Music is a connective force of community. Everyone has at least one playlist. Our family has put a lot of miles on ours during a very abundant, road-trip-filled summer of 2025. This is the third and most crowdsourced installment of The Potentiality Playlist, which I started a few years ago – here is vol. 1 and here is vol. 2. These playlists have aged fairly well despite some cringeworthy Drake and K’Naan references.

According to several sources, like news media and my wife’s (who is her own person) favourite podcast, there is no “song of the summer” for 2025. My friend Kristin articulated the reasons behind this trend really nicely:

When I saw this yesterday I got thinking, what IS the song of summer for 2025? I am always fascinated by how pop culture both shapes and reflects society. So I googled song of summer for 2025. And guess what? Technically speaking, there isn’t one song that we either have LOVED of HATED because it’s been overplayed (No Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter this year!). Why is that? A couple of reasons but the one that I find most interesting is that in uncertain and hard times, we turn to things that give us comfort and that is often things that are familiar. And apparently we have been listening, collectively, to a lot of recession-era music (hello, Bruno Mars!). The same applies to fashion – recession-core and DIY is trending big time (and comfort!). 

You should work with Kristin and the Leda HR team to enable and expand well-being and inclusion in your community.

Here are some songs that capture The Potentiality’s community-building competencies, aiming to inspire you to create a soundtrack for your worklife that grounds you in beliefs and values as much as it inspires you to get uncomfortable while embracing new ideas and experiences.

The Potentiality Playlist vol. 3

“Relentless” by The Arkells

You ever heard of a soft touch?
You ever heard of a finger roll?
A little sun, a little raindrop
And you watch this thing grow
Follow me like a firefly
At midnight in mid-July
Mix some blood, sweat, and tears of joy
That’s what I call a rally cry

Relentless
Like a dog on a bone
We got gas in the tank to go all night (all night)
We got gas in the tank to go all night (all night)
Relentless
We don’t walk alone
Relentless
It’s time to get to work, now let’s get going
Woo!

“Relentless” emphasizes how resilience, best evidenced by the ability to bounce back, is a critical component of adaptability. By mixing blood, sweat, midnight fireflies, and rally cries, this song celebrates growing through perseverance and doing hard things together, relentlessly.

Hard things often lead to learning (and/or are revealed by learning). We learn the most, after all, when we’re uncomfortable, which helps us adapt to new, weird, and scary circumstances.

“Work it Out” by Jurassic 5

These are different times but we feel the same pains
The blood of mankind runnin through the same veins
We’d like to make it right some which it remain tame
Same crimes even though they names changed
And we like different minds workin off the same brain
Passengers on different cars steppin off the same train
In the end, makin it rights the main aim
Different parts of the picture highlight the same frame

Now if you know what I know you need to work it out (work it out)
If you ain’t happy with yourself you need to work it out (work it out)
You havin problems with your family then work it
The things we go through just to work it
I work it out when the situations seems unworkable
Unreversible but God is most merciful
Many works, Many men converse
With soul search sweat it out
When they tryin to work it out

That Dave Matthews hook is sick!

These lyrics champion shared effort, celebrating how teamwork unlocks creative potential, fuels change, and transforms challenges into joyful moments, even when there is a lot of tension for us to work out or through.

Human beings have way more in common than we think and we’re told.

“Cinderella Snapped” by Jax

I (I) don’t (don’t) need (need) no (no) prince to save me
I’m a goddamn C (C) E (E) O (O)
Don’t (don’t) call me “Baby”, equal pay me
Snow White said you tried to kiss her
So I’ll just buy a new glass slipper
Burn (burn) your (your) castle down
And kids, that’s how Cinderella snapped

I got introduced to this song by my oldest son’s friend (she can rap the third verse perfectly fyi). This song is an absolute banger.

“Cinderella Snapped” shares clear, bold self-expression; girls speak up, rewrite the classic Disney Princess stories, demand fairness, and inspire confidence with each other using playful, powerful communication.

“How it’s Done” by HUNTR/X

Yeah, something about when you come for the crown
That’s so humbling, huh?
갑자기 왜 그래? 먼저 건드려, 왜?
이제야 포기해 what?
Nothing to us, run up, you’re done up, we come up
From sunup to sundown, so come out to play
Won either way, we’re one in a million
We killin’, we bring it, you want it? Okay
Heels, nails, blade, mascara
Fit check for my napalm era
Need to beat my face, make it cute and savage
Mirror, mirror on my phone, who’s the baddest? (Us, hello?)

Knocking you out like a lullaby
Hear that sound ringing in your mind
Better sit down for the show
‘Cause I’m gonna show you (I’m gonna show you)
(I’m gonna show you) how it’s done, done, done

How do you open a movie called K-Pop Demon Hunters so that the audience understands the premise and feels engaged about the next 90 minutes?

This is how it’s done … done, done.

These lyrics turn battles, beauty and self-care regiments, and ramen-slurping-pre-concert-rituals into creatively remixed everyday moments through rapping, powerful vocals, and pop-fresh-dance moves blended with choreographed ass-kicking.

Reimagining a typical routine, like a commute to work or making kids’ lunches, as a quest, dance routine, or action movie unlocks creative, playful potential in all of us, which is something I love about this song (and the movie, too).

