8 Irresistible Summer Jams to Send Off the School Year

Kick off your summer in style! From retro bops to contemporary classics, we’ve got seven songs to get you hyped for your vacation.

Phoebe Pineda –
Art and Music Lifestyle
A wooden surface painted blue with palm fronds, a straw hat, starfish, a white towel, and flip flops arranged across the top. In the middle of the frame is a black iPod with white earbuds plugged in. On the iPod's screen are two black eighth notes and a red soundwave on a white background.

It’s that time of year: school’s wrapping up, the days are getting longer and warmer, and summer’s so close you can taste it. What better way to welcome it than with killer tunes? Start your summer off right with our curated playlist of bops, bangers, and crowd-pleasers.

Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves

Cover for the single "Walking on Sunshine" by the new wave band Katrina and the Waves. Depicted are the four band members in sepia tones, clustered together, two men and two women. The two people on the left look to the right, the person in the top right looks upward at the viewer, and the woman in the bottom right looks at the person in the top left. The photo is bordered on top by the band name printed in various colors on a peach background and on the bottom by a teal strip. The song name is written in orange running diagonally across the bottom right corner of the frame.
IMAGE VIA AMAZON

Some songs transport you right back to childhood. Walking on Sunshine is one of them, a carefree classic that captures pure, concentrated joy in a bottle. Every part of it feels like summer, from the opening drum beat to those iconic horns. If you’re looking to revisit the innocent fun of hula hoops, carnival rides, and running through sprinklers, put this one on. You might get other people dancing along with you.

Vacation by the Go-Go’s

Cover for the album "Vacation" by the rock band The Go-Go's. Depicted are the five band members in a row on jet skis, their left arms placed on each other's shoulders while their right arms wave at the viewer. Each woman wears a tiara with white feathers in her hair, a pink leotard with white arm sleeves, and a white tutu. They are being pulled across ocean waves. The band's name is written with each letter on a different color triangular pennant in the top left corner of the frame. The bottom right corner of the frame displays the album name in white script with quotes over a cartoon graphic of ocean waves.
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Few people would argue that a song better symbolizes summer vacation than, well, Vacation. Lyrically, it’s surprisingly bittersweet: lead singer Belinda Carlisle seems to lament a summer fling she can’t get over. But it’s just so upbeat, with those bright synths over that pulsing rhythm, that you can’t help but enjoy it. If you’re feeling those end-of-semester blues (or a bad case of senioritis), this song will tide you over until the final bell rings.

Eternal Sunshine by ATEEZ

The K-pop group ATEEZ lie in a circle with their heads facing inwards on a patchwork backdrop of towels in green, blue, and pink. They are all dressed in vibrant, summery clothing and look up at the viewer with relaxed expressions on their faces. Transparent green borders the top and bottom of the frame, with "Zero: Fever Part.3" written in white in the top left corner, "ATEEZ" written in the top right corner, and "KQ Entertainment" written in the center of the bottom edge.
IMAGE VIA KQ ENTERTAINMENT

K-pop has no shortage of summer jams. I could’ve made this entire playlist K-pop if I wanted to, but I’ve limited myself to just three picks. The first comes from ATEEZ, the pirate kings of my heart. No stranger to a good summer bop, ATEEZ dropped Eternal Sunshine in September 2021, as the first post-vaccine summer was waning to a close. It’s a feel-good ode to youth and savoring the moment, letting yourself feel infinite — like eternal sunshine.

Sunny Side Up! by Red Velvet

Cover for the album "The ReVe Festival: Day 1" by the K-pop group Red Velvet. Depicted is a chaotic carnival scene from overhead featuring a rollercoaster emerging like a tongue from a giant dog's mouth, winding around a Ferris wheel with fruits for seats, passing a house with one lit window. In the middle of the frame sits a gumball machine from which the rollercoaster re-emerges, along with a blue robot, a carousel with a cupcake on top, a small lake with a red canoe surrounded by palm trees in the bottom left corner, and a surreal landscape in saturated pastel colors with a ticket booth in the bottom right corner. In the top left corner of the frame are a pink cliff with the album title standing upright on its surface, and a top hat with a floating glove. The background is yellow.
IMAGE VIA AMAZON

A lot of girl groups vie for the title of “summer queens,” and each of them deserve it. Red Velvet, though, is in a league of their own. Sunny Side Up! is perfect for a chill afternoon lounging in the sun, whether beachside, poolside, or even on the lawn. It’s a lovely showcase of the harmonies the group is known for and a nice way to unwind after a year of hard work.

