, “The Fixer

37. The Gossip, “Heavy Cross

38. Green Day, “Know Your Enemy

39. Webstar feat. Jim Jones and Juelz Santana,Dancing on Me

40. The-Dream feat. Kanye West, “Walking on the Moon

8. Dirty Projectors, “Stillness Is the Move

42. Jadakiss, “Who’s Real

43. Jason Mraz feat. Cobie Caillat, “Lucky

16. Mariah Carey, “Obsessed

45. Animal Collective, “Summertime Clothes

Earlier: Drake’s Vixens Hold Up Admirably Well in Demanding Video
Song of the Summer: Drake’s Having the Best Week Ever

The Song of the Summer!