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Song Of The Summer 2016? No — Songs

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - We say an unofficial farewell to the summer of 2016 this Labor Day weekend, but music can help the memories live on. So what songs will be reminiscent of these months gone by when you hear them years down the line?

Unlike the summer of 2015, when you just couldn't get away from Omi's 'Cheerleader,' there wasn't a clear victor this time around. No singular tune to unify fans of pop, rock, and hip-hop (or others who happened to be in earshot). No one song to rally the nation or to allow us to leave behind our woes when packing the beach bag.

No bother.

"I think there were songs of the summer," says Bennett, music director at CBS' 96.5 AMP Radio in Philadelphia.

Drake proves the point in microcosm. The Canadian rapper star had — count 'em — one ('One Dance'), two ('Too Good'), three ('Controlla') hits over the past several months.

The summer music stage was set by Justin Timberlake, with 'Can't Stop the Feeling.' The funky track — from the forthcoming Trolls soundtrack — is family-friendly and danceable, to be sure, but it might have suffered from over-saturation.

"It didn't have the staying power to last all summer long," Bennett says. "It shot up the charts so fast; everyone loved it immediately. It became a dance craze on the Internet. It was massive for a decent length of time, but it burned on a lot of people."

Slower to climb but peaking at the height of the season was Sia's 'Cheap Thrills,' featuring Sean Paul.

"'Cheap Thrills' actually stayed on top of the charts the longest out of any song this summer," Bennett says. "That's impressive."

Thanks to the glut of good tunes, you had your pick of genre for summer sing-alongs: alternative (Twenty One Pilots 'Ride'), dance (Calvin Harris & Rihanna 'This Is What You Came For'; The Chainsmokers 'Don't Let Me Down'), hot R&B (Kent Jones 'Don't Mind'), pop (Sia; JT), rap (Desiigner 'Panda'), and hip-hop/crossover (Drake).

"In years past, you could say it was that song, that was the one song of summer," Bennett says. "For this summer, there are a lot of options to choose from. And I think that's actually better. It's pretty cool in the format to have the complete spectrum and see them all have success."

Twenty One Pilots became only the third act in history — after Elvis and The Beatles — to have two top-five singles ('Ride,' 'Heathens') on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in the same week.

"Twenty One Pilots had a cult following, bubbling there in the alternative world, and then a little song called 'Stressed Out' came out and just blew the lid off this band," Bennett explains. "That song was number one in the Top 40 world, so they crossed the mainstream pond. Then 'Ride' was another huge success. This summer, their biggest show to date was at Hershey Park, where they sold out the same venue Beyoncé sold out the week prior."

With three big songs this summer — 'Roses' (featuring ROZES), 'Don't Let Me Down' (featuring Daya), and 'Closer' (featuring New Jersey's Halsey) — who would have thought there was life after the 'Selfie' song for The Chainsmokers?

"They said if they ever thought they would get to this level of fame, popularity, and success, they would never have named themselves 'The Chainsmokers,'" Bennett says. "They hate the name. 'Selfie' was a novelty song that no one took seriously, and here they are with three straight number one songs. The run they're on is truly unbelievable."

Desiigner made sure we'd never think of pandas — or the apparently lookalike white BMW X6 — the same way.

And Kent Jones, with 'Don't Mind' — his multilingual tutorial on greeting women — became a generation's Rosetta Stone.

"I know a lot of people were trying to sing those lyrics —  if they could understand what he was saying," Bennett says.

And despite him ending the summer sans Instagram, we can't forget The Bieb, whose late-season collaborations ('Cold Water' with Major Lazer and MØ; 'Let Me Love You' with DJ Snake) raced up the charts.

"Justin Bieber is having the best run of his entire career," Bennett says. He's found the formula. He's teamed up with Temple grad Diplo [on 'Where Are Ü Now' and as part Major Lazer]. He really has crafted Bieber into this Top 40 success story. Bieber's always had the fame and fortune, and now he has the hits and chart success [including 2015's three-times platinum-selling 'Purpose,' which spawned three Hot 100 number ones into 2016] to back it up. He's having an insane summer."

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