15 songs from summer 2015
We love summer nostalgia! Also 'Bette Davis Eyes' is the song of the summer + it turns out I have the power to manifest 'SWAG'
It’s 2025, and if I’m doing my math correctly, that means 2015 was 10 years ago.
Summer 2015 was eventful. It was my first summer living in NYC, my first time living with FONC Sophie (who I lived with for the rest of college!), my first nephew was born. Every summer of the last 10+ years has been partially defined by the music I was listening to at the time, so this week I wanted to share a few of the songs that seemed to be everywhere in 2015. Feel free to listen to these songs while you peruse Instagram posts of heavily filtered latte art.
"I Really Like You" by Carly Rae Jepsen
Three years after “Call Me Maybe” took over the world, Carly Rae Jepsen put out “E•MO•TION,” an album that did not charm the masses, but it did cement her as a cult-favorite pop star for eternity. This was another offering from CRJ that’s all about yearning for love. But while “Call Me Maybe” was a bit noncommittal (maybe?), “I Really Like You” is as straightforward as a crush song can get. Also, I did not realize Tom Hanks starred in this music video. Do you think he still knows the words?
"Leave a Trace" by CHVRCHES
Everything about the Scottish electric-pop band CHVRCHES is very mid-2010s: the sharp production, the outfits, the name. And this single still makes me powerful. Rolling Stone ranked it at #24 of their 50 best songs of 2015, and more than one review compares Lauren Mayberry to Cyndi Lauper.
“Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap
This song is 2015. It has transportive powers—just let it whisk you away to the land of skinny jeans and over-drawn eyebrows.
"Where Are Ü Now" by Jack Ü (Skrillex & Diplo) ft. Justin Bieber
More on Justin Bieber below…I manifested him. But 2015’s “Purpose” is a solid album—I genuinely enjoy “Sorry” and “Love Yourself.” However, if we’re talking about summer 2015 songs, this song was everywhere.
"Want to Want Me" by Jason Derulo
This is what I look for in a summer pop song—catchy, bouncy, full of wanting, CRUSHING. During my research I learned that Taylor Swift brought him out during the 1989 tour in D.C.? Were we ever so young?
“Black Magic” by Little Mix
Etsy witches have nothing on Little Mix in 2015. I love this song so much! In this music video, when they hold hands and say a spell WHILE singing the chorus? I get chills. I can only describe this song as very girl.
"Cheerleader"(Felix Jaehn Remix) by OMI
I distinctly remember finishing my freshman year of NYU and this song being everywhere. Shout out to loyal women I guess? It reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 almost exactly 10 years ago this week.
“Drag Me Down” by One Direction
One Direction’s first single without Zayn. This is far from my favorite 1D song, so I reached out to a few experts. Although the song’s Genius page says this song is an ode to the band’s mothers, my sources say that is wrong. FONC Hannah said it’s about the fans, and she was there the first time the band played “Drag Me Down” live, so she knows. I asked what this means in the broader context of One Direction’s story. FONC Jordan said “Well they’re in space” and FONC Annabel said “Well nobody can drag them down.” There you have it, folks.
"Fight Song" by Rachel Platten
There’s a specific genre I think of as “girl boss” anthems, songs about women’s empowerment that came out between 2012-2016 around when Sophia Amoruso’s “GIRLBOSS” book came out, “Girls” was huge on HBO, Jezebel blogs had the power to go viral and Glossier and the Wing first launched. “Fight Song” is part of this genre, alongside “Brave” by Sara Bareiles and “Roar” by Katy Perry.
“Bitch Better Have My Money” by Rihanna
I thought this video was age restricted because it has the word “bitch” in it but it turns out that is not the case! NSFW alert! Whenever I hear this song I think of Doreen St. Felix’s Pitchfork essay on it.
“The Less I Know the Better” by Tame Impala
Shout out to every guy who has ever asked me if I’ve heard of Tame Impala. This one’s for you.
