"Summertime Sadness" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her second studio album, Born to Die (2012).
The pop ballad was released on June 22, 2012, by Interscope Records as the fourth single of the album. In the spring of 2013, "Summertime Sadness" reached number one in Poland, Ukraine and Armenia. Charting across Europe, the single reached the top ten in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
Trap and house remixes of "Summertime Sadness" helped Del Rey break into the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. That chart is where Del Rey's song became a modest hit and marked her first foray into the chart. On the accompanied Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, the single gave Del Rey her first US number-one single in August 2013.
In the summer of 2013, a remixed version of the track by Cedric Gervais was released to American contemporary hit radio and helped the single become a sleeper hit, debuting at 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the highest-charting single of her career in the U.S. with a peak of 6. Switzerland and Austria gave "Summertime Sadness" a Gold certification; it reached platinum status in Germany and became a top 40 year-end hit. The record also reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. It joined BBC Radio 1's and BBC Radio 2's playlists. Gervais' remixed version won a 2014 Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.
The song's accompanying music video depicts Del Rey and actress Jaime King as a couple. As the storyline progresses, both characters commit suicide by jumping from perilous heights. Cinematography was handled primarily by King's husband, Kyle Newman. The video gained success on video-hosting website YouTube, and circulated through social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.
In general, critics lauded the artistry of the single's music video, comparing it to Instagram. The musical arrangement was composed by Del Rey's long-time collaborators Emile Haynie and Rick Nowels, with Nowels and Del Rey writing the lyrics. The song is also referenced in the Chainsmokers' hit single "#Selfie".
In September 2021, the song was ranked number 456 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.