1-800-hot-n-fun by LE SSERAFIM

The K-pop group LE SSERAFIM stands in a row in a dimly lit room looking coolly at the viewer. Behind them, a crowd of people hold up their cell phones with the flashes on.
IMAGE VIA SOURCE MUSIC

Hot girl summer came early when LE SSERAFIM debuted this banger during their 2024 Coachella set. 1-800-hot-n-fun is a different kind of party anthem: a magnetic, guitar-driven slow burn that oozes charisma. LE SSERAFIM (whose name is an anagram of “I’M FEARLESS”) are some of K-pop’s brightest stars, and their unabashed confidence is infectious. You’ll be channeling your inner It Girl whether you’re going out on the town or vibing in your bedroom.

Glory and Gore by Lorde

Cover for the album "Pure Heroine" by the alternative pop artist Lorde. Depicted are Lorde's name and the album title in white, sans-serif, all-caps text on a black background.
IMAGE VIA AMAZON

Looking for a song with a little more edge? We’ve got you covered. Dark and moody, Glory and Gore evokes a more sinister side of summer, a tension simmering beneath the surface. With deceptive, disaffected poise, Lorde sings of violence like a chilling spectacle: “Glory and gore go hand in hand, that’s why we’re making headlines.” It’s an eerie commentary on celebrity culture that also doubles as ambience for summer night drives. (Plus, it makes an excellent prelude to the upcoming release of Sunrise on the Reaping, hitting theaters in 2026.)

Young Volcanoes by Fall Out Boy

Cover for the album "Save Rock and Roll" by the pop-punk band Fall Out Boy. Depicted are two Asian boys holding hands, each with close-cropped hair. The boy on the left wears a black T-shirt, black fingerless gloves with white wings printed on them, and blue jeans. He exhales smoke at the viewer. The boy on the right wears red monk's robes tied over his left shoulder and stares at the viewer with a furrowed brow. Behind them is a street scene in broad daylight that includes a basket piled with objects and clothes laid out on the ground.
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If Glory and Gore was a warning (“You can try and take us, but victory’s contagious”), Young Volcanoes is an invitation: “Do you wanna feel a little beautiful, baby?” For such tonally divergent songs, the two pair surprisingly well. While Lorde’s teen gladiators gear up for battle, Fall Out Boy’s lions dance, liberated, in the wreckage of the colosseum. If there’s one song you and your friends should blast driving through the middle of nowhere, singing at the top of your lungs, it’s this one.

I Lived by OneRepublic

Cover for the album "Native" by the pop-rock band OneRepublic. Depicted clockwise from the top are the clustered heads of an owl, a bison, a gazelle, a mountain lion, and a fox. Clouds frame the image, which is overlaid with blended shades of blue, purple, green, orange, and gray.
IMAGE VIA AMAZON

When asked to name the ultimate graduation song, most would probably say Green Day’s Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). I Lived, though, makes me emotional whenever I hear it. It’s a song about seizing your moment, living your life to the fullest, and taking the pain with the joy. It’s earnest, full of yearning, but also bursting with hope and promise. Graduates, put this song on and take a moment to reflect. Think of all the hard work you’ve put in to get here, and all the memories you’ve made along the way. You’ve earned it.

You can listen to our summer playlist here. In the meantime, we want to know: what’s your song of the summer? Let us know on Instagram, Bluesky, or Facebook — and be sure to follow our Spotify for more bookish listens!

Want to know what the Bookstr team’s been listening to? Click here.

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