--- title: How Cruel Summer Became Taylor Swift's Song of the Summer description: Four years after its release, Taylor Swift's 'Cruel Summer' is being released as a single in a seeming bid for song of the summer. canonical: https://time.com/6287902/cruel-summer-taylor-swift-single/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-06-16T20:11:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T16:02:30.632Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: How 'Cruel Summer' Became Taylor Swift's Song of the Moment og:description: Expect to hear this 'Lover' song everywhere og:url: https://time.com/6287902/cruel-summer-taylor-swift-single/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2dbd7cabb7a3d4b1/698a3df809208f67dc41a734/Taylor-Swift-Cruel-Summer-single.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: ENTER-MUS-SWIFT-PRIDE-SPEECH-4-TB og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How 'Cruel Summer' Became Taylor Swift's Song of the Moment twitter:description: Expect to hear this 'Lover' song everywhere twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2dbd7cabb7a3d4b1/698a3df809208f67dc41a734/Taylor-Swift-Cruel-Summer-single.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How 'Cruel Summer' Became Taylor Swift's Song of the Moment > Sponsored content. 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Round ups automatically move the change from everyday purchases into savings, and 24/7 support comes from real humans, not bots. #### What bank is built for life today? Ally is the bank built for life today, a digital-first, people-first bank. Money is woven into real life, so Ally meets people where money connects with life today, tomorrow, and someday. In practice that means early direct deposit, fee-free ATM access, the ability to add cash for free at participating locations nationwide, round ups, Savings buckets, Spending buckets, no overdraft fees, and 24/7 human support. #### What bank is best for everyday spending and saving? Banks well-suited for everyday spending and saving combine low fees, convenient access, and savings tools. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jun 16, 2023 8:11 PM UTC  Taylor Swift performs at Chicago's Soldier Field on June 2, 2023 as part of the Eras tour. Taylor Swift performs at Chicago's Soldier Field on June 2, 2023 as part of the Eras tour.Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jun 16, 2023 8:11 PM UTC Four years after its debut, [Taylor Swift’s](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567666/taylor-swift/) “Cruel Summer” is finally being released as a radio single, much to the delight of Swifties everywhere. According to [_Billboard_](https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-cruel-summer-new-radio-single-1235355186/)_,_ the song will be promoted on pop radio starting this week—which Swift herself confirmed at her June 17 concert in Pittsburgh. “Cruel Summer” was passed over as a single when Swift released _Lover_, her seventh studio album, in 2019\. But the punchy pop anthem about a secret romance has been a sleeper hit in the making ever since. The road to this moment has been long, largely because Swift has been so productive in the years since releasing _Lover_. Overshadowed by the promotional push received by the featured singles on _Lover_, the song missed out on additional exposure after Swift’s world tour in 2020 for the album, Lover Fest, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Swift went on to release two more albums, _Folklore_ and _Evermore_, in 2020; the following year, she began releasing [“Taylor’s version” re-recordings](https://time.com/5949979/why-taylor-swift-is-rerecording-old-albums/) of past records; and in 2022, she dropped yet another new album, _Midnights._ But Swifties never forgot “Cruel Summer.” The fan-favorite track got a boost in mainstream exposure after being featured prominently in the 2022 Amazon Prime series [_The Summer I Turned Pretty_ ](https://time.com/6187609/jenny-han-the-summer-i-turned-pretty-interview/)(the second season of which will premiere in July, coinciding with the Eras tour). It has also been the subject of a grassroots campaign run by fans who want to see the track released as a single, with [discussion forums](https://pulsemusic.proboards.com/thread/187449/taylor-swift-cruel-summer?page=2), [Reddit threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/comments/13flnu4/cruel%5Fsummer%5Fis%5Fclimbing%5Fits%5Fway%5Fto%5Fthe%5Ftop/), and [countless social media posts](https://www.tiktok.com/music/Cruel-Summer-6740851367465715714?lang=en) devoted to the topic. Now, with the song’s official release as a single coming up, there’s a good chance that “Cruel Summer” will be not only one of Swift’s biggest hits of the year, but also the song of the summer. **_Read More:_**[_Why