With its Songs of Summer 2025 predictions and latest Wildcard additions, Spotify doubles down on the rave revival, spotlighting high-BPM bangers as the defining soundtrack of the season.
Summer is racing by, and so is the music. As temperatures continue to rise, the momentum behind this year’s hottest music trend is also taking shape at full speed. In May, Spotify unveiled its annual “Songs of Summer” list, an early prediction of the top tracks poised to dominate playlists and speakers all season long. Curated through a thoughtful combination of editorial expertise, cultural insights, and streaming data, the list spotlights 30 songs that will define the sun-soaked months.
This year’s Songs of Summer 2025 lineup spans a wide range of genres, featuring some of the year’s most talked-about hits. However, one outstanding trend is the noticeable rise of high-BPM, rave-inspired tracks. Among the 30 featured songs, a number of high-speed, euphoric dance productions are making their mark. Tracks like Ely Oaks‘ “Running Around” and Morgan Seatree’s “Say My Name (Remix)” — a sample of Florence + The Machine’s “Spectrum” reflect a growing appetite for dance floor-ready bangers that match the heat and intensity of the season.
Ronny Ho, Head of Dance & Electronic Development at Spotify, attributes the trend to its experiential and emotional payoffs. “I think high-BPM rave songs are resonating strongly with listeners in the summer months because these faster tracks are euphoric when listening alone, but also a great time when heard out with friends in the summer weather,” she said.
Dance music has been gaining popularity with faster subgenres such as UK garage, breakbeat and hard house moving into the spotlight this year. Over the last year on Spotify globally, UK garage has grown by over 130%, and breakbeat and hard house both have grown by over 100%.
Ronny Ho, Head of Dance & Electronic Development at Spotify
Interestingly, in 2024, the list leaned towards pop and country, but this year marks a noticeable shift. The rise of dance music, particularly subgenres with higher BPMs, has created a new rhythm for the season. In its latest update, Spotify introduced 10 new wildcard tracks to its Songs of Summer 2025 list based on surging global streams.
Once again, high-tempo anthems took center stage. From Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas‘ “Blessings” to Disco Lines and Tinashe’s “No Broke Boys,” BLACKPINK’s “JUMP,” and PinkPantheress‘ “Illegal,” the message is clear: this summer, listeners are chasing the rush. They are turning to fast and electrified anthems to keep up with the pace of long days and short nights, fueling their undeniable urge to dance through every moment at full speed.
“I’m excited that PinkPantheress is back this year and that her songs are resonating so well with listeners. She’s always been a creative force in dance music and pushing the boundaries of what the genre sounds like to the mainstream,” Ronny shared. “In just the past month, streams of ‘Illegal‘ have increased 155% on Spotify globally, so we recently added it to our Songs of Summer list as a wildcard. It just received an incredible breakbeat-tinged remix from Nia Archives, pushing the BPM even higher than the original!”
Artists such as PinkPantheress, Luude, and Chase & Status were gaining popularity globally with their fresh take on jungle and drum & bass as early as 2020. Since then, we’ve seen a lot of hardstyle, trance and techno remixes and interpolations from new and established artists perform well on Spotify throughout the years.
Ronny Ho
Geographically, regions like Germany and the UK have long been a cultural stronghold for electronic music, and it’s no surprise that they continue to lead in the consumption of high-BPM genres. The enduring appeal of subgenres like techno and drum & bass, which are largely entrenched in the underground and rave scenes, continues to drive the pulse in these markets.
Ronny also notes that this momentum is increasingly fueled by the younger demographic, who are eager to embrace faster sounds. She said, “The kids are outside this summer! We’re seeing the younger generation consume the higher BPM rave tracks. Not only are they going out to shows, Gen-Z listeners are also using high-BPM rave tracks to soundtrack their social media content.”
The rise of high-BPM music is not random. It started to gain traction when “sped-up” songs took off across short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram. When users began pairing bite-sized videos with fast, remixed audio, it subtly reshaped how music is created, consumed, and shared. These accelerated versions resonated with audiences not just for their novelty, but for the way they mirror the pace of modern life, which is quick and built for the scroll.
We started to notice this trend a few years ago when ‘sped up songs’ grew alongside original tracks across all genres, even beyond dance & electronic music. When we looked towards our own genre, we noticed that subgenres that tend to have faster BPMs were emerging with new or historically underground artists leading the charge.
Ronny Ho
“Another standout subgenre is speed garage, which has taken on a life of its own,” Ronny added. “The genre grew by 1,270% globally on Spotify since last year, and one of the biggest songs that demonstrates the renewed interest in this genre is in our Songs of the Summer List – UK producer Morgan Seatree’s remix of “Say My Name” by Florence + the Machine.”
I predict the high-BPM trend will continue into the fall and the rest of the year, but with darker interpretations as we move into cooler weather in the Northern Hemisphere. We are seeing trance and techno continue to grow, with massive artists such as BLACKPINK and Tame Impala lean into these subgenres as well.
Ronny Ho
While Spotify’s Songs of Summer 2025 list offers a snapshot of what listeners are into right now, it also hints at something deeper: a broader cultural shift in how music consumption is rapidly evolving. The rise of high-BPM raves and hyper-charged songs has become more than a fleeting trend. It highlights the growing appetite for speed, intensity, and immediacy, qualities that define the characteristics of the modern-day listening experience.
As this trend continues to gain traction, we can expect to see more creative experimentations across genres and formats as artists start to lean into the kinetic energy of the high scroll era. Don’t miss the end-of-summer big reveal at the end of August, where Spotify will unveil the Top 5 songs set to close out the season with a bang!
