This post was updated Sept. 24 at 9:55 p.m.

Although summer is ending, these music videos are here to stay.

Encapsulating the exciting releases brought with this year’s sunny season, indie and pop artists not only created the soundtrack of the summer but also the movie. With storytelling becoming the latest theme in music videos, fans can now immerse themselves in these musicians’ cinematic universes.

Read on for the Daily Bruin’s pick of our favorite music videos of the summer.

“The Subway” by Chappell Roan.

“She’s got, she’s got a way” – Chappell Roan certainly does.

Over a year after topping the charts with “Good Luck, Babe!” Roan released her third new single since her debut album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” This latest single is a studio version of her song “The Subway,” which Roan first performed live in 2024. The song debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her highest-charting single in the United States.

The song’s video shows Roan, draped from head to toe in her signature red hair, as she embarks on a theatrical chase through New York City after her green-haired lost love. Her long locks soon become snagged in taxi doors, dragging her through the streets as she ultimately loses her beloved in the subway. The video transforms grief and longing into a fairytale gone awry, with her clothing made entirely of curls, turning anguish into spectacle. In the end, Roan scales a tower of green locks suspended over the city, grasping at the memory of love already far out of reach.

While her heartbreak may send her packing for Saskatchewan, the success of “The Subway” makes sure we are all catching the next train to follow.

– Caitlin Brockenbrow

[Related: Album review: Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend” lacks deft lyricism, fresh perspectives]

“Vodka Cranberry” by Conan Gray.

This summer, Conan Gray is raising his glass to heartbreak.

Released July 10, the “Vodka Cranberry” music video brings the lovestruck characters of Wilson and Brando back together as they navigate their newfound relationship from the “This Song” video. Both tracks, alongside concluding video “Caramel,” belong to Gray’s newest LP “Wishbone,” which dropped Aug. 15. With Gray and Corey Fogelmanis starring respectively as Wilson and Brando, the “Wishbone” visual trilogy centers Gray’s lyrical narration within a harrowing tale of coming-of-age and queer first love.

Set in Gray’s hometown in rural Texas, the “Vodka Cranberry” music video follows Wilson and Brando through scenes of nostalgic adventure as they cruise down empty highways, swim in a lake and camp beneath the stars. The characters’ lingering gazes and touches build an electric chemistry between them, ultimately deteriorating into a breakup when Wilson witnesses Brando flirting with a girl. During this final argument, the image of both characters pushing each other away interposes against their earlier romantic play-fighting at the lake, creating a stirring parallel between the hurt and tenderness of love.

With its intoxicating mastery of visual storytelling, “Vodka Cranberry” imparts a similar taste to Gray’s previous hits – that of the bittersweet.

– Gwendolyn Lopez

“Tears” by Sabrina Carpenter.

Paying homage to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the “Tears” music video proves that Janet needs no Brad – and that Sabrina needs a third Grammy.

Premiered alongside her seventh studio album “Man’s Best Friend,” singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter released the music video for her new hit “Tears” on Aug. 28. The music video cranks the dial on camp, leaning into theatricality, femininity and sexual empowerment.

Riddled with contrasts of deep purples and sharp reds, the music video nods to the cult-classic ‘70s comedy horror musical that embraces gender exploration and sexuality. Mimicking the film’s opening, Carpenter – cast as Janet – abandons a car crash and discovers a mansion, meeting a red-lipped Dr. Frank-N-Furter-esque Colman Domingo, who lip-syncs the beginning of the song: “I get wet at the thought of you.” With Frank, Janet is whisked into various surreal scenes, including a drag ballroom, red-nailed hands stripping her to frilly lingerie and a pole dance routine in the middle of a cornfield – obviously. The video closes with Janet snapping back to the crash, where she stabs her boyfriend Brad with her stiletto, her fantasy of liberation becoming a reality, showcasing female empowerment and autonomy.

More than a well-choreographed show with a toe-tapping tune, Carpenter’s music video serves as a reminder that pop can be just as radical as it is catchy.

– Viva Wertz

[Related: Album review: Mitch Rowland contrasts musical styles in new album ‘Whistling Pie’]

“Loser” by Tame Impala.

Tame Impala might just make being a “Loser” cool again.

“Loser’s” music video, which premiered Sept. 3, stars Joe Keery, who plays a man stranded on the street by his lover. Keery goes on to prove himself as a loser, moping on the curb outside a convenience store and even smoking a cigarette thrown onto the street. Toward the end of the video, shots of the protagonist alternate between Keery himself and Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker, creating symbolism around Parker’s self-perception as a loser.

The second single from Parker’s upcoming album, “Deadbeat,” expertly fulfills its purpose by creating a visual representation of Parker’s reflections in his lyrics on his inadequacy. The video’s final shot shows Keery looking up from his stoop at something off-screen with sudden hope, signaling Parker’s final message that losers like him may not be as doomed as he believes. Like all great music videos, “Loser” takes the world built out by the lyrics and brings them to life in a dimly lit, simply told story that matches perfectly with the song’s dirty grunge aesthetic.

Although Parker describes himself as a “tragedy” in the lyrics, his latest music video is anything but.

– Vishnu Potharaju