The Best Songs Released in July 2025

If you are reading this on August 3, we are likely in the middle of Lollapalooza 2025 🙂

Noteworthy album & EP releases:
Voyeur, Alessi Rose
Headlights, Alex G
You’ll Be Alright, Kid, Alex Warren
shut up and love me, Aidan Bissett
Loner, Barry Can’t Swim
Dog Eared, Billie Marten
When You Come Back I Have So Much To Tell You, Dream Ivory
autonomy, ELIO
Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?, Fletcher
Now Would Be A Good Time, Folk Bitch Trio
The Longer This Goes On, Forth Wanderers
Who Wants to Talk About Love?, Jade Bird
Sex Hysteria, Jesse Murph
SWAG, Justin Bieber
Precipice, Indigo De Souza
Love Me Too Well, I’ll Retire Early, Katie Gregson-MacLeod
. (period), Kesha
The Cosmic Selector Volume 1, Lord Huron
Kiss From The Balcony, Madeline Kenney
i think we should just move in together, Min Taka
paper doll, quinnie
DESIRE PATH, Raissa
No Silent Monks, Ritchy Mitch & The Coal Miners
DON’T TAP THE GLASS, Tyler, The Creator
moisturizer, Wet Leg
BELOVED, Givēon
I WANT MY LOVED ONES TO GO WITH ME, Noah Cyrus
Operator, Zac Ferro

In chronological order:

“Cross Your Mind” – Shelly
Release date – July 1

Way back in 2020, indie darling Clairo released a couple songs with a band called Shelly, comprised of Clairo, singer-songwriter Claud, and classmates Josh Mehling and Not Frances Getzug.

The songs, “Steeeam” and “Natural,” were one-offs (or two-offs), and not much else came from their release. But earlier this year, Clairo revived the love for Shelly when she performed “Steam” live at Coachella for the first time, and earlier this month, when the group returned with two more tracks, titled “Cross Your Mind” and “Hartwell.” 

I know there’s been a lot of discourse on TikTok about how we’re basically almost done with summer and we’ve had yet to “claim” a song for THE 2025 song of the summer, and this write-up is me throwing “Cross Your Mind” into the ring as my official pick. It has a laidback, vibey feel about re-visiting your hometown and coming to terms with the reality that you’re no longer who you were as a teenager. Maybe it’s a little depressing for the song of the summer, but it matches the times we’re living in, so I’m sticking with it as my song of the summer.
– Kristin 

“JUMP” – Blackpink
Release date – July 11

BLACKPINK’s new single “JUMP” is a high-energy return that reminds everyone why they’re still at the top of the game. Even with each member having carved out impressive solo careers, BLACKPINK remains a unit, and “JUMP” captures that electric group chemistry. Produced by 24, TEDDY, and Diplo, the track is fast, loud, and built to move. It’s packed with beat switches, bold vocals, and slick transitions that make it feel like three songs in one. Whether you’re sprinting on a treadmill or getting ready for a night out, “JUMP” has the kind of energy that pulls you in immediately and doesn’t let go.

The lyrics throw shoutouts to iconic girl groups with lines like “Primadonna” and “Spice Up Your Life,” and one standout moment is the line, “I’m with all my sisters making them go insane,” which perfectly captures the group’s fierce sisterhood and vibe. The music video ends with BLACKPINK flying across the crowd before landing on a glowing heart-shaped stage that floats over the city, like a rooftop performance but on a whole new level. It’s a super fun, visually wild ride that proves BLACKPINK continues to push pop boundaries. – Jesse 

“Daisies” – Justin Bieber
Release date – July 11

“Daisies” is easily one of the best songs released this July and a major highlight on Swag, Justin Bieber’s first album since 2021. Fans went wild when he teased it on TikTok, especially once people realized Mk.gee was involved in the production. The track was also written and produced by Dijon, Eddie Benjamin, Carter Lang, and Tobias Jesso Jr., and the whole thing just sounds incredible. Justin’s voice has never sounded better—clear, smooth, and full of emotion without overdoing it. The production is dreamy and soft, giving the song this hazy, late-night feel that fits the mood perfectly.

Lyrically, “Daisies” is packed with gems, but just to pick out a few: Bieber opens with “Throwin’ petals like, ‘Do you love me or not?’” which immediately sets the tone for the song’s vulnerable push and pull. Later, he sings “If I could get in, drop me a pin… don’t wanna be friends, just skin-to-skin” with a quiet urgency that’s both romantic and raw. And the chorus—“Whatever it is, you know I can take it, I’m countin’ the days, how many days ‘til I can see you again?”—is simple but hits deep. Every line feels intentional and intimate. With over 98 billion streams on Spotify already, “Daisies” is a fan favorite for a reason. – Jesse

“#1” – Katelyn Tarver
Release date – July 11

I’ve been following singer-songwriter Katelyn Tarver’s career pretty closely since I became obsessed with her 2024 album, Quitter, an honest look at Tarver’s trajectory as a child actor-turned-singer-songwriter who has been releasing music for several years. She’s also well-known for starring in the Nickelodeon series “Big Time Rush,” a show about a fictional-turned-real band that Tarver is currently on tour with.

“#1” is Tarver’s first release of 2025, a song that candidly speaks about putting herself first following a divorce from a nine-year marriage, one that she did not speak publicly about since the release of the song. Speaking on the meaning of the track on TikTok, Tarver shares that “#1” is not only a “sonic departure,” but a song that “puts [her] personal life on blast in a way that [she] never really had before.” 

While I do think “#1” is a bit “edgier” than the music of Tarver’s past, I do find the track to be similarly autobiographical in comparison to songs like “Starting To Scare Me” and “Quitter,” exposing parts of herself that may be hard to digest in comparison to the “traditional” pop star. 

“People think I’m so polite if they knew what’s on my mind / I wanna cross every line, just wanna feel alive” – Kristin 

“pokemon” – Wet Leg
Release date – July 11

Even if I LOVE an album and know it’s a body of work that I’m going to be re-listening to for years to come, it’s truly rare for me to find an album that TRULY has no skips. But I do feel like Wet Leg’s highly-anticipated album, moisturizer, to be a completely no-skip album. I could probably make the case for several of the songs to be my personal standout, but I’ve been hyper-fixating on “Pokemon,” a song that I immediately need to blast in my car while driving through the canyons of LA: something that I could do in about ten minutes but have yet to do, which is pretty upsetting for me personally.

moisturizer is very much an album about falling in love with someone, and Wet Leg does a fantastic job encompassing what that feels like with an airy, laidback, shoe-gazey vibe that feels more inviting and less sarcastic than the work on their debut album, but doesn’t lose the attributes that make the band unique, either.
– Kristin