Barack Obama Shares His Summer 2024 Playlist: Charli XCX, Tems, 2Pac, Nick Drake & More
Former President Barack Obama has shared his playlist of his current favorite songs for summer 2024. It includes Charli XCX’s high-speed song Kid The song “365” — because even Obama can’t resist Brat Summer — as well as Tommy Richman’s hit single “Million Dollar Baby,” 2Pac’s “How Do U Want It” and Nick Drake’s “One of These Things First.” Obama also chose songs from Billie Eilish, Shaboozey, Tems, Bonny Light Horseman, Beyoncé, Pharoah Sanders, Bad Bunny, Samara Joy, Charles Mingus and more. Check out the full playlist below.
“Summer is coming to an end and I wanted to share with you some songs that I’ve been listening to lately. And my playlist wouldn’t be complete without an eclectic mix,” Obama wrote of her selections. “I hope you find something new to listen to!”
It’s part of Obama’s longstanding tradition of sharing lists of his favorite books, music, and movies twice a year. His top songs of 2023 included tracks by Big Thief, Mitski, Beyoncé, and Megan Thee Stallion, while SZA, Rosalía, Maggie Rogers, and Kendrick Lamar received those honors the year before.
In an interview with Hasan Minhaj last year, Obama reiterated that he personally chooses these songs for his playlists. “People seem to think, ‘Well, he must have had a 20-year-old intern thinking about that last song,’” Obama said. “No, man! It’s on my iPad right now!”
Review the 2016 article “The Presidential Suite: A Look Back at the Milestones of Obama’s Musical Career.”
Barack Obama’s Summer 2024 Playlist:
Shaboozey: “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Charli XCX: “365”
Billie Eilish: “Spirited Away”
Time: “Love me Jeje”
Artemas: “I like the way you kiss me”
Tommy Richman: “Million Dollar Baby”
Hope Tala: “I can’t even cry”
Blackstreet: “No Diggity” (with Dr. Dre and Queen Pen)
Enny: “Load it”
Carminho: “O Quarto (original soundtrack version)”
Calimossa: “What’s in the tea?”
Hubert Sumlin and Keith Richards: “I love the life I live, I live the life I love”
PJ Morton: “Say So” (with Jojo)
Cleo Sol: “Why don’t you do it?”
Miracles: “You really have a hold on me”
SHE: “Process”
2Pac: “How Do You Want It?” (featuring K-Ci and JoJo)
Sting: “If you love someone, set them free”
Lucinda Williams: “Don’t Stand Me”
Jill Scott: “Golden”
The Rolling Stones: “(I Can’t Get) Satisfaction”
Saweetie: “My best”
Charles Mingus: “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting”
Norah Jones: “Come with me”
Common: “The people”
Etta James: “Don’t cry, baby”
Chris Jedi, Gaby Music and Dei V: “Bad Boy” (with Anuel AA and Ozuna)
Rema: “Yayo”
Bonny’s Light Rider: “Old Dutch”
Willow: “Symptom of life”
Moneybagg Yo: “Whiskey Whiskey” (with Morgan Wallen)
Myles Smith: “Stargazing”
GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion: “I Want to Be”
Tyla, Gunna and Skillibeng: “Jump”
Bad Bunny & Feid: “Perro Negro”
Paul Russell: “Little Boom”
Planets to Dig: “The Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like That)”
Bob Marley & the Wailers: “They’re full (but we’re hungry)”
Nick Drake: “One of those things first”
Bob Dylan: “Silvio”
Pharoah Sanders: “Love is everywhere”
The Supremes: “Where did our love go?”
Beyoncé: “Texas Hold’Em”
Samara Joy: “Someone to watch over me” (with Pasquale Grasso)
