Roséwave: 106 songs for the best summer ever!

Stream the playlist via Apple Music (clean), Spotify (clean), Tidal (clean), YouTube (clean).

In summer, we party, we dance, we love. We try to pack in as much bliss as possible, as if the sun will one day stop shining, your favorite ice cream spot could discontinue your favorite flavor or Taylor Swift won't release another album ever again. Summer feels infinite, but also rushed in its impermanence — every moment lasts in memory, but disappears quicker as days become shorter. Roséwave bottles that infinity with a soundtrack that spans generations and genres of music, celebrating the feels, friendships and fizzy drinks of summer.

"This is the best day ever!" exclaims the blonde, not-so-everywoman (played by Margot Robbie) in a party scene from Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie. "And so was yesterday and so is tomorrow and every day from now until forever!" Not only do we see the cracks in her fantastic, plastic world as she contemplates eternity, we feel them. Barbie holds a sparkly compact mirror to reality and everybody is freaking out.

This, too, is how the season can feel: existentially pink. We hold so much promise in the simpler pleasures of summer that, by comparison, the humdrum of the everyday feels less... rosé. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.) But both things can be true. Even when vacations go awry, relationships strain or your favorite restaurant closes, there are still glimmers of goodness and makeshift galas to be glamorous... even if only for a night.

For Season 7, roséwave leans into the Best Summer Ever, an aspirational theme that holds space for the best of life and the messiest of life. We open with Reyna Roberts' ridiculously fun romp ("Country Club"); limit ourselves to just two cuts from Barbie: The Album (Karol G's "WATATI" and Charli XCX's "Speed Drive"); we don't step, we don't walk, we don't dance, but float like Janelle Monáe; we remember style and sound icons Tina Turner, Rita Lee, Astrud Gilberto and Jane Birkin; we dance to Jam City, Romy, Peggy Gou and TWICE; we sunset drift to Tainy, Amaarae and KAYTRAMINÉ. We close with George Michael's eternal "Freedom! '90" and heed his wisdom: You got to give what you take.

Thanks to Hazel Cills, Anamaria Artemisa Sayre, Ashley Pointer, Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, Alanté Serene Millow, Lyndsey McKenna and Marissa Lorusso for their playlist contributions.

Roséwave: Best Summer Ever Tracklist

Reyna Roberts, "Country Club"
TWICE, "FANCY"
Beyoncé, "Schoolin' Life"
Karol G (feat. Aldo Ranks), "WATATI"
Jam City (feat. Empress Of), "Wild n Sweet"
Ice Spice (feat. Lil Tjay), "Gangsta Boo"
KAYTRAMINÉ (feat. Amaarae), "Sossaup"
Cibo Matto, "Spoon"
SZA, "F2F"
Fall Out Boy, "Thnks fr th Mmrs"
Lil Wayne (feat. Babyface), "Comfortable"
Janelle Monáe (feat. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80), "Float"
Cheryl Glasgow, "Glued to the Spot"
Prefab Sprout, "Cars and Girls"
Taylor Swift, "Style"
Tainy (feat. Young Miko & The Marias), "mañana"
myst milano., "Thirteen"
Troye Sivan, "Rush"
Borai & Denham Audio, "Make Me"
Yoruba Singers, "No Intention"
Joni Mitchell, "All I Want"
The Exploding Hearts, "I'm A Pretender"
Daryl Hall & John Oates, "Private Eyes"
Haley Mae Campbell, "Never Been in Love"
Phoenix (feat. Clairo), "After Midnight"
Romy, "Loveher"
M2M, "Mirror Mirror"
Vagabon, "Can I Talk My S***?"
Tina Turner, "What's Love Got to Do with It"
Kari Faux (feat. Gangsta Boo), "WHITE CAPRICE"
Juvenile, "Rodeo"
Amaarae, "Big Steppa"
Young Nudy, "Passion Fruit"
Glimji (feat. Elphi), "Blush"
Lizzo, "About Damn Time (Purple Disco Machine Remix)"
Jessie Ware, "Freak Me Now"
Peggy Gou, "(It Goes Like) Nanana"
Esron Y. Spielberg, "Headways"
Cris Mj, "Una Noche en Medellín"
Ashanti, "Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)"
Becca Mancari, "Over and Over"
Chappell Roan, "Red Wine Supernova"
Rita Lee & Roberto de Carvalho, "Baila Comigo"
John Carroll Kirby, "Sun Go Down"
Calvin Harris (feat. Nicki Minaj), "Skrt On Me"
Astrud Gilberto, "Água de Beber"
Jess Williamson, "Topanga Two Step"
Dido, "Thank You"
Daisies, "Is It Any Wonder?"
O.N.E The Duo, "Hearts Like Mine"
The Little Dippers, "Forever"
NIKI, "Every Summertime"
The Pharcyde, "Runnin' "
SWV (feat. Wu-Tang Clan), "Anything"
Tatyana Ali, "Boy You Knock Me Out"
Larry June & The Alchemist (feat. Ty Dolla $ign), "Summer Reign"
Charly Bliss, "You Don't Even Know Me Anymore"
Petal, "YOU REALLY LOVE ME"
The Goo Goo Dolls, "Iris"
Las Ketchup, "Un De Vez En Cuando"
PinkPantheress & Ice Spice, "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2"
Rauw Alejandro & Bizarrap, "BABY HELLO"
Kylie Minogue, "Padam Padam"
Obongjayar, "Just Cool"
Wendy & Lisa, "Waterfall"
Stevie Wonder, "Part-Time Lover"
Carly Rae Jepsen, "Shy Boy"
Enon, "Daughter in the House of Fools"
NewJeans, "Super Shy"
Crushed, "waterlily"
The Japanese House, "Boyhood"
Paramore, "You First"
Charli XCX, "Speed Drive"
Flo Milli (feat. BabyFace Ray), "Hottie"
salute, "Wait For It"
June West, "Blue Rhythm"
Elia y Elizabeth, "Descripción"
Jane Birkin, "Di doo dah"
Morcheeba, "Let Me See"
Hailey Whitters, "I'm In Love"
Victoria Monét, "On My Mama"
NxWorries (feat. H.E.R.), "Where I Go"
Sebastián Yatra & Myke Towers, "Pareja Del Año"
Cyndi Lauper, "Time After Time"
Teena Marie, "I Need Your Lovin' "
New Order, "Regret"
Shania Twain, "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"
Rawayana (feat. Simon Grossman), "Bebé"
Dorothy Ashby, "Come Live With Me"
Ambré, "Wild Life..."
Antena, "Silly Things"
Yaya Bey, "meet me in brooklyn"
SiR (feat. Scribz Riley), "Life is Good"
Big Tymers (feat. Tateeze & Boo and Gotti), "Oh Yeah!"
Peso Pluma & Bizarrap, "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 55"
Jennifer Lopez, "If You Had My Love"
LE SSERAFIM, "Impurities"
Alanis Morissette, "You Learn"
The La's, "There She Goes"
Jordan Ward, "FAMJAM4000"
IDK (feat. Jucee Froot & Saucy Santana), "Pinot Noir"
Sofia Kourtesis, "Madres"
Joyce Wrice, "Spent"
Davido (feat. Ckay), "La La"
Madonna, "Keep It Together"
George Michael, "Freedom! '90"

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.