[Summer Songs] Summer tracks recommended for teens: A roundup of the latest and classic hits

fragrant oliveOrange Spiny Club

ORANGE SPiCE CLUB 'Kinmokusei' Music Video

It’s a song by ORANGE SPINY CLUB that carries the sweet-and-sour pangs of youth and quiet heartache hidden in everyday life on a melody that feels somehow nostalgic.

The lyrical world crafted by Naoto Suzuki evokes faint feelings of love and vivid scenes, like the fragrance of fragrant olive, and seems to nestle close to the listener’s heart.

The track is included on the mini-album “Irat­suku Toki wa Itsudatte,” released in January 2020, and has become widely beloved, surpassing 100 million streams in June 2021.

In June 2023, it was also showcased in a special format on THE FIRST TAKE.

It’s the perfect song for those sentimental late-summer moments, when you listen while layering thoughts of someone dear and memories of youth.

cotton candyback number

back number – Cotton Candy (Short ver.)

This is the sixth single by the three-piece rock band back number, selected as the opening theme for the music show COUNT DOWN TV in July 2012.

It’s a song whose vivid, lyrical lyrics paint scenes and situations so clearly that you can’t help but relate.

The melancholic melody and arrangement amplify the bittersweetness in the words, bringing back memories of a page of youth that everyone has faced at least once.

It’s a summer song we especially want teenagers—those closest to the story told in the lyrics—to hear.

Live the summerGreen Yellow Society

Ryokuoushoku Shakai “Living the Summer” Music Video / Ryokuoushoku Shakai

Released as a digital single in 2020 and later included on the album SINGALONG.

A cheer song set in summer, delivered with Ryoku Shaka’s signature clear sound.

Alongside its transparency, it carries a childlike innocence that refuses to be tinted any one color, and a fleetingness that fizzes like a lightly carbonated drink.

With phrases that evoke high school baseball, Living Through Summer depicts each person’s way of life, making it a summer song that resonates in the heart.

It also tugs at the feelings you have for friends striving down different paths.

There’s a beauty here that makes you want to revisit it again in the future.

Perhaps these feelings will transcend the summer.

Ms. SeptemberRADWIMPS

RADWIMPS – Ms. September [Official Live Video from “RADWIMPS Outdoor LIVE 2013 ‘Aoi to Mememe’”]

Even though August is over, it’s still sweltering these days, and there are summer songs that fit perfectly in September, too.

“September-san,” included on RADWIMPS’s 2006 album RADWIMPS 3: The One We Forgot to Bring to the Deserted Island, is one such track.

It’s said to be an important song for the band, apparently named in connection with September 3, the date of their first-ever solo concert.

It’s a summer song whose characteristically RADWIMPS emotional, bittersweet sound really resonates with the heart.

Slow & EasyHirai Dai

Dai Hirai / Slow & Easy (Music Video)

The music of Dai Hirai, a leading figure in Japan’s surf music scene, is perfect for summer.

Among his works, the title track “Slow & Easy” from his 2015 album stands out—the laid-back rhythm and bright, breezy sound make summer days feel wonderfully comfortable.

The intro, starting with ukulele and whistling, has a fresh and light feel.

If the heat gets to you or you find yourself feeling irritated, try listening to “Slow & Easy” and relax!

Summer MiracleKALMA

KALMA – Summer Miracle (Music Video)

KALMA is a three-piece rock band that gained nationwide recognition with songs posted on the music-sharing site Eggs and made their major debut in 2020.

Their digital single Natsu no Kiseki (Summer Miracle), selected as the theme song for the live play-by-play broadcast of SBS Radio’s “103rd National High School Baseball Championship Shizuoka Tournament,” is an exhilarating number with a bright, blue-summer-sky feel that lifts your spirits.

The lyrics, conveying the unique heat and bittersweetness of summer, resonate alongside a driving beat.

It’s a liberating, high-energy tune that swells with anticipation for a new season.

Girl RayMikito-P

Mikito-P “Shoujo Rei” MV

Contrasting the freshness of summer, this one song strikes the heart with a poignant story.

Crafted by Mikito-P, it rides on a beautiful melody to sing of precarious emotions and tragedy, as well as the protagonist’s possessiveness and regret.

Mikito-P has said the piece was inspired by the drama “A Human Failure: Suppose I Were to Die” (“Ningen Shikkaku ~ Tatoeba Boku ga Shindara”), and the use of acoustic guitar draws from the show’s featured song “A Hazy Shade of Winter.” It’s perfect for moments when you want to sink into a bittersweet mood on a summer day, or if you love music rich in storytelling.

The contrast between the beautiful melody and the lyrics will surely pull you in.

Give it a listen!