Xperi Report Finds Shifting Tastes In Summer In-Car Listening.

Bruno Mars was the most-listened-to artist in U.S. vehicles during the summer, while songs by Mars, Ella Langley and Taylor Swift dominated state-by-state listening, according to Xperi’s Summer 2026 U.S. In-Vehicle Listening Report.

Xperi said its analysis examined anonymized radio listening sessions from millions of vehicles equipped with its DTS AutoStage in-car entertainment platform during June, July and August.

Mars’ “I Just Might” ranked as the top song overall, generating 7.3 million listening sessions in the states where it was the leading song during the three-month period. Langley’s country ballad “Choosin’ Texas” ranked second with 5.5 million sessions.

Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You,” an original song featured in “Toy Story 5,” ranked third with 3.5 million sessions in states where it was the top selection.

When songs were ranked by the number of states in which they were the summer leader, however, Swift’s song finished first. “I Knew It, I Knew You” led in 13 states, followed by “Choosin’ Texas” in 12 and “I Just Might” in 10. Kehlani’s “Folded” led in five states, while “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” by Olivia Dean and “Breathe On It” by Tauren Wells each led in two.

Listening patterns shifted during the summer. Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” was the leading song in Texas in June, but the state switched to Kehlani’s “Folded” in July before returning to Langley’s song in August. Xperi said “Choosin’ Texas” led 13 states in July, more than any other song that month.

Mars maintained a strong presence in his home state of Hawaii, where he was the leading artist throughout the summer. None of his songs led Hawaii until August, when “Risk It All” became the state’s top song.

Swift also gained momentum late in the summer. Her “I Knew It, I Knew You” led in eight states in July before jumping to 19 states in August.

Mars was the leading artist in 20 states over the full summer, followed by Langley in 11 states and Chris Brown in 10 states plus the District of Columbia. Morgan Wallen led in five states, while Phil Wickham led in two states and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mars led 25 states in June and 21 in July, while Langley led 19 states in August. Xperi said Texas accounted for 2.7 million listens during Langley’s August run.

The report is based on hundreds of millions of anonymized radio listening sessions from millions of U.S. vehicles equipped with DTS AutoStage. The platform combines traditional broadcast radio with digital metadata to measure listening activity while protecting individual privacy.

Xperi said songs heard on the radio are matched against TiVo Music Metadata to identify tracks, artists, remixes and alternate versions. Listening activity is aggregated geographically and mapped to cities, metropolitan areas and states rather than individual vehicles.

Rankings are based on total in-car radio listening, weighted by local audience engagement. Xperi also said its methodology considers how broadly songs are played across stations to distinguish regional popularity from isolated airplay.