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Every summer has a song

This year, there are several contenders

A Billboard editor says there is no formula

CNN  — 

Summer, summer, summertime.

What would a cookout, a trip to the beach or cruising around with the top down be without music? It’s a little early, but here are some of the first contenders for this year’s coveted “song of the summer” title.

Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth, ‘See You Again’

The rapper’s “See You Again” featuring singer Puth has been atop Billboard’s “Songs of the Summer” survey. The moving tune pays tribute to the late Paul Walker in the movie “Furious 7,” and fans seem to love it.

Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar, ‘Bad Blood’

If Wiz is the king of the summer jam, Tay is the queen. Her “Bad Blood” is No. 2 on Billboard’s list and boasts arguably rap’s hottest star at the moment, Lamar.

The premiere of the single’s music video opened the 2015 Billboard Awards, so it’s kind of a big deal.

Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea, ‘Pretty Girls’

Over at Spotify, they are keeping their eye on the very catchy “Pretty Girls.” 2014 was Azalea’s year, but she’s had some troubles in 2015: a canceled tour that caused some to question her early fame and withdrawing from a gay pride appearance after backlash over some past tweets.

But that’s not stopping the song from popping up everywhere.

Jason Derulo, ‘Want to Want Me’

There’s so much pop flavor and plenty of Derulo shirtless in the video. And the song is getting quite a few streams over at Spotify. Yeah, we get it: hot for the summer.

Fetty Wap, ‘Trap Queen’

“Trap Queen” is hardly new, as it came out in 2014, nor is it radio-friendly, with its profane lyrics (some parts are definitely not suitable for work). Yet there is something oddly addictive about his ode to his girlfriend and partner in crime.

Walk the Moon, ‘Shut Up and Dance’

It doesn’t hurt when British superstar Ed Sheeran declares your tune the song of the summer.

“I’m just hearing that everywhere,” the singer recently told Vulture. “It just makes everyone happy whenever they hear it. I really like that song.”

Jason Lipshutz, associate editor at Billboard.com, said that one of the things that makes it so much fun to track songs of the summer every year is that there are no definitive guidelines as to what qualifies. It could be an emotional rap like “See You Again” or a dance track like “Shut Up and Dance.”

“One of the loose guidelines is to have something dance ready and uptempo,” he said. “But there are exceptions to that.”

But even with the fast dance tracks that you can claim as your summer jam, Lipshutz said, there is a trend.

“What you are hearing now on radio is definitely a slowing down from what you used to hear on pop radio,” he said. “Some of the songs that are uptempo aren’t as uptempo as they used to be. Last year’s ‘Happy’ by Pharrell was a big song and uptempo but smoother than, say, a Kesha song from 2009.”