Notícies

'Summer hits over the years' by Emma Hearle

What’s more summery than the smell of suncream, long lazy beach days, sunset and mojitos in the chiringuito and of course that catchy summer hit playing on the radio, in the bar and even the supermarket! You know the one that is labelled “the song of summer (insert year)” and even if you don't like it, you end up singing it and making great summer memories with this as your soundtrack!  

Each song seems to have the same catchy melody and easy, sing-a-long lyrics. In fact scientific studies have even gone as far to suggest that they all have the same formula; the song must be short, easy to dance to and have some element of emotion! Afterall how many relationships, from the fleeting to longer lasting romances, start in the summer?!

With the airtime these songs are given and the amount of hype surrounding them both online and via social networks, it’s not surprising they are soon taken back home with the many tourists who visit Spain every summer.

With the massive increase in popularity of Latin music internationally in recent years, including hate-to-love-it reggaeton, non-native Spanish speakers have often already heard the songs prior to landing in Barcelona, Benidorm or the Balearic islands. The addictive start-stop beat of reggaeton has expanded far beyond its places of origin to become a global genre that regularly tops the charts, in and out of summer. Recently, Luis Fonsi’s Despacito and J Balvin’s Mi Gente both getting English remixes and collaborations with none other than Justin Bieber and Beyoncé respectively!

Not all the summer smash hits are Spanish though. Who remembers Mambo No 5, the extremely annoying, yet infectiously catchy song by Lou Bega, from summer 1999? And not to forget the equally catchy Blue “Da ba dee da ba daa”, an irritating yet somewhat guilty pleasure from Eiffel 65 this same year. Then came the eurodance (also known as eurotrash!) craze of the early noughties with Las Ketchup’s Aserejé in summer 2002 and Romanian band, O-Zone’s Dragostea Din Tei in summer 2003. Who can possibly forget the famous “Ma Ya Hi” repetitive loop and the song’s addictive, summery beat?!

Some songs have been made especially for summer events and also become worldwide hits. Ricky Martin’s La Copa de la Vida became the official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and topped the charts in many countries around the world. Queen’s famous We are the Champions, although originally recorded in 1977, was used as the official song for the 1994 World Cup in The USA.  More recently, famous Spanglish duo JLo and Pitbull had the honour of recording and performing the 2014 World Cup anthem, We are one and who can forget Waka Waka, Shakira's contribution to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa that had the whole world singing!

Then there are the many songs from Estrella Damm’s summer adverts. They are almost as good, if not better, as their fantastic slogan and hashtag, mediterráneamente. For the last 10 years, the Spanish summer has got underway with these eagerly anticipated adverts from the one and only Barcelonés beer manufacturers. Actors Michelle Jenner and Oriol Pla worked together under director Dani de la Torre for last year's ad, which was also a tribute to the ten-year anniversary of the summer campaign. The video was also the third most watched on YouTube in Europe last year.

My favourite Estrella song though has to be, Summercat by Billie The Vision & The Dancers, the first song of the mediterráneamente campaign. With Formentera as the setting, it's all crystal clear waters, romance and sunsets and with the upbeat, happy music playing it was everything you needed to feel excited for your well-earned summer break from school or work. And 10 years on, it still for sure has anyone that was in or around Spain at the time still reminiscing about the summer of 2009. “Tonight, tonight tonight tonight tonighhhtttttt, I wanna be with you tonight tonight…”!

As for this year, here are some predictions for the most summery songs of the season:

Con Calma - Daddy Yankee
One of the classic reggaetoneros, Daddy Yankee’s newest release will for sure be playing out of every chiringuito, bars and getting even the haters on the dance floor moving!

La venda – Miki
Spain’s Eurovision entry last month will surely be a success this summer too. Its easy listening and positive beat will make even standstill motorway traffic more enjoyable!

R.I.P - Sofía Reyes con Anitta y Rita Ora
These three pop divas have joined together for this catchy, fresh summer tune. If the freshness of the song wasn’t enough, the music video is loaded with bright colours and a dance that will have everyone up on their feet, even in the blazing August heat!