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Drake Has The Song Of The Summer (And My Heart) (And Your Heart)
By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 7, 2016
Modified Sep 7, 2016
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 7, 2016
Modified Sep 7, 2016
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Don't look directly at the smile. No, okay, look directly at the smile.
In the last, cold days of winter, I can't say I cared much about Drake. I knew "Hotline Bling" and appreciated that video, mostly for the man's goofy dance moves which I felt I could easily replicate in my bedroom, alone, after a few drinks. If I felt like it. "Drake like no one is watching," etc. I also appreciated his Canadianness, as well as his smile, which can make even the most stone-faced sociopath blush.
Just before he did double-duty on Saturday Night Live as host and musical guest in May, I decided to listen to some more of his catalogue, since I was going to be at this SNL taping. I forgot to. So my first introduction to "One Dance," where I was cognizant of it at least (maybe I heard it in a Trader Joe's once?), was in Studio 8H.
SOLD. I was sold. I loved this performance, and this song, and after the show I saw Drake, standing just a few feet away from me, smiling, and it was like looking... I don't know. I tried to find a good example of what I could compare seeing Drake smile in person to, but Google was like: Nothing, you cannot explain or touch beauty, you can only feel it in your heart. Or maybe it's salt flats?
Drake is a salt flat, and his songs are our anthems. But why are you reading about my thoughts and feelings on Drake? Because I needed a way to deliver you some big Drake news: "One Dance" (Ft. Kyla & Wizkid) has been named Billboard's No. 1 Song of the Summer of 2016. But why stop there? Let it also be our song of Autumn—maybe pair it with one of these turtleneck sweaters and a PSL.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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