If you have been watching The Summer I Turned Pretty, you must know the soundtrack of the series entirely brings it all together and makes you feel 10x more than you felt prior to that familiar or unfamiliar beat. The storytelling that comes from a song astounds me, even after years of watching the series. It is a perfectly curated playlist where every song fits each exact moment and has fans dissecting every lyric—I am proud to say I am one of them.
A bittersweet moment I like to think about is as if it’s a diary for Belly’s love for the cousins—Conrad, and her love and loss. It’s a perfectly palm-held playlist, and it has me looking back all the way to episode one, thinking about why these tracks cut the deepest and why that mattered so much in that moment. It ties back to the beloved series we read while in middle school—or even recently (I won’t judge you)—and it just perfectly ties it all together.
Episode One: “You’re Losing Me” & “Dreams”
I am a Swiftie and proud to say so, so when You’re Losing Me started playing, I was just as much of a mess as Belly was. It plays in such a pivotal moment that fans ached for. It’s the first moment we, as fans, see Belly slipping away from Jeremiah, mirroring this lyric: “I can’t find a pulse, my heart won’t start anymore.” It’s a foreshadowing of their relationship—beneath all the “I love you’s” and the love they hold for one another, their relationship is fragile and quite easy to break apart.
Meanwhile, we have the dreamy (forgive the pun) Dreams by The Cranberries. It is a dreamy and delusional way of looking at the summer and the romance that encapsulated their minds. It was sweet, fleeting, and bittersweet. To Belly, everything was working out perfectly as long as she was with Jeremiah—but part of her heart still lied with Conrad, even if as viewers we hadn’t seen it yet.
Episode Two: “Lacy” & “Mystery of Love”
Ever since Olivia Rodrigo released the blissful track Lacy, fans have been dreaming of it being featured in the storyline of Jeremiah and Lacie in Cabo. I didn’t quite think the track would fit as perfectly in a scene of Belly running, so I thought, well—I guess no Lacy. Boy, was I wrong. Lacy playing while capturing Belly’s insecurities completely threw me off. All the lyrics perfectly capture how Belly felt in that moment, and it mirrors her constant comparing of herself and feeling as if she’s not enough. It was a moment that felt complete, yet their story was not over.
Now, of all the songs in this episode, Mystery of Love threw me for a curveball. As someone who loves Call Me By Your Name, hearing this all-too-familiar tune in my room on a Wednesday struck me. It is not Belly-coded or Belly and Jeremiah-coded—it is naturally Conrad-coded. It is a soundtrack that aches with love and longing and echoes those thoughts we hold so dear. It captures that feeling of no matter how much Belly tries to escape Conrad and the feelings that fleet, her love for Conrad is impossible to erase.
Episode Three: “No Surprises” & “Birds of a Feather”
This episode was soft and—don’t shoot the messenger—it felt like filler. Sorry. Apart from that, No Surprises was perfect and it was a reflective moment for both Belly and Conrad. Pretending to push through, pretending everything is fine—sound familiar? One thing I will always cherish is being a reader of the series, and even as a viewer, we know that Belly often pretends she is content, that being with Jeremiah (or just in general) her heart always tugs elsewhere.
Now, as much as I would rather not open an episode with Belly and Jeremiah, Birds of a Feather was sweet and a lasting song to place among the scene. As a delusional viewer, I connect everything with Belly and Conrad, and with lyrics like “I want you to stay”—how can I not? Everything is the quietest echo between the two, and they can never let go.
Episode Four: “Landslide” & “Halley’s Comet”
My love for Fleetwood Mac will always be there, and the epitome of playing Landslide was unbeatable. It will always reflect change and growing up, and it deeply reflects Belly. Perhaps growing up too fast, maybe the question of “Can I handle the seasons of my life?” Her emotional landslide hit hard. I am not a Belly hater, never have been, never will be. That being said, her distraught feelings of picking between the two—or rather placing the right feelings in the right place—is difficult.
Now a moment that had me jumping for joy: Halley’s Comet playing. It carried a weight only viewers will know of. It was that unshakable feeling that one can’t shake—the one being Conrad. Belly is his once-in-a-lifetime love, always has been, always will be. It is a rare and unexplainable feeling, and sometimes it feels all too consuming. It also reflects Belly’s silent moments. We didn’t hear much of her inner voice while Jeremiah was around, but to know that these lyrics reflected such was refreshing.
