As Billboard reported today, Morgan Wallen is the first artist in 46 years to land the season-ending No. 1 on Billboard’s Song of the Summer chart in back-to-back years. The country superstar achieves the feat as Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” on which he is featured, takes the crown for 2024, one year after Wallen took it with his solo smash “Last Night.”
The only previous artist to have the Song of the Summer in back-to-back years was Andy Gibb, who scored in 1977 with “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” and in 1978 with “Shadow Dancing.”
Wallen is also the first artist to land the Song of the Summer once as a lead artist and once as a featured artist.
And Wallen is the only country artist to have the Song of the Summer twice. John Denver had the Song of the Summer in 1974 with his ballad “Annie’s Song,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and peaked at No. 9 on Hot Country Songs. Billy Ray Cyrus scored in 2019 as a featured artist on Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” which topped the Hot 100 for a record-setting 19 weeks.
Gibb, the younger brother of the Bee Gees, had a hard time emerging from their shadow. Even though he had three consecutive No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 – both of his Songs of the Summer champs plus the single that was released in between them, “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” – many gave most of the credit for the songs’ success to Barry Gibb, who wrote (or co-wrote) and co-produced all three hits. Andy co-wrote “Thicker Than Water” and “Shadow Dancing,” but that wasn’t enough to counter the impression that he was riding his brothers’ coattails. Tragically, Andy, who struggled with drug addiction and depression, died in 1988, five days after turning 30.
Below, browse through a rundown of every artist who has triumphed twice on Billboard’s annual Songs of the Summer chart. And check out the top 10 summer songs every year throughout the Hot 100’s history (from the chart’s start in 1958), the top 500 Greatest of All Time Songs of the Summer and this season’s final Songs of the Summer chart in its entirety.
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Andy Gibb
Image Credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images 1977: “I Just Want to Be Your Everything”
1978: “Shadow Dancing”
Notes: Gibb was the first artist to have the Song of the Summer twice. Three artists had come very close, landing the Song of the Summer once and then having the No. 2 Song of the Summer. Paul Anka had the Song of the Summer for 1959 with “Lonely Boy” and finished second in 1974 with his comeback smash “(You’re) Having My Baby” (with Odia Coates). The Rolling Stones had the Song of the Summer in 1965 with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and finished second in 1969 with “Honky Tonk Women.” The Doors had the Song of the Summer in 1967 with “Light My Fire” and finished second the following summer with “Hello, I Love You.”
Gibb, who was 19 and 20 in those two summers, was maintaining a family tradition. His brothers, the Bee Gees, had the Song of the Summer in 1971 with “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”
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Mariah Carey
1990: “Vision of Love”
2005: “We Belong Together”
Notes: Carey has the longest span of Song of the Summer champs – 15 years. She became the first woman to have the Song of the Summer twice and the second artist (following Gibb) to repeat without any credited collaborators on either hit.
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Jay-Z
2003: Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” (featuring Jay-Z)
2007: Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (featuring Jay-Z)
Notes: Jay-Z became the first hip-hop artist to have the Song of the Summer twice. He remains the only artist (from any genre) to score both times as a featured artist.
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Usher
Image Credit: Tim Roney/Getty Images 2001: “U Remind Me”
2004: “Confessions Part II”
Notes: Usher became the third artist (following Gibb and Carey) to have the Song of the Summer twice without any credited collaborators on either hit.
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Katy Perry
2008: “I Kissed a Girl”
2010: “California Gurls” (featuring Snoop Dogg)
Notes: Perry became the second woman to have the Song of the Summer twice and is the woman with the shortest gap between Song of the Summer champs.
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Drake
2016: “One Dance” (featuring WizKid and Kyla)
2018: “In My Feelings”
Notes: Drake, who was born in Canada, became the second artist who wasn’t born in the U.S. to have the Song of the Summer twice. The first was Gibb, who was born in England.
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Morgan Wallen
2023: “Last Night”
2024: Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help” (featuring Morgan Wallen)
Notes: Wallen is the second artist to have the Song of the Summer in back-to-back years. He’s also the only artist to have the Song of the Summer once as a lead artist and once as a featured artist. And he’s the only country artist to have the Song of the Summer twice.
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