- One song will soon be blaring in the background, and that tune will be the song of the summer
- Many sites will inform you that Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" is a shoe-in
- We'll certainly concede that it was the song of the spring
Editor's note: Robbie Daw is an editor at Idolator.com which is a part of Buzz Media.
(CNN) -- Summer is inching upon us, and that means kids at public pools will be splashing, barbecues in the backyard will be blazing and a slate of blockbusters will start crowding around "The Avengers" at cineplexes.
While all this is going on, one song will be blaring from car radios, tinny laptop speakers and hot dog stands at the beach. And that tune will be deemed the song of the summer.
Of course, each year around this time, anyone with fingers and a Twitter account -- let alone a published byline -- is eager to latch onto a budding chart hit and declare that, yes, this one particular three-minute confection of perfection is definitely going to be the song of the summer.
And if, by chance, that song still happens to be heavily crackling across the airwaves at an hourly rate in August, well, good for those pop prophets. Pat on the back. You were right. Bravo.
But let's just state the obvious: pop does have a way of weaving itself into the fabric of our summer experiences. (Think of these recent, inescapable scorchers: Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" and "California Gurls" in 2008 and 2010, respectively, the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" in 2009 and LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" last year.)
So why, then, doesn't anyone ever focus on the big hits that come along in December, or, for that matter, February? Is there some law that decrees June, July and August are the only zeitgeist-approved months on the calendar? Well, no. But song of the winter just doesn't have the same sexy ring to it, and who wants to cruise around sleeveless with the windows down when it's 24 degrees outside anyway?
That brings us to 2012's upcoming stretch of sunny days, and Carly Rae Jepsen. Many sites will inform you that the 26-year-old Canadian's bouncy, string-laden "Call Me Maybe" is a song of the summer shoe-in (or, at the very least, one of the top contenders). And almost like clockwork, the single has inched up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, just as Gotye's six-week reign on top with "Somebody That I Used To Know" seems to be winding down.
Not up on Carly Rae or "Call Me Maybe"? You've been living under a rock, we see. Below are the only three points you'll need to know:
Her first big break: The Mission, British Columbia, brunette placed third on "Canadian Idol" in 2007. Her first album, "Tug of War," was released in her home country the following year, and her EP "Curiosity" arrived this past February on Valentine's Day.
How she blew up: Fellow Canadian Justin Bieber and his manager, Scooter Braun, signed Jepsen earlier this year to a deal with their Schoolboy Records label.
"Call Me Maybe": As the legend goes, Bieber and girlfriend Selena Gomez heard the song on the radio while visiting Canada in January. An alternate music video for "Call Me Maybe" (different from the official clip) features Bieber and Gomez, as well as pals Ashley Tisdale and members of Big Time Rush, lip-syncing along with the track. The vid went viral, and has more than 74 million views. To date, the single has topped the charts in Canada, Australia and the UK, and gone Top 10 in over a dozen other countries.
It's worth pointing out that while there has been lots of speculation that it could be the "perfect pop song," Jepsen's breakout hit has been breaking out for quite some time now. It was first released in September, and by April it had become a radio staple here in the States.
But with June looming in the distance, it's tricky to peg this slice of disco-pop that's been around for eight months as the definitive song of summer 2012.
For starters, Carly Rae has some stiff competition in the forms of her pal Justin Bieber's Timberlake-like single "Boyfriend", Maroon 5's ode to antiquated communication methods "Payphone," Train's similarly upbeat stomper "Drive By" and Pitbull's "Men in Black 3" soundtrack jam "Back in Time."
She also faces peaking early in the summer with "Call Me Maybe," then having it slide away by the time fireworks start shooting off, in the wake of other new tracks that will catch the ears of iTunes-clicking tweens.
Last summer, for instance, Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera's "Moves Like Jagger" didn't come along until late June. By August, "The Voice" coaches' pair-up was unavoidable on radio, and it went on to spend four weeks atop the Hot 100.
But it's late May, and right now you probably just want to know whether or not "Call Me Maybe" is going to be the hands-down song of summer 2012. We'll certainly concede that it was the song of spring. As for summer? We'll say definitely ... maybe.
Sorry, Carly.
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