Song of the Summer 2023 – iHeartRadio Music Awards

Lore & Background

The 'Song of the Summer' slot at the iHeartRadio Music Awards carries a particular weight because it isn't just about chart position—it's about cultural saturation. A song in this category is the one you hear at the beach, in the car with the windows down, in the TikTok duets that flood your feed from June through August. It's the track that becomes shorthand for a season. For an artist still in the middle of building her adult identity, landing in that conversation is a kind of public vote of confidence that says, 'Yes, this is your lane now.'

Sabrina Carpenter's 2023 nomination arrived at a pivotal inflection point. She had spent the prior two years shedding the 'Disney-next' label, releasing 'Please Please Please' and then building the world of 'Short n' Sweet' with a sound that was playful, synth-driven, and unapologetically pop. 'Nonsense' became the anthem of that shift—bouncy, confident, and dripping with the kind of self-aware wit that made fans feel like they were in on a joke only she was telling. Seeing it nominated alongside the year's other summer juggernauts validated that her voice had found its frequency.

In the fan community, the nomination became a rallying point. The 'Sabra' fandom (as they call themselves) turned it into a mini-celebration, sharing clips of her early performances, tracing the lineage from her 'Gingerbread' era to this moment, and framing it as proof that the slow-burn narrative had finally broken open.

In Their Own Story

The Las Vegas night air hummed with the low buzz of a sold-out arena. Sabrina stood backstage in a gown that caught the light like liquid amber, her phone buzzing with a text from her manager: 'You're up next. Breathe.' She could hear the audience's roar muffled through the wall, a sound like the ocean she'd grown up watching from a different kind of shore. She pressed her fingers together, felt the familiar flutter, and whispered to herself the line she'd been saying since the first 'Nonsense' studio session: 'I'm not the side character.' Then she walked out, and the summer belonged to her for one more night.

Reader's Guide

So picture this: it's the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards, and the host just dropped the 'Song of the Summer' nominees. And there's Sabrina Carpenter, nominated for 'Nonsense.'

If you were on social media that night, you know the exact moment. The chat exploded. Screenshots of the graphic went viral within seconds. People who had been playing 'Nonsense' on repeat since spring—driving, dancing in their kitchens, using it as their ringtone—suddenly had a little golden validation stamped on their summer. It wasn't a win, but for where she was in her career, a nomination in that category felt like a door swinging open. It said the industry was no longer filing her under 'promising young talent from a TV show.' She was in the summer conversation. The same conversation as the artists who'd been there for years.

Fans made it a whole thing. Compilation videos of her performing the song in various settings hit the feeds. People wrote threads connecting it to her 'Short n' Sweet' era. The hashtag trended for hours. And Sabrina, in her own understated way, posted a simple thank-you that felt like she was just as surprised as everyone else.

It was one of those moments where you look back and realize: that was the night the narrative shifted. Not the biggest night of her life, but the night the world collectively nodded and said, 'Okay. She's here now.'

Did You Know?

• The iHeartRadio Music Awards 'Song of the Summer' category is determined by a combination of radio airplay, streaming data, and audience engagement over the preceding summer season.
• Sabrina Carpenter's 'Nonsense' was released as part of her 2023 album 'Short n' Sweet,' which marked a deliberate sonic pivot toward synth-pop and playful, self-aware songwriting.
• The 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards ceremony took place in Las Vegas, a venue that has hosted the show in recent years, drawing a large live audience and a massive online viewing audience.
• Sabrina Carpenter's fan community, often called 'Sabras,' organized social media campaigns and shared fan art celebrating the nomination across multiple platforms within hours of the announcement.