Cool for the Summer

Music and production

"Cool for the Summer" was written by Lovato, Alexander Erik Kronlund, Savan Kotecha, Ali Payami and Max Martin, with production held by the two latter. It was recorded in two studios: MXM Studios, Los Angeles, United States and Wolf Cousins Studios, Stockholm, Sweden. The song was mixed by Serbian Ghenea and mastered by Tom Coyne. The guitars, percussion and keyboards was performed by the musician Ali Payami who also contributed to the song's production and programming with Max Martin.

Musically, "Cool for the Summer" is a pop and pop rock song, with a rock edge and an electronic arrangement running through a synthesizer beat and electric guitar riffs. With this track Lovato returns to her pop rock roots, while breaking new ground for herself with its provocative subject matter. Thematically, the song is about sexually experimenting with a female lover during summertime. It was noted for being more sexually suggestive than Lovato's previous releases, garnering comparisons to Katy Perry's song "I Kissed a Girl". Tharadjyne Orisma of United Press International noted that the song "makes some pretty racy suggestions". The track's ambient production consists of a piano melody for the introduction, followed by a buzzing synth beat, that is accompanied by guitar riffs on the chorus. Its production was also noted as Lovato's comeback to pop rock music present on her earliest records after releasing her 2011 R&B-infused album Unbroken and 2013's bubblegum pop Demi. According to the sheet music published by Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc on the site Musicnotes.com, "Cool for the Summer" is written in the key of C minor set in a 4
4 time signature at a moderate tempo of 114 beats per minute. Lovato's vocal range spans from the low note of B_b3 to the high note of F₅, while the music follows the chord progression of A_bmaj₇ – Fm – Cm – E_b/B_b.

Artwork and release

Lovato announced the release of "Cool for the Summer" on June 25, 2015, with the single's artwork and the release date, July 1, via Twitter. Emilee Lindner from MTV News commented on the artwork: "The art for the song shows Demi in a strappy suit and faux fur, throwing us the side eye. She gives off an all-knowing, commanding vibe, swinging around her sunglasses without a care." Although set to premiere July 1, the song leaked one day before its official release date. In interview, Lovato told New York City Z100's Elvis Duran:

Promotion

Lovato first performed the single on the same day of its release, at the Z100's CFTS Release Pool Party in New York City. She subsequently performed the song at other pool parties, including one hosted by 102.7 KIIS-FM, at the WaterMarke Tower in Los Angeles, during which she fell when she tried to jump into the pool. Lovato also performed the song at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Cincinnati on July 11. Lovato gave a performance of "Cool for the Summer" with an all-female band on The Voice Australia on August 9, 2015. The following day, she performed the song on Sunrise. On August 30, 2015, Lovato performed the song at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards with rapper Iggy Azalea. The next day, Lovato sang it on Jimmy Kimmel Live. As one of the headliners of the 2015 NRJ Music Tour, she gave a performance of the track on September 5, 2015 in Saint-Quentin, France. On September 9, 2015, Lovato delivered a more "intimate" version of the song at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in London. On September 11, 2015, she was a guest on British comedy chat show Alan Carr: Chatty Man, where she gave another performance. The song was also a part of Lovato's setlist at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 18–19, 2015.

Lovato performed a "Cool for the Summer" and "Confident" medley on Saturday Night Live the series' forty-first season on October 17, 2015. Lovato's setlist at CBS Radio's 2015 We Can Survive event on October 24, 2015 included the song. Furthermore, "Cool for the Summer" was a part of Lovato's setlist at the 2015 106.1 KISS FM Fall Ball on November 14, 2015 as well as the setlist for the 2015 Jingle Ball Tour. On December 31, 2015, as a headliner of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, she performed another medley of "Cool for the Summer" and "Confident" in Times Square. Lovato performed the song on the second edition of the Victoria's Secret Swim Special, which aired on March 9, 2016. On May 14, 2016, Lovato performed "Cool for the Summer" as a part of her setlist at the 2016 edition of Wango Tango. Lovato gave a more soulful rendition of "Cool for the Summer" at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards on May 22, 2016. The song was performed as encore during all shows of the Future Now Tour. The song is featured in the dance video game Just Dance 2016. "Cool for the Summer" was one of the official theme songs for WWE SummerSlam 2015.

Critical reception

Following its release, Lovato was accused of copying Jessie J's "Domino" and Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl", with the lyrics "It's okay/I'm a little curious too/Tell me if it's wrong/If it's right/I don't care ... Got a taste for the cherry/I just need to take a bite" being compared to the theme of Perry's "I Kissed a Girl," which was also co-written by Max Martin. In response, Lovato stated the songs sounded nothing alike, and that "I think more than one female artist can kiss a girl and like it". Yasmeen Gharnit from Nylon calling the song "a blatantly summer song" with "boisterous, cinematic instrumentals and synth beat" that distract from "some straight-out-of-your-middle-school-diary lyrics". Jason Lipshutz of Billboard gave the song a rating of four and a half out of five stars, calling it Lovato's "most self-assured statement to date". Idolator gave an average rating of 7.5 out of 10, writing "from the hook-filled production to the tongue-in-cheek lyrics, it only takes one listen to know that 'Cool for the Summer' is going to be huge."

