Whether you were slaving away at a summer job, living it up going on adventures every day, or somewhere in between, your music was bumping. A few artists made sure to help update your playlists with the releases of their new albums over the summer, attempting to take on the coveted title of being a Collegiette’s favorite track. Here are a few to check out in case you were having too much fun frolicking on the beach!
blowing kisses and kilos like a lady
Lana Del Rey released “Ultraviolence” in mid-June, staying true to her West Coast vibes and starting the season off right. Her melodic and ethereal voice flows through the album seamlessly, weaving the tracks together. Lana balances her grungy-dark lyrics with mellow instrumentals, making for the perfect driving around playlist.
Listen to: “Florida Kilos”
#catsforlife
Ed Sheeran came back with another album in late June, titled X, keeping in the same simplistic vein his other album titles. On this piece, Sheeran decided to deviate from his normal indie-folk sound to add a few elements of hip-hop production, and his risk paid off in a big way. He pushed his own comfortable boundaries and ended up with a more complex and musically impressive album.
Listen to: “Sing”
Ab-Soul and Jhené Aiko being cool
A personal favorite for the summer, Ab-Soul, quintessential member of the TDE group Black Hippy came through in a big way with his album These Days…. This eclectic artist found his place in a myriad of sounds, from thoughtful raps with Jhené Aiko and SZA to his famed party anthems with the likes of ScHoolboy Q and Kendrick Lamar. His tracks always made it onto the playlist for late nights to keep everyone going.
Listen to: “Twact”
*wipes mouth*
Mr. Steal-Your-Girl, Trey Songz, released his semi-self titled album, Trigga in early July to hoards of screaming and hormonal girls. Personally, I think his voice has only gotten better over time and this album is definitely helping to prove that. His super-smooth lyrics and R&B/hip-hop influences have become slightly more refined as he serenades a few lucky ladies on his tracks. He also may be one of the few artists to make number-one hits with song titles that are simply sounds (remember “Say Ahh”?)
Listen to: “Na Na”
Looks like Ariana’s taking a note from Beyoncé’s stylist with the sparkly bodysuit
A leading lady this summer, Ariana Grande’s My Everything dropped in late August, officially holding her down as a force to be reckoned with. As we saw at her fantastic VMA performance, she actually has the pipes that we all think we have. Ex-Disney phenomena seems to have made it out of the woods, surpassing her previous roles on tween heaven shows. Teaming up with another top tier lady, Iggy Azalea, for their hit “Problem” goes on to show that she has what it takes to get out of the schoolyard.
Listen to: “Love Me Harder” featuring The Weeknd
With so many releases over the summer it was difficult to keep up with all of it, but now that school’s back in session (yay?), you have HerCampus for all your music needs for the sound-savvy Collegiettes out there!
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