“Bad Blood” Remix by Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar
I almost didn’t include this, but you can’t discuss summer 2015 without it. This video has it all—Taylor’s blonde bob and very severe makeup, and (other than Kendrick Lamar) a girl gang including Lena Dunham, Hailee Steinfeld, Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne, Lily Aldridge, Jessica Alba, Cindy Crawford, Ellie Goulding, Mariska Hargitay, Martha Hunt, Ellen Pompeo, Serayah, Hayley Williams, Zendaya, and, of course, Karlie Kloss.
"Talking Body" by Tove Lo
“Talking Body” keeps me up at night. One theme of the tracks and music videos of 2015 is that they’re excessively sexual, and this song is no exception. What’s different here is that it’s written by Swedish songwriters, so a couple of lines may have gotten lost in translation. The language gets a bit robotic, as if they asked Chat GPT to sext before it even existed. The main line that I will wonder about until the day I die (or if I can interview Tove Lo about it? a girl can dream): “Bodies / Our baby making bodies we just use for fun / Bodies / Let's use them up 'til every little piece is gone.” NOPE.
"Shut Up and Dance" – Walk the Moon
I feel the same way about “Want to Want Me” as I feel about this song. It’s so fun, catchy, flirty! CRUSHING! I will always dance to this song at a wedding and if you have a problem with it, don’t invite me. It also is a very memorable part of the updated “Moulin Rouge” musical lol.
"Can’t Feel My Face" by The Weeknd
I had three solid options to choose from the Weeknd that were all huge in summer 2015: “Can’t Feel My Face”, “The Hills” and “Earned It.” I loved the Weeknd and that makes me sad, because the pilot episode of “The Idol” was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.
I put these into a lil playlist for you! And reminder that all songs mentioned in New Crush appear in my Every New Crush Ever playlist.
💌 LOVE NOTES 💌
Quick beats from the week:
Olivia Rodrigo paid for her whole band and crew to go to therapy. It’s nice to see bigger artists like her prioritize her employees’ mental health, but will larger record and management companies ever do the same?
Simon & Schuster asked Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich to write an introduction to Hunter S. Thompson’s “Screwjack.” A funny detail in this article on the efforts to get men to read more fiction.
I decided I’m going to write about Billboard hits here only when something truly interesting is happening, and that’s because some weeks, all the songs on the Hot 100 are the same! This Billboard article offers a few reasons why.
Jay Som is back and put out a song featuring Jimmy Eat World singer Jim Adkins. Random, but made for me!
Guys, I don’t think Brooklyn Mirage is coming back.
The 44-year-old song “Bette Davis Eyes” is relevant again, for better and for worse. Jojo Siwa has put out a cover of the song, which she sings while wearing a trad-wife look. Ethel Cain’s tremendous “Fuck Me Eyes” certainly references it—she also covered the song at last year’s “All Things Go.” I haven’t been keeping up with the new season of “And Just Like That,” but FONC Annabel tells me that it was featured in last night’s episode.
😘 FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE 😘
If you can only listen to one new album this weekend, you should check out:
“moisturizer” by Wet Leg
Wet Leg became indie-rock royalty seemingly overnight in 2021 with the release of “Chaise Longue,” a quirky bop that included lines such as “Is your muffin buttered? Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?” I loved this song and their self-titled record they put out the following year, but “moisturizer” feels like Wet Leg fleshed out and grown up, featuring a full band and more expansive production. My personal highlights are “davina mccall” “mangetout” and “pokemon.” (As you can see, they haven’t abandoned their humor.)
Honorable mention: SWAG by Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber put out a surprise album today. Yes, it’s called SWAG, but it’s…not bad? One of the Only Good Boys Dijon worked on it, so if you’re a fan of his, you’ll like this album. Because it sounds like all of his music! Also, I just have to share here—because it’s my newsletter—that I manifested this. Yesterday I brought up Justin Bieber’s song “One Less Lonely Girl” in my group chat; a few hours later, SWAG was announced. I’m powerful!
More crushable albums out today:
“Trouble” by Gina Birch
“No Sign of Weakness” by Burna Boy
“Let God Sort Em Out” by Clipse