Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” becomes her sole longest-charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100, adding a 54th week on the survey, dated May 25. It one-ups the 53-week run of her fellow former No. 1, “Anti-Hero.”
“Cruel Summer” claims the mark among Swift’s 263 career Hot 100 entries, the most among women in the chart’s history.
The song was originally released on Swift’s 2019 Republic Records album Lover. The label began promoting the song as a single last June, after Swift began performing it on her The Eras Tour, her first in which she’s been able to spotlight songs from Lover, which was released shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Cruel Summer” debuted at No. 29 on the Hot 100 dated Sept. 7, 2019, and remained on the chart the following week. It returned on the June 3, 2023-dated ranking, reached the top 10 last July and notched the first of its four weeks at No. 1 on the chart dated last Oct. 28, becoming the 10th of Swift’s 12 career No. 1s. It places at No. 20 on the May 25-dated Hot 100.
Among Swift’s Hot 100 hits, “Cruel Summer” has also logged the most weeks in the top five (20) and top 10 (34).
Swift and Jack Antonoff co-produced “Cruel Summer” and co-wrote it with St. Vincent. Notably, in between its Hot 100 debut and re-entry, the three were credited as co-writers of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu” for its interpolation of “Cruel Summer.”
“The song we said was the best [on Lover], but we thought, ‘Oh, you know what? This will be our secret best song,’ ” Antonoff said of “Cruel Summer” upon its Hot 100 coronation. Added Swift, “We just wanted to say thank you so much for making ‘Cruel Summer’ a Hot 100 No. 1, and it’s not even summer anymore. It’s deep fall, I’m wearing a sweater.”
Here’s an updated look at Swift’s longest-charting Hot 100 hits (through the list dated May 25, 2024).
54 weeks, “Cruel Summer,” No. 1 for four weeks, beginning Oct. 28, 2023
53 weeks, “Anti-Hero,” No. 1, eight weeks, beginning Nov. 5, 2022
50 weeks, “Shake It Off,” No. 1, four weeks, beginning Sept. 6, 2014
50 weeks, “You Belong With Me,” No. 2 peak, Aug. 22, 2009
49 weeks, “Love Story,” No. 4, Jan. 17, 2009
48 weeks, “Teardrops on My Guitar,” No. 13, March 1, 2008
38 weeks, “Blank Space,” No. 1, seven weeks, beginning Nov. 29, 2014
36 weeks, “I Knew You Were Trouble.,” No. 2, Jan. 12, 2013
36 weeks, “Our Song,” No. 16, Jan. 19, 2008
35 weeks, “Delicate,” No. 12, July 28, 2018
“Cruel Summer” additionally became Swift’s longest-leading hit on the all-format Radio Songs chart, reigning for 12 weeks – twice as long as her second longest-ruling single (“Blank Space”). It’s her also her longest-leading No. 1 on Adult Pop Airplay (23 weeks – the most for a song by a woman) and Pop Airplay (10 weeks). Plus, it crowned the all-genre Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales surveys for a week each.
All charts dated May 25 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, May 21.
