Feels Like Summer (Childish Gambino song)
"Feels Like Summer", also known as "42.26", is a song by American recording artist Childish Gambino. The song was released by Wolf+Rothstein, Liberator Music and RCA Records on July 11, 2018.[2] It was written and produced by Gambino and his longtime collaborator Ludwig Göransson. The song was made available for digital download and streaming along with "Summertime Magic" as a part of the extended play Summer Pack.[3] It is featured on the FIFA 19 soundtrack.[4] It later appeared on his fourth album, 3.15.20, under the title "42.26".[5] The song received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.[6]
"Feels Like Summer"
July 11, 2018
- 4:57 (EP version)
- 5:21 (album version)
- Wolf+Rothstein
- Liberator Music
- RCA
- Glover
- Göransson
A music video for "Feels Like Summer" was released on September 1, 2018. It was directed by Glover, Ivan Dixon and Greg Sharp.[7] In the animated video, Gambino walks calmly through a neighborhood watching all of his neighbors playing during the summer as well as stopping to have dream sequences. The neighbors are all famous rappers or modern black figures that consist of (in order and group):[8][9][10]
The large amount of celebrities featured in the music video is juxtaposed against the environmentally-focused lyrics of the song, a contrast seen by some as deliberate; the video distracts from the song, in similar fashion to how some are so focused on celebrities and their personal lives that they forget more pressing issues in the world, such as climate change.[11] This is not too dissimilar from the music video to Gambino's earlier 2018 hit, ‘This Is America’, where Gambino and a crew of backup dancers perform distracting, choreographed dances while the background of the video and lyrics to the song are loaded with political commentary and carnage.
A follow-up video shows the animated Gambino walking into his house (which seems to partially resemble, or at least invoke, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood) and taking off his shoes to a new pair of Adidas. This was used to announce Glover's role as an ambassador and "brand co-creator" for the corporation.
Covers[edit]
French musician Sébastien Tellier released a cover of "Feels Like Summer" on July 2, 2020, exclusively for the French streaming service Deezer.[12][13]