Sabrina continues to dominate 2024 with “Taste” + song of the summer revealed

Last week, at the VMAs, Sabrina Carpenter established herself as a modern icon and this year’s most successful star by performing her three back-to-back Number 1 smashes: “Espresso”, “Please, Please, Please” and “Taste”. The latter of these three hits still sits comfortably atop my own chart for a second week. “Taste” addresses complex relationship issues, possibly referring to the love triangle rumours with Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. “Taste” has an infectious hook, and a killer music video, starring Scream queen Jenna Ortega as a Cabello possible stand-in, and heavily draws inspiration from cult classics such as Death Becomes Her. “Taste” its reign is threatened by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, who tasted Number 1 for two weeks and are eager to claim it back. Dutch duo Froukje & S10 also hint towards the top, which could earn them their very first Number 1s ever.

One of the biggest musical events of 2024 has to be the rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. They have been beefing since 2013, but tensions escalated in March 2024, following Lamar's surprise appearance on Future and Metro Boomin's single "Like That", which allegedly dissed Drake. A lot of back-to-back diss tracks followed, in which Drake accused Lamar of abusing his girlfriend. In a, for many people, winning final move, Lamar released “Not Like Us”, a club hit and insanely catchy diss that annihilates Drake completely. It moves to my personal #7 this week, proving that it’s more than a viral diss. It’s been some time since we have seen Lamar in my Top 10 – his contribution to the Black Panther soundtrack “All the Stars” peaked at #2 in 2018, almost six years ago.

Peggy Gou defined last summer with her techno-dance smash “(It Goes Like) Nanana”. It earned five weeks atop my list, becoming the best-scoring single of 2023’s summer. It also ended up becoming the best-scoring Number 1-song of 2023, only bested by Maan and Goldband their “Stiekem” in the year-end ranking. However, after all that massive breakout success, Peggy Gou’s follow-ups failed to stick the landing. "I Believe in Love Again", her collaboration with Lenny Kravitz, did not impact this list, and her album I Hear You failed to spawn any significant hit. A few months later, Peggy Gou proves she is not a one-hit-wonder as “Find The Way” finds its way to the Top 10 for the very first time – #10 this week. She becomes the first ever South Korean artist to score multiple Top 10-hits.

Last year, Canadian singer Tate McRae bid to become a full-fledged pop star, echoing the greats such as Britney Spears and Nelly Furtado on “Greedy”. The Timbaland-sounding song became a streaming juggernaut and launched McRae to new heights of success. On my personal chart, “Greedy” spent six weeks at Number 1, becoming her best-scoring single to date. Following the chart-topper, she released her sophomore album Think Later which spawned a second Top 10-hit with “Exes”. In a baffling next move, however, no further singles were released and McRae kind of disappeared again. This week, the Canadian star returns with “It’s OK I’m OK”, “Greedy” its spiritual successor, almost exactly one year later. It was first teased at Madison Square Garden and on TikTok. It starts off at #11, earning McRae the highest debut of the week.

Brat summer is not over yet – although Charli XCX did declare so online. On the charts, however, it’s still going stronger than ever. “Apple” and “360” went Top 10 for multiple weeks, “Guess” with Billie broke the internet, and “Girl, So Confusing” became Charli’s first Number 1 in over a decade. She is now set to release a remix album of Brat with lots of special guest appearances, including Troye Sivan on “Talk, Talk”, which debuts at #17 this week. They worked together before on “1999” back in 2018, which was a minor hit and peaked at a low #20, but did mark a turning point in both artists’ careers. It was the first of Charli’s more dance-oriented hits on my list and paved the way for her future releases, while it was Troye his biggest hit until “Rush” and “Got Me Started” overtook. It is only fitting these two friends cap off Brat summer together on “Talk, Talk”. They are not alone though! Dua Lipa joins as a cameo voice message whilst on holiday, talking in Spanish and French.

Further down, The Weeknd makes his big comeback with the synth-driven “Dancing in the Flames”. It is the lead single to his upcoming sixth album. The Weeknd has scored some big Top 10-hits recently – such as “Popular” with Madonna or “Die For You” with Ariana Grande – but his last big solo smash dates back to 2022’s “Sacrifice”. Dutch indie darling and festival favourite Eefje de Visser enters this chart at #29 with “Weekenden” supported by her new album Heimwee. It previously spawned the #11-hit “Vlammen”, which became Eefje her biggest song to date on my chart. Dutch students and singers Turfy Gang debut at #34 with their love letter to Ibiza’s biggest party “Ushuaia”. Its their third student anthem to cross over into the Top 40. Gracie Abrams makes her chart debut at #35 with “I Love You, I’m Sorry” which has been slowly climbing the official charts across the globe. Rounding out all the entries this week, is a re-entry by Hannah Mae and Maksim with “Ik Wil Dat Je Liegt”. The duet initially hit its peak at #18, but now re-enters my list since the single recently topped the Belgian Singles Chart. It could be set for a revival.

As the summer of 2024 draws to a close and the leaves of autumn begin to fall, it is time to finally list my personal biggest songs of the season. Coming out on top, perhaps with little surprise, is Sabrina her “Please, Please, Please”. The second single from Short ‘N Sweet; it has endured for the entire summer, charting inside the Top 10 for fifteen consecutive weeks. Her “Espresso” is the more summer-infused song, but ranks fourth instead due to it being released early this year. In second place, the Netherlands’ pop darling Roxy Dekker ranks with “Gaan We Weg?” alongside Ronnie Flex. It became another big success for the popular talent, while it became Flex his landmark eighth Number 1. Chappel Roan also caps off a breakout summer with “Good Luck, Babe!” at third place and the follow-up smash “Hot To Go” in ninth place. We also must not forget Brat summer, which saw Charli XCX score four back-to-back hits, with “Girl, So Confusing” with Lorde and “360” in fifth and seventh place on this summer ranking, respectively. Little Mix’s JADE her solo breakout “Angel of My Dreams” ranks sixth, while festival favourites Raye and Justice rank eighth and tenth, respectively. For the full rundown of 2024’s summer its biggest hits, see the list below this chart.

Biggest songs of summer 2024

1. “Please, Please, Please” – Sabrina Carpenter
2. “Gaan We Weg?” – Roxy Dekker & Ronnie Flex
3. “Good Luck, Babe!” – Chappel Roan
4. “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter
5. “Girl, so confusing remix” – Charli XCX & Lorde
6. “Angel of My Dreams” – JADE
7. “360” – Charli XCX
8. “Genesis.” – Raye
9. “Hot To Go!” – Chappel Roan
10. “Neverender” – Tame Impala & Justice