You Can’t Remember That Taylor Swift Concert All Too Well_](https://time.com/6282468/taylor-swift-concert-memory/) ## Why the label is releasing “Cruel Summer” as a single According to a report by [_Billboard_](https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-cruel-summer-new-radio-single-1235355186/), Republic Records will officially promote the song on pop radio starting on Tuesday, June 20\. Four years after it was released, the [song returned to the Billboard Hot 100 on June 3](https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/) (it previously spent two weeks on the chart in September 2019, where it reached No. 29). As of June 17, it’s currently ranked no. 47, with 9.6 million official streams, 2.6 million radio airplay audience impressions, and 1,500 downloads sold in the U.S. for the week of June 2-8. While love for the song has been slowly building over the years, the Eras tour appears to have given it a major boost. Within the first month of Swift’s tour, streams of the song [jumped 120%](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-cruel-summer-eras-tour-stream-1234725010/), leading to it land on the Spotify U.S. Top 100 list. Swift credited her fans with making a longtime dream of hers come true. At the June 17 concert in Pittsburgh, she called the song “her pride and joy” of the _Lover_ album and revealed that it was set to become a single when the pandemic hit and changed everything. Swift spoke about how happy she is that the track is getting a second chance, four years later, because her fans have been streaming it so much. “It’s truly, truly perplexing to me because I just haven’t had something like this happen in my career,” she told the Pittsburgh audience. “So thank you to anyone who’s been listening to that song like 500 times a day, because that was my favorite one.” > [](https://twitter.com/swifferupdates/status/1670235043997052928) ## It’s got one of her best bridges Bridges, the transition stage of a song that can provide contrast or highlight changes, have become a cornerstone of Swift’s music—so much so that during performances, she’ll often announce [the first bridge of the night](https://www.tiktok.com/@hihelloimtessa/video/7235663476512017706). For Swifties, the artist’s bridges are a testament to her skill as a songwriter and an important part of her mythology—fans celebrate her ability to incorporate drama into her musical storytelling. On the Eras tour, it’s now become common practice for concertgoers to scream-sing along with Swift to the bridge of “Cruel Summer.” > [](https://twitter.com/taylornation13/status/1636927355552768002) ## It’s got a prominent spot on the Eras setlist Since Swift began her Eras tour, “Cruel Summer” has consistently been the second song she performs. It might seem that the first song on the setlist, “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” is in a more prominent spot. But fans have pointed out that not only does “Cruel Summer” have the distinction of delivering the first bridge, it’s also the first song that Swift sings in full. Swift only performs a portion of “Miss Americana,” making “Cruel Summer” the first complete performance. ## There might be a music video Adding to the momentum that has been building around “Cruel Summer,” there are rumblings that Swift might make a music video for the song. Though it hasn’t been confirmed, since her record label is now promoting the song as a radio single, it’s within the realm of possibility that one could be in the works. > [](https://twitter.com/swiftbunnies/status/1666897844723232768) How Cruel Summer Became Taylor Swift's Song of the Summer ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6287902/cruel-summer-taylor-swift-single/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6287902/cruel-summer-taylor-swift-single/"},"headline":"How 'Cruel Summer' Became Taylor Swift's Song of the Moment","datePublished":"2023-06-16T20:11:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:02:30.632Z","description":"Why this 'Lover' track could be the song of the summer","url":"https://time.com/6287902/cruel-summer-taylor-swift-single/","keywords":["Music","Explainer","culturepod","society-team"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2dbd7cabb7a3d4b1/698a3df809208f67dc41a734/Taylor-Swift-Cruel-Summer-single.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2dbd7cabb7a3d4b1/698a3df809208f67dc41a734/Taylor-Swift-Cruel-Summer-single.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ENTER-MUS-SWIFT-PRIDE-SPEECH-4-TB","caption":"ENTER-MUS-SWIFT-PRIDE-SPEECH-4-TB","creditText":"Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/music/","name":"Music"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6287902/cruel-summer-taylor-swift-single/","name":"How 'Cruel Summer' Became Taylor Swift's Song of the Moment"}}]}] ```