Songs of the summer often have a life of their own.

The hottest song of the season tends to be unpredictable. We don’t know when or where it’s coming from.

When it does arrive, in a way similar to the hottest day of the season, you feel the unmistakable blaze. You feel it in the way you didn’t with other songs. You feel a confidence that says, “This is the hottest one of the summer, and everybody knows it.”

In honor of this yearly happening, the Billboard Hot 100 began ranking the season’s top hits in 1958. A song of the summer from 2012 inspired two friends, a musicologist and a songwriter, to launch “Switched on Pop.” The podcast about the making and meaning of popular music has since become a chart-topping show.

“Every year, critics and media outlets the world over put out definitive song-of-summer guides based on … well, we’re not always entirely sure,” the podcast hosts wrote once. “Certainly popularity, as measured by streams and radio play; not to mention that bewildering feeling that creeps up some time in mid-July, prompting whispered exclamations of: ‘Man, this song is everywhere.’”

The “Switched on Pop” guys record an annual episode about songs of the summer, but tend to celebrate multiple contenders, and their backstories, instead of obsessing over picking a winner.

It makes me think of one surprise tune vying for the title: Kate Bush’s 1985 hit, “Running Up That Hill.” The song reached the No. 30 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 37 years ago. After appearing in a recently released episode of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” the song surpassed a Harry Styles hit to take Billboard’s No. 1 spot. We love an underdog.

Whether it’s “As It Was” by Styles, “About Damn Time” by Lizzo, “That’s Where I Am” by Maggie Rogers or another tune (I’m rooting for “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift” to have its moment, it’s likely too early to crown a song of the summer. Instead, let’s celebrate this unwavering musical event by honoring some top summer songs of the past.

• “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z

This song from 2003 has everything a song of the summer should have. It’s the “uh-oh-uh-ohs.” It’s that we thought this was peak Beyoncé. It’s the dream Danny and Sandy sang about years prior in “Grease” about summer love. This song makes it sound as dreamy as ever.

• “Call Me Maybe” 2012

Wasn’t this song annoying at first? We thought so. Maybe in the same way a stranger’s advances can be annoying. But then Carly Rae Jepsen’s breakout hit from 2012 won us over, with its hopeless romanticism. The feel-good song turned charming and turned into an iconic sing-a-long.

• “Hot in Herre” by Nelly

This song certainly takes you back to a moment in time. 2002 to be exact. “Hot in Herre” hasn’t really stood the test of time, but its novelty stands strong anytime anyone makes a joke about the temperature rising in a room.

• “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey

This heartbreaker would’ve been a breakout hit no matter what. It just happened to happen in the summer of 2005. This line makes it somewhat relevant: “We belong together like the sun in the summertime.”

• “California Gurls” by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg

In 2010, campy pop songs were our bread and butter. This song is just fun and sometimes that’s what we want summer to be. “California Gurls” insists on more from the season, as the lyrics go: “Summertime is everything.”

• “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

This is a prime example of the song of summer’s unpredictable ways. Back in 2019, Lil Nas X was unheard of. His genre-defying TikTok sound turned into a debate about what is country music. Many agreed, though, that “Old Town Road” was destined for a hit-making path.

• “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles

This is the definition of a song built to last, no matter the season or trend or decade. After being released in 1969, “Here Comes the Sun” feels musically relevant next to tunes like “As It Was.” Its message also feels relevant. “It’s been a long cold lonely winter,” the easygoing lyrics say. “Here comes the sun and I say, it’s all right.” This is the time for smiles to return to faces.