Now that school's out and folks are slathering on the sunscreen, we figured it was time to take the temperature of the annual Summer Jam Sweepstakes — the race to dominate the airwaves (and your tanning playlist) during the long, hot months of the year.
So last week, we published our initial rankings in the race for the Summer Jam crown, a list that was topped by Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," with Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" and LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" following close behind. A whole host of other big-name stars — like Eminem, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Adele, to name just a few — also made the cut, along with some dark-horse candidates (like Foster the People, Maroon 5 and David Guetta) who are determined to make this competition close.
Of course, our rankings had you talking too — in fact, the conversation in our comments section got so huge (we even heard from a Hall of Fame third baseman!) that we've decided to spotlight some of the best back-and-forth right now. What's your pick for the Song of Summer 2011? Here's what you had to say:
"This has been Katy's decade so far! She made pop music fun again." — Tuffy Luvvy
" 'Lighters' by Eminem, Royce and Bruno Mars all the way, baby! It's a long-shot, I know. I think Katy Perry will get it, but you never know." — lilbittaflava
"I like Katy, but 'I Wanna Go' from Britney sounds more like a summer song." — Aaron
"Britney Spears! 'I Wanna Go' just makes my summer great!" — Melissa Goulart
"Britney Spears all the way! 'I Wanna Go' all the way! I'm still in love with Pitbull's 'Give Me Everything,' and his album is amazing. Nicki Minaj's 'Super Bass' is sick, love it!" — RyanJaggerz
" 'The Edge of Glory' is a glorious pop anthem-masterpiece, no need for it to be crowned as a 'jam.' Adele's 'Rolling' is heart-touching, breathtaking and also a masterpiece." — Spyros Venturis
" 'Moves Like Jagger' by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera is amazing!" — SuperZonic Jbsz
"Oh I couldn't believe when I saw them, thank you so much MTV for putting them on the list ... I love them, talking about of course FOSTER THE PEOPLE YEAHHHHHHH." — hotalejandro
" 'Tonight Tonight' by Hot Chelle Rae! I could party to that every day of the summer." — WhatShouldIDo?
"You guys forgot about New Boyz ft. Chris Brown, 'Better With the Lights Off,' and Lupe Fiasco ft. Trey Songz, 'Outta My Head.' " — booklady
"All these songs have that 'I've heard it all before' sound to them. Nothing special about any of the songs on the list. A lot of the 'artists' on this list would be better off working a mop at a Waffle House. It's Kanye's fault." — Mike Schmidt
What do you think? Share your Summer Jam picks in the comments below!