Episode Five: “Wild Horses,” “Cherry” & “I Want You Back”
This episode contained multitudes of amazing soundtracks. Wild Horses was unexpected and, quite frankly, such a perfect fit. Was anyone else gripping their blankets at that scene? Just me? Okay. It was the epitome of Conrad and his anthem: “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.” Are you joking? It symbolized so much, and since we had Conrad’s POV this episode, the inability to not only let go of Belly but what they had was so symbolic.
Cherry was something I could only have dreamed of. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect it to play, but we Conrad girlies had our suspicions all over TikTok. It mirrored a lot of inner feelings on behalf of Conrad, and maybe a little bit of Belly as well. And the iconic I Want You Back—the most ironic thing. It’s such a remembered and lighthearted song but layered with much more, and it was a perfectly placed track.
Episode Six: “False God” & “Time After Time”
Season one girlies, you know how much False God means to us. It was a repeat, I REPEAT—it had already been played in Season 1. It is honestly the most perfect track played during the most perfect moment. It’s worship but also destruction. It will always be Conrad and Belly through and through—all the intensity, the risk, the feeling that they might just get away with it. It’s always and forever love.
Time After Time was simply such a bittersweet moment with such a bittersweet song. It was steady and sweet—it was a reunion. I would be lying if I didn’t say I cried. I did. It’s that promise that no matter what, Laurel will always be there for her babygirl. But sometimes steadiness isn’t enough, as we’re shown—not even the love from your mom can make this the best decision ever.
Episode Seven: “Robin,” “loml” & “Your Apartment”
Robin was yet another song I was not expecting, but deeply loved. It played over such a pivotal moment for us book readers—it’s nostalgia and quiet sadness. Maybe things will never go back to Conrad buying the biggest unicorn for her. It was that quiet lingering that even though Belly tries to move forward, he’s there, she’s there—always.
Then comes the most appalled I have ever been—and yes, it was when Your Apartment started to play. I am a Wallows fan through and through, and it was that layer of reality: Jeremiah’s mistakes replayed in the mind of Conrad Fisher.
loml—sometimes that’s all that needs to be said. That song is enough. It was an emotional climax of two characters with such deep love. It was a perfect moment paralleling Conrad and Belly. No matter the tears, the hurt, or the love confessions, their connection is undeniable. THEY are undeniable. And, as it always is between two brothers, unbearably complicated.
Episode Eight: “Cardigan,” “With or Without You” & “Making the Bed”
The all-consuming love is one we are all too familiar with, whether with ourselves or with Conrad and Belly. With or Without You played into that perfectly. They’re both hurt and angry and confused. “I can’t live with or without you”—that timeless refrain. It is a frustrating and impossible love, but it parallels so nicely to what’s on paper. They are infinite.
Making the Bed hit hard. As a Livie, I love that song and I feel so deeply for Belly at times. It captured the numbness Belly had been feeling, the weight of her choices lingering and lingering. The symbolism of the pool and her thoughts was a moment. A soft, detached moment, reflecting many book moments where she feels like she’s just moving—and somehow life is still. How do you hold love and loss all at once?
Cardigan—you are deeply and forever loved. It is Belly’s heart in a song. It’s her transformation through the season, but also Conrad is her cardigan. All too familiar, always popping up when she is thinking of him. He is worn and always something she returns to. No matter how far her mind drifts, her heart is still.
Closing Thoughts
A soundtrack is quietly like a second script for us viewers to dissect. From Cranberries, Taylor Swift, and Wallows, Season 3’s soundtrack is something that always has to be there—no questions asked. It is Belly’s mind, telling the story just as much as dialogue. Each lyric, each chorus reflects her constant push and pull.
One thing that hits is that Belly will always love them both in different ways, and Season 3’s music reminds us of that very truth. It’s crazy, slow, and painfully beautiful. Why not all three? Why not Paris?
It’s been a minute since I last posted, but what better way to come back than with the Season 3 soundtrack of The Summer I Turned Pretty?
Rewind and Replay 
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