Nolan Feeney from Time stated that "Lovato's sultry vocals and producer Max Martin's Midas touch melt the track's air-conditioned synths into a sweltering, rock-infused banger." Writing for New York, Dee Lockett called it "the most perfectly manufactured Song of Summer maybe ever". Annie Zaleskie from the site The A.V. Club call the song a "unstoppable hit" and described it as "an icy rush of electro-pop seduction in praise of fleeting romance. In a review for the Confident album, Yu Tsai of USA Today praised the lyrics, stating "Lovato has long-infused her brand of pop with rock 'n' roll grit, heard here and on the electric-guitar riffs of first single Cool For The Summer. While its limp attempts at being provocative emit little heat." He continued, "'Summer' is still one of the catchier songs on the album, whose other potential radio hits are harder to identify." Glen Gamboa of Newsday gave a positive review to the song's production, different of several critics who compared the song with Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl". The editor noted a similar composition to other Perry's song; he wrote: "On Cool for the Summer, Martin builds a sleek, shiny backdrop, similar to Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream", for Lovato, who uses it to advocate for sexual experimentation in the name of a good time". NME editor Nick Levine also praised the song's style, he described it as "massive EDM-tinged-tinged pop banger with lyrics hinting at an exploratory same-sex tryst. "Don't be scared 'cause I'm your body type", Lovato purrs on the chorus before whispering suggestively, "Don't tell your mother!".

Recognition

"Cool for the Summer" also was include in several lists of year-end. The website SPIN ranked the song at number 101, and positively reviewing the editor Jia Tolentino wrote: "From that first icy, neon piano riff, “Cool For the Summer” feels like a Miami drag race in an ‘80s dream, with a muscular force in Demi’s chorus that makes those sweet, girlish verses seem like a lie you’d tell your parents just before you’d sneak out of the house." In the annual Village Voice's Pazz & Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2015, "Cool for the Summer" was tied at number 29, with three other songs. Stereogum's Chris DeVille considered it as 23th best song of the year and wrote it "was save for the pop-rock edge that has become Lovato’s signature sound." And continued writing that "the hooks on the song got Lovato’s next chapter off on the right foot." Lewis Corner from Digital Spy also included the song on the list at number 16. He also commented about the song's impact in Lovato career, he described it "a breezy, dusky pop serenade, that ramps up with husky guitars before it ends. It's a surprising switch-up, but one that has every potential to see Demi's global profile shine even more." "Cool for the Summer" has received two nominations. In August 2015, it was nominated for Choice Summer Song at the Teen Choice Awards and also for Song of Summer at the MTV Video Music Awards. The song received an award for being one of the most performed songs of 2015 at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards on April 27, 2016.

North America

In United States, "Cool for the Summer" debuted at number 36 in the Billboard Hot 100 on the week issued for July 12, 2015. "Cool for the Summer" rises in its second week on the Hot 100, from number 36 to number 28 becoming Lovato's first top thirty since "Really Don't Care" (2014). In the same week, the song also ranks at number 15 on Digital Songs with 108,000 downloads sold and number 40 on Radio Songs–prompted by a 29% up to 36 million in radio audience that week. The arrival of its lyric video on July 7, 2015 also prompts a 185 percent gain in U.S streams to 2.4 million. It was the second biggest climb on the chart that week (only behind Fetty Wap's 679 featuring Remy Boyz). On the week issued for August 1, 2015, the song slips, from its number 28 high to number 31 on the Hot 100, but with gains at radio and in streams. It zooms from the number 40 to 25 on Radio Songs (45 million, up 25 percent) and debuts on Streaming Songs at number 41 with 3.3 million U.S streams. (up 41 percent). After the released of the music video (on July 23, 2015), “Cool For the Summer” rises from 31 to number 24 on the chart winning Streaming Hainer honors, it becomes the Lovato highest charting position since “Heart Attack” (2013).

The song climbed from 24 to number 19 on the chart issued for August 15, 2017. It also zooms from the number 18 to number 12 on the Digital Songs chart with 63,000 downloads sold (up 17 percent) in the week ending July 30, according to Nielson Music; 31-18 on Streaming Songs (6.6 million U.S. streams, up 49 percent); and, rose from 22 to 18 on Radio Songs with 56 million audience impressions, up 9 percent. In its seventh week, the song rise from 20 to number 16 on the chart. Following Lovato's performance on the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, the song rose from 17 to number 11 on the week of September 19, 2015. It made the song Lovato's third biggest peak on the chart, only behind "Heart Attack" and "Skyscraper". On Dance Club Songs chart the song, "Cool for the Summer" became one of the fastests songs to reach number 1 on the chart, the song reaches the top in only its fifth week which the song climbed from the number 5 to the top, completing the quickest climb to number since Lady Gaga's "Applause" that also needed five weeks to reach the top of the chart in October 2013. On September 23, 2016, "Cool for the Summer" was certified two-times platinum by the RIAA denoting sales and streams of two million copies in the US, digital sales and streams included. On the Canadian Hot 100, the single peaked at number 14 and was certified Platinum by Music Canada for sales of 80,000 copies in that country.

Europe and Oceania

In United Kingdom, "Cool for the Summer" debuted at number 7 on the UK Singles Charts, becoming Lovato's highest entered on the chart only behind "Heart Attack" which debuted at number 3 on the chart. The song was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on November 13, 2015 for sales of 200,000 copies in the UK. On the New Zealand Singles Chart, "Cool for the Summer" debuted at number 37 on July 27, 2015, and peaked at number nine on the chart, becoming Lovato's fourth top-ten single in New Zealand, spending 14 weeks on the chart. It was certified Gold by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) in 2015 for selling 15,000 digital copies. On the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia, the song debuted at number 56, and peaked at number 20 on the country receiving a Platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in 2016 for sales of 70,000 copies. In Italy, it peaked number 52 and received a Gold certification for 25,000 copies sold in the country. "Cool for the Summer" reached number 1 on Greece. "Cool for the Summer" also reached top twenty in several European countries such as Ireland where the song reached number 18, and number 13 in Spain where the song spend 13 weeks on the chart, On Scotland, it peaked number 3. The song debuted at number 99 in Sweden on August 7, 2015 and reached number 63 and has sold 20,000 in the country, being certified Gold.

Lyric video

The lyric video for "Cool for the Summer" was released on July 7, 2015 at the platform of VEVO. The lyric video features Lovato singing at pool parties.

Production and synopsis

The music video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis. It was released on July 23, 2015, on Vevo. The video begins with Lovato cruising with her friends around the city, the scene intercut between the scene where Lovato sings and whips her hair in an isolate place wearing a black latex. The video follows with Lovato and her friends coming at a party, the video cut between a variety of scenes where show people in a trampoline, Lovato dancing and having fun in a party. Rob Copsey from Official Charts describing the video as "hot" and wrote the visual for the video "sees her hit the road with her gal pals (and a bottle of her own-brand hydrating mist) before getting it on with each other at a wild house party." Christina Garibaldi of MTV deemed the video "seductive, sassy and smokin' hot" and noted the video marked "a new chapter of her career, as she exudes a confidence and sexiness that we haven't seen before." Bianca Gracie of Idolator and Lewis Corner of Digital Spy both thought the video is Lovato's "steamiest". Hayden Manders of Nylon wrote that the video "doesn't disappoint, but it somewhat misses the mark" explaining "it's odd that a video for a song about same-sex experimentation features none. You'd have to listen to the lyrics to understand the underlying message of the song because the video shies away from it." New York magazine's Dee Lockett called it "the most sexually liberated video Demi's ever done to go along with its empowering message." The video surpassed 100 million views in October 2015, making it Lovato's ninth Vevo-certified clip.

Remixes

Safehouse Records released various remixes to accompany the song. The first set of remixes were done by Todd Terry, VARA, Dave Audé, Cahill, Plastic Plates, and Mike Cruz. Titled Cool for the Summer– The Remixes, the remixes were released as CD single and digital download on August 7, 2015. Lindsay Harvey from Billboard made a list which she listed the 7 Best Demi Lovato's Remixed Songs, reviewing the remix by DJ "Plastic Plates" the editor wrote, "Building off the song's catchy chorus of "oohs," this remix slows things down a bit. A steadily paced bass line underlies lighter rhythms sprinkled throughout." The American DJ Tedd Terry who remixed the song, told to Billboard in a statement:

"I really liked the freedom I got from Demi and her team. They told me to go make a version that I would play out in one of my sets versus focusing on a radio-friendly mix. That was refreshing and I think that being able to fully approach it with doing what was best for the track for club play really made this remix rock."

"Cool for the Summer" also was remixed by electronic dance music DJ duo Jump Smokers and Suraci, Billboard‘s Harvey described the first version as a "high-energy remix" and praised it writing this "relents from beginning to end, save for a momentary breath of air in the middle that exists merely as a much needed break." Both remixes was included in the Confident's deluxe edition.

Credits and personnel

Recorded at MXM Studios, Los Angeles, United States and Wolf Cousins Studios, Stockholm, Sweden.

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Confident.

Certifications

Since May 9, 2013, RIAA certifications for digital singles include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads.