“Levitating” Is Rising to the Top of Our Summer Playlists
graphic by bailey kretschmer
With the year-long pandemic coming to a close and the temperatures warming up, something else infectious is spreading across the globe, blaring on every radio station and playing on everyone’s summer playlist. It’s Dua Lipa’s song, “Levitating” featuring DaBaby, and wow, it is giving us all the summer vibes. Could this be the song of summer, the catchy anthem for 2021, though? Or is it just really addicting when DaBaby says “left foot, right foot, levitatin’. Pop stars, Dua lipa with DaBaby.” We. Don’t. Know. But you can’t ignore the chorus that is so ridiculously catchy it gives off “Call Me Maybe” by Carlie Rae Jepson vibes. Minus the annoying part.
As the mask mandates are “levitating” off of people’s daily lives, this song hits hard for those who are finally seeing a bit of normalcy. Last summer, no song won the title of “song of the summer” because it felt like March 2020 never ended. Honestly, this whole year has felt like March 2020. The only songs that came close to clinching the title were “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles or “ROCKSTAR” by DaBaby, but neither made you want to sing at the top of your lungs. Probably because everyone was in their houses, isolated from others and feeling depressed. But now people are VAXXED BABY. And with the CDC saying that masks are not required around fully vaccinated people, everyone will be partying to “Levitating” at every Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day celebration across the country.
And who knew that Dua Lipa and DaBaby would make such a power duo? Lipa’s history of upbeat and fun pop anthems, like “New Rules” and “Don’t Start Now,” could only lead to a song as iconic as her career. And DaBaby has risen through the charts as one of the nation’s go-to rap artists, so adding his smooth lyrics into the mix unlocks a musical triumph that no one knew they needed. Forget Pfizer: Lipa and DaBaby are the cure to the coronavirus blues.
Who else is in the running for the title of “song of the summer”? “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat featuring SZA is on the heels of Lipa and DaBaby, but it lacks the fast-paced dance beats that make people want to shake off their winter layers. “Lucy” by Bryce Fox is making a bit of a comeback too, but people want something new and fresh after months of monotony. “Levitating” checks all the boxes. It is what people are going to remember as their fuck-you-COVID-we-can-now-do-normal-things song. The bye-bitch-see-you-in-the-history-books song. Goodbye coronavirus. Hello “Levitating!”