Will Major Lazer, DJ Snake & MØ’s “Lean On” Be 2015’s Song Of The Summer?
Slip on your shades, grab a glass of lemonade and check back each weekday over the next week as we present you each Song Of The Summer contender.
A genuine Song Of The Summer contender has to sound just as good when you’re doing the ironing, driving to work or bouncing off the walls at a club. Recent victors (Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX’s “Fancy”) certainly displayed that demographic-bridging versatility, and I would contend that Major Lazer, DJ Snake and MØ’s global smash “Lean On” is a couple of weeks of pop radio adds away from doing the same.
The miracle of “Lean On” is Diplo (Major Lazer is one of the DJ/producer’s many side-projects) finally finding some chill. As much as I love the bone-rattling beats and eardrum-piercing air horns that made him famous, the 36-year-old’s latest jam gently washes over you with its manifold hooks and exotic sounds — instead of bashing you over the head like a meth-addled serial killer. It’s an electronic anthem with enough bite for clubland and the kind of warm and fuzzy chorus that pop fans dream of.
While “Lean On” is only starting to make its mark on America (the hypnotic banger is currently number 14 on iTunes and number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100), it has already cleaned up internationally — topping the charts in more than a dozen countries and coming tantalizingly close in major markets like UK (number three), Germany (number four) and France (number two). When you factor in its phenomenal streaming success — 383 million and counting — “Lean On” is arguably the biggest tune on the planet right now.
It’s all the more astonishing when you consider Diplo’s lack of crossover-pop hits. In fact, he has aggressively avoided producing anything off-brand — recently trashing Zedd for making disposable, radio-friendly EDM. As for his collaborators? Well, DJ Snake has a slightly better track record in the US with 2013 top 5 hit “Turn Down For What” and his massively successful remix of AlunaGeorge’s “You Know You Like It,” but MØ is still best known for forgetting the lyrics to Iggy Azalea’s “Beg For It” on Saturday Night Live.
“Lean On” is the Song Of The Summer because it’s more than the sum of its (very good) parts. The track extracts the best from each collaborator (Diplo’s eccentricity, DJ Snake’s wicked beats and the Danish diva’s sultry vocals), but also boosts serotonin levels with its uplifting lyrics and walks the line between counter-culture coolness and pure-pop with rare skill. Watch the suitably spectacular video below.
Is “Lean On” the Song Of The Summer? Let us know in the comments below.
Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.
