Sabrina Carpenter's 'Espresso' makes an early run at 'song of the summer' status (2024)

It's not just you: Plenty of people — from TikTok users to Grammy-winning artist Adele — say they have Sabrina Carpenter's song "Espresso" stuck in their heads.

The catchy tune, which she debuted in April, is now considered a top contender for the 2024 song of the summer, which Billboard determines by publishing charts that track popular songs from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

But it’s already crowded at the top of the charts. Taylor Swift released "The Tortured Poets Department," which is ripe with singles, and Billie Eilish's new album "Hit Me Hard and Soft" debuted at No. 2 on Billboard 200 over the weekend. Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's duet “I Had Some Help”has also been thrown around as a possible summer favorite.

Though it's still early, some music experts say Carpenter may have a better shot at taking the top spot after building momentum in the last year. She opened for Swift, performed at Coachella and became ubiquitous online thanks to Spotify streams and TikTok videos that feature snippets of "Espresso."

Although Carpenter, 25, has been in the business for years, her ascent to pop stardom has been more of a “slow burn,” according to Alex Marshall, a TikTok content creator who shares his music expertise on the platform under the handle @vinylbymars.

In 2015, Carpenter released her debut album “Eyes Wide Open” after launching her career on the Disney Channel. Carpenter starred in “Girl Meets World,” a spin-off of the popular ’90s show “Boy Meets World,” and released four albums with the Disney Music Group.

Some credit Swift's The Eras Tour for helping elevate Carpenter to new heights. Fans around the world began tuning into TikTok livestreams to watch Carpenter's opening act, eager to hear the playful puns she would come up with each night for her song "Nonsense."

In April, her set at Coachella went viral after she performed “Espresso” for the first time.

“Everyone is looking for a groovy, chill, laid-back fun song to enjoy,” Marshall said. “It was Coachella weekend one, and it was starting to get warmer in parts of the country ... so it really was a perfect storm.”

Earlier this month, Carpenter was the musical guest on the season finale of NBC's "Saturday Night Live." She also drew attention at the Met Gala after appearing with her rumored boyfriend, actor Barry Keoghan.

Still, it takes more than buzz to score the Billboard accolade — sustained chart success is also essential.

“The definition of song of the summer has changed a little bit since music has become a little bit more personalized and less of a monoculture with streaming,” said Jason Lipshutz, senior director of music at Billboard.

Sometimes, the song of the summer is "obvious" early on, Lipshutz said. Last year, for example, "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen was No. 1 for most of the summer.

But, "colloquially, the song of the summer doesn’t even need to be a huge chart hit," Lipshutz said. "It’s just going to be what defines someone’s summer, whether it’s something they heard on the radio a lot or something they’re listening to on their own streaming service.”

The rise of TikTok and Spotify algorithms have been credited with contributing to the end of “monoculture” or simultaneous, collective cultural experiences. The impact of streaming and social platforms on the music industry has enabled users to curate their listening habits and insulate themselves from even the most popular tracks.

“It’s easier to avoid a multiweek No. 1 single than it was previously,” Lipshutz said. Algorithms have “made the kind of all encompassing, ubiquitous song of the summer a little bit more rare. ... People can listen to their own music whenever they want and however they want.”

With “Espresso,” Carpenter has been able to use the modern landscape of the music industry to her favor, capitalizing on TikTok and Spotify to increase the song’s ubiquity.

Some Spotify users began to notice that “Espresso” would autoplay on the platform no matter what they were listening to. As of Memorial Day weekend, the song had already racked up over 34 million streams on the platform.

To be in the conversation for song of the summer, a track usually has to capture a certain nostalgic energy that can be hard to define.

With "Espresso," a "breeziness" and a "grooviness" give it that feel, Marshall said. He analyzed the song's structure in a TikTok video, noting how Carpenter diverges from the usual structure of pop music and opens the song with its chorus.

While some of the lyrics to “Espresso" — such as “that’s that me, espresso" — don’t make much sense, some fans like Marshall, the TikTok creator, say that's part of its appeal. The song of the summer doesn’t have to be deep, and perhaps it shouldn’t be.

“It reminds you of like sitting by the beach, enjoying a drink with your friends or going out at night,” Marshall said. “It’s that song that every time you turn on the radio or you hit shuffle on a playlist, you think of that summer.”