“Anxiety” by Doechii

Anxiety, keep on tryin’ me
I feel it quietly
Tryin’ to silence me, yeah
My anxiety, can’t shake it off of me
Somebody’s watchin’ me
And my anxiety, yeah
Oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Doechii’s lyrics blend empowerment, vulnerability, and defiance by expressing the tension people feel as we work to overcome challenges and embrace self-expression through honest confrontation of inner struggles.

When leaders openly share their mental health challenges, such as anxiety, they inspire others by modeling authenticity and courage. According to the Canadian Management Centre (CMC), when managers and leaders talk openly about mental health, it helps break down stigma and creates psychological safety. This makes people feel supported when they ask for help, which leads to early help and builds a more caring workplace.

Doechii’s lyrical role-modeling, which is a super-critical leadership capability, enables people to feel comfortable taking risks, learning new things, and personalizing myriad challenges we face as individuals and communities.

“Ya Ya” by Beyoncé

My family lived and died in America, hm
Good ol’ USA (good ol’ USA), shit
Whole lotta red in that white and blue, huh
History can’t be erased, ooh-oh
Are you lookin’ for a new America? (America)
Are you tired, working time and a half for half the pay?
Ya-ya (half the pay, ooh-oh)
I just pray that we don’t crash
Keep my Bible on the dash, we gotta keep the faith
Wildfire burnt his house down
Insurance ain’t gon’ pay no Fannie Mae, shit
So hold this holster, pour more liquor, please
Hardworkin’ men ain’t got no money in the bank, ha, ya-ya
Turn up the vinyl and the radio (radio)
He can’t watch the news nowadays, oh (nowadays)
I just pray that he don’t crash
Keep this pistol on the dash, he gotta keep the faith

“Ya Ya” is a history lesson unto itself (learn more from the team at Switched on Pop).

As listeners we learn, unlearn, and relearn musicology and cultural history – like, what is the “rodeo chillin’ circuit”?! – each and every time that this absolute banger of a track pops on to our playlist.

“Ya Ya” turns the American Dream on its head and inspires learning and thinking by exploring and dissecting multiple options for tackling poverty, injustice, and oppression: faith, advocacy, community, violent resistance, dancing.

Learning happens everywhere and always when we take time to reflect on our experiences and when we have the right tools to tackle problems and opportunities in the flow of everyday work.

BONUS TRACKS

“Try Everything” by Shakira

Birds don’t just fly, they fall down and get up
Nobody learns without gettin’ it wrong

I won’t give up, no, I won’t give in
‘Til I reach the end, and then I’ll start again
No, I won’t leave, I wanna try everything
I wanna try even though I could fail

Shout out to my awesome colleague, Taunya, who recommended this track because it highlights that we are always learning, especially when experiences are hard.

“Eatin’ Big Time” by Tyler Childers

That’s what I said, that’s what I did
And it did not cut one corner
As I carved that fat-neck-mother right down to the bone
I let him hang for several days
And then I cut off hide and scriffin’
I cut it thin, then throw it in a Tupperware to soak

I fried some pieces while I worked
It tasted like I’d made it
Fried in Wagner casted butter in a quiet country place
With albums gold and platinum overflowin’ to the ceiling
Eatin’ big time is a feelin’ with the friends that I have made

Taking time to savour our accomplishments, especially when we use our imagination to expand or amplify them, is a great way to expand self-awareness.

“You Wreck Me” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Now and again
I get the feeling
Well, if I don’t win
I’m a-gonna break even

…

I’ll be the boy
In the corduroy pants
You be the girl
At the high school dance

If I’m being honest, this song is on the list because, ever since I was a corduroy-pant-wearing-high-schooler, Tom Petty has been tattooed in my brain/heart/soul. Also, I like the tempered, positive perspective about how we might reframe winning and losing as we play the infinite game of work and life!

“On and On” by Curtis Harding

I’m gonna keep rollin’ on (on)
No matter what the world may do (do)
‘Cause with a love like this (like this)
There’s nothing left to do (to do)
So let me tell you

When we have a solid, trusting community of friends, colleagues, and partners we can just keep rollin’ on and on despite the hurdles life throws our way. Shout out to my friend Jag who sent me this song because it reminds him of me!

“Be More Kind” by Frank Turner

History’s been leaning on me lately;
I can feel the future breathing down my neck
And all the things I thought were true
When I was young, and you were too
Turned out to be broken
And I don’t know what comes next

In a world that has decided
That it’s going to lose its mind
Be more kind, my friends
Try to be more kind

As she always does, my friend and hero Lisa Taylor shared this perfect song – a classic, retro ballad that meets the moment of today – that absolutely yields the energy, ideas, and beats we need today.

“A Song to Sing” by Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert

And when this world wants to lay
Everything heavy on our shoulders
I stand with you side by side
Forever and a day

You are a part of me
Baby, you’re the heart of me
Together we can write a song to sing
And in that melody
Baby, you’re the harmony
That you just can’t find anywhere

This very, very awesome song was recommended by my friend Kristin – it is a pretty darn perfect encapsulation of how friendship and community are the antidote to the change, chaos, and misfortune that the world throws at us.

“Golden” by HUNTR/X

We’re goin’ up, up, up
It’s our moment
You know together we’re glowin’
Gonna be, gonna be golden
Oh, up, up, up
With our voices
영원히 깨질 수 없는
Gonna be, gonna be golden

Let’s be honest. If there is a song of the summer for 2025 this is probably it.

What’s on your playlist?