Every Song That Tried & Failed To Become The "Song Of The Summer"

Save your moody ballads for December, because between June and September, fun pop songs reign supreme. And why not? Even if you're still working in a cubicle as the temperature creeps up, the right song can make it feel like you're sunbathing on the beach.

That is, perhaps, why the term "song of the summer" has become a bonafide thing. Every summer needs a soundtrack. While not every tune that rises above the other Top 40 tracks has beachy vibes (or the season in the title, à la Demi Lovato's "Cool For The Summer") these songs are pure pop escapism. The stars who release these tunes tend to embody the resort vacay version of themselves — if only for three whole minutes.

So many pop acts attempt to release one track that will dominate radio play in the summer. While many artists have succeeded (some more than once), certain songs didn't quite hit the mark. Whether the songs were unfairly underplayed, or tried a little too hard to push the "we're on an island!" vibes, here are tracks that tried, but ultimately failed, to become a song of the summer.