Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ No. 1 on New Hot 100 After Four Years
Taylor Swift’s 2019 track “Cruel Summer” has conquered the throne at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after four years.
The track from the Lover album initially reached the top 10 in early July and has climbed to the first position. Yet just a week ago, “Cruel Summer” had fallen to No. 9, after a descent from its peak at No. 3.
While the blockbuster release of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was an important factor, on October 18, Taylor revealed her latest work, a live recording excerpted from the movie, “Cruel Summer (Live from Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour),” and a remix, “Cruel Summer (LP Giobbi Remix).” This duo was bundled up in an EP called The Cruelest Summer.
“Cruel Summer’s” rise after four years and two months is the fifth-longest wait in the history of the Hot 100. The single did make an appearance on the Hot 100 when it was first released in the fall of 2019, but it managed to reach as high as No. 29. In first place, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” reigns supreme in this waiting game, taking 20 years to reach the top of the chart.
The initial Lover release took a toll when the pandemic suspended the springtime campaign, despite its initial successful run. By the summer of 2020, Swift had started working on her pandemic albums Folklore and Evermore.
.@taylorswift13's "Cruel Summer" officially hits No. 1 on this week's #Hot100.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) October 23, 2023
It earns Swift her 10th career No. 1 hit, and first from her 2019 album 'Lover.'
Taylor Swift, the unstoppable superstar, hasn’t been lacking in the hit department. Her leading tracks from the three all-original studio albums, “Cardigan,” “Willow,” and “Anti-Hero,” all reached No. 1. In addition, the follow-up singles to “Anti-Hero” from the Midnights album, “Lavender Haze” and “Karma,” both reached No. 2.
Swift’s closest rival this week was Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” which had been losing momentum but made a rebound, claiming the No. 2 spot.
Additionally, while Bad Bunny dominated the album charts, the peak wasn’t concentrated on a single track. The highest-charting song from his latest release was “Monaco,” at No. 5.
Listen to Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” here.
