The race for the song of the summer is on, and there are a great many strong contenders for the spot. With “High In California” – a song fans can’t believe Louis Tomlinson only included on the digital deluxe bonus edition of his 2022 album Faith in the Future – the former One Direction member has entered the running.
It didn’t stop fans from loving it and cheering Tomlinson on for the wholesome feel-good song that puts one in the mood to dance and forget about everything else. The lyrics also do a fine job of making you think about sunny days, the soft waves lapping up on the shores of beaches, and happy times. Tomlinson’s smooth voice and the song’s catchiness perfectly blend for a memorable track.
This isn’t one of those songs with heavy instrumentals that pump up your energy immediately after you hear it. Yes, it makes you want to dance, but I don’t imagine it hitting it big in nightclubs. In a way, it reminds me of one of those Barney songs I loved so much when I was a kid. Except, of course, Barney would never sing about “smoking weed.”
“Blue like the light surroundin’ me / It all seems so different when I’m around it / See all these waves and waves of green / Keep on comin’ like a dream until nothin’ is the same,” Tomlinson sings in the first half of the first verse, describing a kind of blissful experience.
The chorus tune is catchy enough to get stuck in your head by the end of the track, and definitely so by the time you replay it a second and third time. “I wanna be in California / Smoke some weed outside in the summertime / They always said it’s so bad for me / Everything I try makes me feel alive / Spent my whole life just thinkin’ I had to change,” he sings in the chorus.
“High In California” is one of three bonus songs on the digital deluxe bonus edition version of his 2022 album, Faith in the Future. Its release comes as Tomlinson kicked off his “Faith in the Future World Tour.”
