Topline
Fans have long lamented that “Cruel Summer,” the upbeat, fan-favorite track from Taylor Swift’s 2019 album Lover, should have been promoted as a single upon release—and now they’ve belatedly gotten their wish, as Swift’s team and fans have pushed the song all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 four years after its initial release.
“Eras Tour” hype helped propel “Cruel Summer” to the top of the charts. (Photo by John … [+] Shearer/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Key Facts
“Cruel Summer” began experiencing a resurgence in popularity on streaming platforms and TikTok after Swift embarked on her blockbuster “Eras Tour” in March—it’s the first full song on the setlist, coming after she sings a shortened version of “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince.”
Within just one month of the tour starting, average daily streams of “Cruel Summer” had jumped 120%, Rolling Stone reported, and “Cruel Summer” re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 on June 3.
Republic Records began promoting the song to pop radio on June 20, and it has topped the Billboard Pop Airplay chart for 10 weeks, becoming her longest-running No. 1 on the chart.
“Cruel Summer” snagged top spots on some of Spotify’s most-followed playlists in July, including Today’s Top Hits (which has 34 million followers) and Hot Hits USA.
“Cruel Summer” currently ranks as Swift’s most popular song on Spotify, No. 2 on the Top 50 U.S. Spotify chart with 1.1 million daily streams and No. 5 on the Top 50 Global Spotify chart with more than 4.5 million daily streams.
The song ranks No. 4 on the iTunes chart and No. 11 on the Apple Music U.S. chart.
Swift’s most dedicated fans have mobilized to send her song to the top of the charts, encouraging each other on social media to buy and stream “Cruel Summer.”
Amid a tight battle for No. 1 on this week’s Hot 100, Swift released a live version of “Cruel Summer” from the “Eras Tour” and a new remix—both of which count for points on the chart—which she said were in celebration of the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film.
Key Background
“Cruel Summer” is the second track on Swift’s seventh album Lover, released on August 23, 2019. The song was never released as a single during the initial Lover promotional cycle—instead, ME! (feat. Brendan Urie) was released as its lead single, receiving some negative reviews (it didn’t make the cut for the “Eras Tour” setlist). The other songs then promoted as singles were “Lover,” “You Need To Calm Down” and “The Man.” “Cruel Summer” was met with praise from critics and fans upon its release: In 2019, the Los Angeles Times named it the best song on Lover. Some praise specifically highlighted the catchy bridge, where Swift’s voice rises to a shout, which has become a fan-favorite moment at the “Eras Tour.” Prior to promoting “Cruel Summer,” Swift had pushed “Karma,” from her 2022 album Midnights, as a single, complete with a remix featuring rapper Ice Spice released in May, and though the song peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100, it lags far behind “Cruel Summer” in daily streams.
Crucial Quote
“The weirdest, most magical thing is happening,” Swift said at a June “Eras Tour” stop, announcing “Cruel Summer” as her next single. “‘Cruel Summer’ was on the Lover album. That album came out four years ago. And I just need to let you know something. ‘Cruel Summer,’ that song was my pride and joy on that album. You have conversations before the album comes out. Everybody around weighs in on what they think should be singles. I was finally, finally about to have my favorite song become the single off of Lover, and I’m not trying to blame the global pandemic that we had, but that is something that happened that stopped Cruel Summer from ever being a single.”
Big Number
1,239,311,929. That’s how many Spotify streams “Cruel Summer” currently has, making it the most streamed song on Lover—surpassing all the songs promoted as singles four years ago. It’s Swift’s third most streamed song on Spotify, ranking ahead of some of her signature hits, like “Shake It Off” and “Style.”
Surprising Fact
“Cruel Summer” isn’t Swift’s only years-old song to surge in popularity. Thanks to her re-recording project, updated versions of her back catalog have taken over the charts, most notably a ten-minute version of her 2012 song, “All Too Well.” The extended version of the track (subtitled “Taylor’s Version,” like all of her re-recorded songs) hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to an extensive marketing push and fan hype. The song, considered by some critics her finest work, was released in November 2021 alongside a short film starring Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink, a live performance on Saturday Night Live and several late night talk show appearances. All of her re-recorded albums released thus far—Fearless, Red and Speak Now—have topped the Billboard 200 albums chart. A TikTok trend also made “Don’t Blame Me,” a song not promoted as a single from 2017’s Reputation, Swift’s most popular song on Spotify in summer 2022.
Further Reading
How ‘Cruel Summer’ Became Taylor Swift’s Song of the Moment (Time)
‘Cruel Summer’: The Taylor Swift Hit We Deserve (Rolling Stone)
Will Fall Be the Season for Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ at No. 1? (Billboard)
