2010 SUMMER YEARBOOK: Song of the Summer: Katy Perry

 
After a long summer of beat bruises, chord concussions and Auto-tune ass kicking, has one champion has become the queen of our big old gay summer? Depends on who you ask…  
 
As August wraps up we can finally look back and say, “Phew! That was a crazy summer!” Of course, some of you are going to stretch summer out to the end of September with trips to the shore or Fire Island. But you know you’re kidding yourself, right? School’s back in session, the leaves are going to start turning and soon enough you’ll weep for summer’s departure. In the meantime let’s crown a Song of the Summer.
Song of the Summer is always an annual battle to the blistery, sunburnt death. But one song was “toned, tanned and ready”—and stood out as undeniable this summer. We called it way back in mid-May when we singled out Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” as Song of the Summer saying, “It’s as obvious as wearing sunscreen on a 98-degree day.” Sure enough this summer jam was as impossible to escape as a gay man in a Speedo.
 
And don’t just take our word for it—”California Gurls” broke records, too. The No. 1 hit reportedly had the most spins on Top 40 radio in history (13,167 in one week, which equals more than 13 plays at each station per day!). It also spent eight weeks in the top spot on the iTunes Singles chart.
 
Perry’s omnipresent media blitz didn’t hurt either. And while we weren’t fans of the Candy Land-themed video, it inspired hysterical YouTube parodies including the old-men-in-drag version (they’re “sippin’ gin and prunes”) and the requisite gay California boys edition— not to mention this issue’s cover!
 
But Perry’s “Gurls” wasn’t the only song melting our popsicle. Robyn took flight with “Dancing on My Own” and won hearts with her All Hearts Tour. Tour companion Kelis had hearts singing to “Acapella” and follow-up “4th of July (Fireworks).” Last year’s Song of the Summer winner Kelly Rowland and David Guetta had us standing at attention with “Commander.” And the ever-impressive Lady Gaga gave us “Alejandro” even if she seemingly couldn’t remember his name. (Alejandro? Fernando? Roberto?)
 
But summer wasn’t all gurls; the guys did well, too. Usher had us saying “OMG” and loving his follow-up, “DJ Got Us Falling in Love”; Taio Cruz cruised to success with “Break Your Heart”; B.o.B. had heads bobbing along to “Nothin’ on You” and “Airplanes”; Enrique Iglesias found people really liked “I Like It” and even Eminem made a surprise return to the top with his Rihanna duet, “Love the Way You Lie.” And in a significant step for openly gay acts, Adam Lambert found fans wanted “Whataya Want From Me.”
 
Kylie Minogue summoned the gods for with “All the Lovers” while Wynter Gordon played with devils on “Dirty Talk” and the Freemasons on sleeper hit  “Believer”—who themselves had quite a summer, spinning both the Dance on the Pier and Ascension. Alexis Jordan also hit the island for Pines Party bringing great happiness to the dance floor with her hit “Happiness.”
 
Finally, another California gurl who got some serious play was Ke$ha, most notably with hit “Love is My Drug.” Now if we could just get her to stop drinking the gin and juice, take off the daisy dukes and comb her hair in time for next summer…    N
 


TOP 10 SONGS OF SUMMER
 
1.) California Girls - Katy Perry
 
2.) Dancing on My Own - Robyn
 
3.) Alejandro - Lady Gaga
 
4.) Happiness - Alexis Jordan
 
5.) OMG - Usher feat. will.i.am
 
6.) Break Your Heart - Taio Cruz
 
7.) Commander - Kelly Rowland
 
8.) Your Love Is My Drug - Ke$ha
 
9.) Acapella - Kelis
 
10.) I Like It - Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull