TobyMac, Hillsong UNITED and Crowder Bring Listeners the Summer Anthems of 2015

Hillsong United

Every summer has them: those songs that, years later, bring to mind memories of the season that they were radio staples. And this year will be no different, with new music from TobyMac, Crowder, and Hillsong UNITED among the songs that are inescapable on Christian radio stations this summer. BREATHEcast takes a look at what we believe will be the songs that define the summer of 2015.

Of course, a classic 'summer anthem' needs to check a few boxes: It needs to be catchy, emotionally affecting, upbeat and memorable. And though the songs on this list vary greatly in their genre and content, they do have one thing in common: they make for high-quality earworms.

'Lift Your Head, Weary Sinner (Chains)' -- Crowder

Though the single is not a new release, it seems this summer this song is having its time. Radio airplay has really picked up in the last couple weeks, hitting #18 on the Billboard Praise and Worship chart at this writing. Featuring a catchy banjo hook that builds to an intense, anthemic chorus, the song is a modern folk anthem. Lyrically, the words match the songs catchiness and musical intensity beat for beat, with a percussion heavy chorus (lyrics: "If you're lost and wandering/come stumbling in/like a prodigal child/Let the walls start/crumbling/let the gates of glory open wide") sung by Crowder and a slew of backup voices. A song built for singing around a campfire or echoing back at a Christian festival, "Lift Your Head Weary Singer" is structured with both gravitas and singability.

'Feel It' -- TobyMac 

Has TobyMac (or anyone, ever) given us a catchier song than "Feel It"? The new single off of the upcoming 'This is Not a Test', "Feel It" twists together blend of funky saxophone, beatboxing action, gospel vibes and, of course, an uplifting message for a song that's super fresh and signature TobyMac. "Feel It" is a party song, no doubt about it, but it's lyrics are an interesting contrast to the club beat in the background: "Love came crashing in/never gonna be the same again/you wrecked me; you wrecked me." With only three weeks on the Billboard chart, the song is already at #19 and climbing quickly, which suggests that "Feel It" is destined to be heating up the charts way after the weather cools down.

'Touch the Sky' -- Hillsong UNITED 

"Touch the Sky," the lyrical standout from their new release, 'Zion', is an insightful and poetic call to worship. The song points out the beauty of an intimate encounter with the God of the universe. Using breathtaking imagery and understated guitar play, Taya Smith's gorgeous voice takes this song over the threshold from 'pretty' to 'downright miraculous.' Inviting listeners to plunge into their worship experience as only Hillsong UNITED can do, this single has been fixed in the top ten since its release -- and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. "What fortune lies beyond the stars?/Those dazzling heights too vast to climb," the opening lyrics wonders, before getting more personal: "I got so high to fall so far/but I found heaven as love swept low." This song is the perfect background music for a meditative summer sunset or any time spent contemplating the awe of God's creation.