When we talk about the songs of the summer on TikTok we are referring to the most popular songs on the platform “according to their level of interaction during the summer measurement period.” That is, the songs most used by users. With Katy Perry, Mac Miller and Lenny Kravitz in the top 3, they have ruled that nostalgia is the real winner.
The megaviral of ‘The One That Got Away’ already began to be noticed back in May, and a few days ago TikTok crowned it as the number 1 song of the summer on the platform globally. This would have appeared in more than 42 million videos, amassing an astonishing 55 billion views. Since its resurgence, the topic has not stopped rising.
‘The One That Got Away’ was the sixth single from ‘Teenage Dream’ and the only one of them that was not number 1 on the Hot 100. 15 years later, she still hasn’t achieved it, but at least Katy Perry has certainly gotten rid of her thorn, with the song currently occupying position 4 in Spotify’s Global top 50, after the drop of ‘Beauty and a Beat’.
“I have never had so many listeners and I am very grateful for it,” said the artist, who is currently number 13 on Spotify’s global artist chart with 90 million monthly listeners.
Mac Miller and Ty Dolla $ign occupy number 2 on the TikTok list thanks to the song ‘Cinderella’, released in 2016 as part of the album ‘The Divine Feminine’. On the other hand, Lenny Kravitz culminates the circle of nostalgia with the viral ‘It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over’, originally released in 1991.
If these songs have something in common, it is also the type of videos in which they have appeared, with all of them being the soundtrack to millions of clips remembering past relationships and breakups. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment,” is the key phrase of Mac Miller’s theme.
However, the rest of the list is made up of “current” songs. ‘Earrings’ by Malcolm Todd, now in the top 3 Global on Spotify, has been the fourth most used song this summer on TikTok, despite being released in 2024. This is followed by ‘Ghetto Love Sotry’ by BabyChiefDoit, ‘End of August’ by Noah Kahan, ‘Spend Dat’ by Yung Miami and ‘Self Aware’ by Temper City, an Israeli group that is currently in the top 8 Global on the Swedish platform.
The list ends with two songs that will be known by people who do not use TikTok daily: ‘Dai Dai’ by Shakira and Burna Boy, and ‘DANCE…’ by Slayyyter’. What has also been the official song of the 2026 World Cup, going viral through recreations of the choreography and tributes to different teams, is also the number 1 song of the summer on TikTok in Spain.
The songs of summer 2026 on TikTok:
1. Katy Perry – The One That Got Away’
2. Mac Miller – ‘Cinderella’
3. Lenny Kravitz – ‘It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over’
4. Malcolm Todd – ‘Earrings’
5. BabyChiefDoit – ‘Ghetto Love Story’
6. Noah Kahan – ‘End of August’
7. Yung Miami – ‘Spend Dat’
8. Temper City – ‘Self Aware’
9. Shakira & Burna Boy – ‘Dai Dai’
10. Slayyyter – ‘DANCE…’
