Some people have been arguing for a while now that the song of the summer is no longer a thing.
Monoculture is dead.
There are many songs of the summer.
It depends on who you hang out with.
It depends on your Spotify.
In the summer of 2026, people are still making that argument,
but it is a little harder this year because of Ella Langley.
Her choosing Texas is breaking records, racking up Mariah and Whitney type numbers,
although you might never have heard this song.
Maybe instead you're listening to Charlie or Gracie or Ariana or Kim.
But eagle-eared music fans have noticed something.
A lot of this summer's biggest albums, biggest songs are, like Choose in Texas,
kind of gloomy, a little grim, a bit sad.
What is going on?
Coming up on Today Explained from Vox, the pop girlies' sad, sad summer.
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