From Voice Memo to Song of the Summer: How ‘Sunroof’ Conquered Radio
Mike Wass “Sunroof” is capping off the summer as a No. 1 song on radio’s Top 40 format. The pop song that could started out as a rough voice memo from newcomer Nicky Youre, sent to equally green producer Dazy, and went on to become ubiquitous after catching fire on TikTok. From there, “Sunroof” cracked the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 (it’s currently at No. 6 and climbing) and, this week, leads Top 40 radio ahead of two Harry Styles songs. “We didn’t really have anything going for us at the time,” Youre, 23, says. “Dazy had taken two years off and I hadn’t dropped anything for over a year.” The Orange County singer-songwriter, who had only released one song prior, started sending the producer voice memos and eventually conjured the “Sunroof” hook while fighting off a throat infection. “I was sick the day I wrote it, I just wanted to feel happy and good.”