Barack Obama Shares 2026 Summer Playlist Featuring Doechii, Tyla, Drake & More
The former president's annual summer playlist includes music legends and evergreen hits.
President Barack Obama speaks during a drive-in campaign rally with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at Belle Isle on October 31, 2020, in Detroit.
Barack Obama is giving us a glimpse into his summer soundtrack picks, and it’s packed with everything from timeless classics to contemporary hits.
The former president posted his annual summer playlist on Thursday (July 30), once again offering a peek into what’s been in rotation for him and former first lady Michelle Obama.
“This starts with a song Michelle and I love by Glen Hansard, a great musician who passed tragically this week,” Obama wrote on social media. “Our hearts go out to his family.”
The playlist then effortlessly jumps across different decades and genres, highlighting legendary artists like Marvin Gaye, David Bowie, The Police, Nina Simone, Chaka Khan, Neil Young, The Beatles, The Temptations and Johnny Cash with a slate of contemporary artists. Among today’s hitmakers, Obama includes SZA and Doechii‘s “Girl, Get Up,” a pair whose most recent albums, SOS and Alligator Bites Never Heal, went top 10 on the Billboard 200, with SOS topping that chart for 13 weeks. He also lists Tyla and Zara Larsson‘s “She Did It Again,” which peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year as one of his summer anthems. Alongside these tracks, Obama features songs from Drake, Future and Molly Santana, Noah Kahan, Vince Staples, Anderson .Paak and RAYE.
Obama has made a tradition of sharing his seasonal listening choices since leaving the White House, with each playlist blending current releases with enduring classics while often shining a spotlight on emerging and under-the-radar artists.
See Obama’s complete summer playlist below.
