Crushes, Beaches and Beats: The Final 5 Songs That Brightened My Summer(s)

Welcome to the second part of the very hot and sunny countdown, The 10 Songs That Brightened My Summer(s). We’re going to resume at number 5, and you’ll find out in this post who the top charter is. But don’t scroll down just yet! The rest of the top 5 is fantastic, and there’s a great chance these songs marked your summers at some point, too.

Before we go on with the countdown, let’s review the positions from 10 to 6:

• 10 – “On The Beach” (1986) – Chris Rea
• 9 – “Summer in the City” (1994) – Joe Cocker
• 8 – “Love is Strong” (1994) – The Rolling Stones
• 7 – “Crush” (1998) – Jennifer Paige
• 6 – “Tempted to Touch” (2004) – Rupee

If you can’t identify the songs by the title, then click below and press play on the videos:

Now, back to the countdown…

5 – “Turn Me On” (2001) – Kevin Lyttle

Similar to number 6, the hit at number 5 remains a staple at every summer party. When we hear that protracted, nasal “Oh Yeahhhhhh”, we know Kevin Lyttle is about to pump up the dancefloor with his enthusiastic lyrics that get stuck to our memories and ears like glue.

“Turn Me On” is one of those songs that will never go away. I naively thought that its appeal would wind down with time, but I misjudged the potency of this soca-infused track. Witchcraft — I’m tempted to say at this point!

I’m being unfair, though: “Turn Me On” is a testament to a well-crafted song’s relevance and longevity — it can last forever. With so many films and series featuring zombies that depict the end of the world, I find it hard to believe this track hasn’t been used as a soundtrack yet. Or has it? Let me know in the comments.

Another detail I found ironic is that Kevin Lyttle recorded “Turn Me On” in 2001 in under an hour, using just two takes. I don’t know how long music artists typically take to record a song, but less than 60 minutes for an eternal summer hit seems limited. I’m telling you, “Turn Me On” is not going away — it still makes people turn up!

4 – “Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)” (1989) – Soul II Soul

Soul II Soul’s “Back to Life” brings sunshine, vibrant colours, dance, warmth, and happiness to my life. That’s why it features this summer list and all upcoming summer charts I might write in the future.

In sum, “Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)” embodies my idea of summer, despite the song’s message being more in line with Autumn. I can see the leaves of love losing their vibrancy and taking on a brownish-yellow hue, dragging the hope of a prosperous relationship to the ground. Dramatic? I know!

If we ignore the lyrics for a moment — which I did when I was a child — “Back to Life” is a joyful and uplifting tune. But sounds can also be deceiving. In this Soul II Soul track, Caron Wheeler sings about seeking clarity in a relationship. So, it is an inspiring song, but for those who have mustered the courage to initiate ‘the’ talk. And now that I’m listening to the lyrics as I write this, I realise that Wheeler is not leaving room for ambiguity.

Show me how, decide what you want from me

Tell me, maybe I could be there for you

Back to life, back to reality, then!

Life isn’t all rainbows and unicorns: the time will come (it always comes) when you’ll have to define the relationship. The longer it takes, the more inescapable it becomes. Never Date an Artist if you don’t want to be abruptly pulled out of your fantasy and dragged back to reality, while still wearing a smile on your face. Once you start dancing to the lyrics, it will be too late: you’ve already fallen into the trap.

To recap, “Back to Life” is a song that targets undecided minds and inspires suffering hearts to speak up and seek the answers they need – “However do you want me/ However do you need me”. Thanks to this powerful message and vibrant melody, Soul II Soul took home the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocals at the 1990 ceremony. They could have also won the Best New Artist trophy, but Milli Vanilli scooped that one with borrowed vocals (they didn’t sing on their album, had to return the Grammy, fell into disgrace… That story alone deserves a complete blog post).

3 – “Hot in Herre” (2002) – Nelly

Nelly knew what he was doing when he released “Hot in Herre” one month before summer began. The goal was to set the dancefloor on fire with his lyrics. And it worked! “Hot in Herre”, with a double ‘r’,  was the hottest hit in the summer of 2002 and beyond. It even won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance.

Anything the Neptunes touched in the early 2000s became gold, and this addictive track was no exception. Talk about the power of ubiquity! “Hot in Herre” was playing everywhere, and the temperature even seemed to rise with the lyrics. I can definitely attest to that!

And talking about lyrics, Nelly says a lot in this track; he’s unapologetically chatty, bold, and boisterous in the art of flirting. Not really my style, but hey, when it’s “Hot in Herre”, directness and confidence will take you far. Besides, it’s summertime, and the season doesn’t demand pompous love declarations. Let’s save that for the winter, with a cup of hot chocolate.

Finally, the music video…

Definitely entertaining, clearly reflecting the lyrics, but a bit exaggerated. Those were my thoughts when I first watched it. A crowded club where almost everyone (mostly ladies) simultaneously decides to remove their tops while exhibiting their naked skin glistening with sweat seemed a bit unrealistic to me, but certainly in line with the theme. Little did I know that I would experience that scenario by the end of the summer at a popular club, with a broken AC, during the warmest night of the year. The irony!

I’m pretty sure the DJ was making fun of our suffering at some point that night by playing “Hot in Herre” repeatedly. “We got it, OK!”, I yelled silently – I was not about to squander any bodily resources. Now that I’ve just finished reading Dune, I realise how wasteful that whole situation was (if you know, you know). And yes, there was plenty of water and beverages available at the bar, but they were evaporating faster than the track’s rhythm. That’s one sweaty experience I’ll never forget.

Never Date an Artist because they’ll always have a soundtrack for your most uncomfortable moments.

Now, let’s pump the brakes, slow down a bit, and have one more dance before we get to the top…

2 – “One Dance” (2016) – Drake

Could we agree that 2016 was Drake’s year and that he dominated the summer charts? If his recent row with K–Dot makes you question this fact, I have two words for you: “One Dance”.

With the release of the album Views, Drake became a planetary superstar and the best-selling artist of 2016, according to the IFPI. In my view (no pun intended), “Controlla” also contributed to the album’s record number of streams: Views was the first album to reach one billion streams on Apple Music, where it was exclusively released.

When it later arrived on Spotify, Drake accomplished another remarkable feat: “One Dance” became the first song to reach the billion-stream mark on the streaming service. Not surprisingly, Drake was named Spotify’s most-streamed artist for the second year in a row, breaking his previous record – from 2 billion streams in 2015 to 4.7 billion streams in 2016. And to top it all off, Drake received eight Grammy nominations by the end of the year for the 2017 edition. Probably not the greatest achievement in Drake’s eyes, considering his views (pun intended this time) on the music awards.

So, what’s so fascinating about “One Dance” to justify its stratospheric success nine years ago?

It seemed like the world couldn’t have enough of the song, but to be honest, it’s not the most memorable tune ever created. The dancehall feel, Drake’s mellow tone, Wizkid’s presence, and Kyla’s voice from the sampled “Do You Mind” make up a winning combination. However, something is missing from a hit that was one week shy of breaking the record for the longest-running number one in the UK chart – the title still belongs to Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”, if we’re talking about consecutive weeks: 16 in total.

The truth is that “One Dance” is the perfect hit for the streaming service era: catchy but not necessarily impactful; danceable but doesn’t inspire a specific choreography; great production, but not a masterpiece. It’s good; it fulfils our need for a pleasant tune playing in the background while we perform various activities and go about our lives. But do you know what it’s not? A karaoke juggernaut. It makes us company, warm, and smiley, but it doesn’t stir up our emotions. It’s the difference between ‘I like you’ and ‘I love you’. Never Date an Artist because they’ll soon have you confuse the two.

1 – “The Boy Is Mine” (1998) – Brandy and Monica

Please answer the following question without hesitation: Were you Team Brandy or Team Monica? (My answer is down below.)

If you’re hesitant to agree with me about Drake’s “One Dance”, here’s a prime example of a pre-streaming-era hit. Like Nelly’s “Hot in Herre”, Brandy and Monica released their massive hit one month before summer began. They knew what they were doing, and it really paid off! I spent the whole summer singing to a fictitious ‘Monica’, “The Boy is Mine” – yes, I was Team Brandy all the way! I’m still looking for that camel dress she’s wearing by the end of the video.

“The Boy is Mine” was a monumental hit in 1998, and it dominated the summer charts: it spent 13 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. And, mind you, this was the pre-streaming era, which means the chart numbers were mainly determined by physical sales (over four million records sold worldwide). Moreover, there was no social media to boost the charts or hype up the fans. MTV, VH1, the radio, and, of course, the physical records/ albums, were the tools at the record labels’ disposal, and that was more than enough to get the world singing “The Boy Is Mine”.

A genius summer idea

At a time when the music video was a vital promotional tool, Brandy and Monica excelled in the visuals. The idea behind it was genius for two main reasons. First, the song was inspired by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson’s 1982 duet “The Girl Is Mine”. However, the writers, including Brandy, decided to give it a Jerry Springer Show spin: a love triangle, with two female neighbours (in the music video) fighting over the same man. Second, Brandy and Monica decided to capitalise on an imaginary (according to them) feud that everyone was talking about.

They thought the video would finally put the rumours to rest when people saw them joining forces at the end, but it backfired spectacularly. I didn’t even know who Monica was at the time (sorry, Monica!), but all I was hearing was that she was being mean to Brandy — obviously, it couldn’t be Moesha’s fault! I want to emphasise that there was no social media at the time.

Then came the alleged altercation during rehearsals for their performance at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. There was no turning back at that point: Brandy and Monica’s bad blood became official in the eyes of the world.

Twenty-seven years later, they seem to be the best of friends and are now joining voices on stage on The Boy is Mine Tour.

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I told you mine, and now it’s your turn! Were you Team Brandy or Team Monica? Share your answer in the comments below. And if you’d like to revisit the songs occupying positions 10 to 6, click here.