THE UNOFFICIAL SONGS OF SUMMER

Four songs have blown up on Spotify global over the last month: Jung Kook's "Seven" has streamed at a record-breaking pace, Myke Towers' "LALA" has gone nuclear and Ice Spice & Nicki Minaj's "Barbie's World" and Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?" are reaping the benefits of the Barbie bump.

In its first 24 hours on Spotify, "Seven" (HYBE/Geffen), featuring Latto, scored upwards of 16m global streams, making it not only the biggest debut of 2023 but the biggest debut of all time for a male artist (and for a collaboration). In so doing, Jung Kook's solo bow surpassed the streaming peaks reached by BTS and its other members' solo releases. He became the first K-pop act to go to #1 in the U.S. on Spotify and the first Korean solo act to debut at #1 worldwide. "Seven" returned to #1 on 7/29 following a one-day retreat driven by Travis Scott. It generated 200m streams on Spotify in 14 days—the second-fastest, behind only Miley Cyrus' "Flowers." Jung Kook's debut has now spent 17 days atop the Spot's global chart.

Towers' viral rocket "LALA" (One World/Warner Music Latina), meanwhile, cruised up Spotify's global chart in late June, taking less than two weeks to become the seventh Latin track to hit #1 in 2023. The song is holding firm; as of 7/30, it was back in the Top 3.

For its part, Spice & Minaj's "Barbie World" (Capitol/10K Projects), which reached #1 in the U.S., is proving quite the earworm; clocking in at under two minutes, the soundtrack entry is approaching 1m creations on TikTok.

And Eilish's contribution to the Barbie ST, "What Was I Made For?" (Darkroom/Interscope), is apparently resonating with anyone who's watched—or rewatched—the film, among others; the song returned to its Spotify global peak of #2 on 7/31. It serves as a reminder of Eilish and FINNEAS' songwriting prowess, and its chords are interwoven throughout the film's score, creating the strongest connection possible between song and film.