"Tastes Like Summer" is a song by English singer-songwriter James Blunt, produced by Red Triangle. It was released by Atlantic Records UK on 14 August 2026.
Music video The official music video was released on 14 August 2026. The video was filmed in Ibiza and directed by Jack Howard, inspired by A24 horror films and depicts Blunt in a horror-themed scenario involving a meal.
Reception The storyline was described by some media outlets as disturbing, while other coverage characterized it as an intentionally macabre or darkly comic interpretation of the song's lyric "your skin tastes like summer".
Following the death of actress Hayden Panettiere on 16 August 2026, two days after the video's release, the video's imagery became the subject of renewed online speculation concerning Blunt. The speculation was connected to an account in Panettiere's memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, released earlier in the year, in which she described an encounter at age 18 with an unnamed "British singer-songwriter in his thirties". Panettiere did not identify the man, and no reliable evidence has established that Blunt was the person she described.
The video's use of macabre imagery was consistent with elements of Blunt's previous music videos, which have also incorporated dark themes.
Charts
Weekly charts + Chart (2026) Peakposition Croatia International Airplay (Top lista) 41 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 45UK Singles Sales Chart (Official Charts) 11
Monthly charts + Chart (2026) Peakposition Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 76 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 53
References