How Cruel Summer Avenged The Lover Era (and Hit #1) 

Good things come to those who wait! I can't believe it happened! 4 years later Cruel Summer has hit number one! WOW! Let me know below what the song means to you and when you fell in love with this magical song? Also let me know what song you want me to deep dive next!

i never realized how this track really is its own mini Eras Tour in a song 😭 ugh your mind! omg Taylor is a mf genius!!!!!! Taylor is a legend…

The rise of 'Cruel Summer' is just proof that so many of her non-singles could have the potential of becoming a smash hit. And knowing that she's re-recording her past albums, she could use this opportunity to re-release her underrated songs as singles or her Vault tracks as singles. Either way, I'm hoping she uses the impact of 1989 and Reputation to create more top-charting hits (which I doubt she won't do lol).

Lover as an album feels like the essential Taylor album, like it’s the album you need to play to convert someone into liking her music. Lover has like a wide array of songs, and also demonstrates Taylor’s lyrical genius. Like cruel summer is an iconic pop song but also feels linguistically intense. Lmao

I always wished Cruel Summer got its flowers with how messy lover was. Now, can we do the same for New Romantics?

Cruel Summer was my most streamed song of 2022. It is absolutely one of my favorite Taylor songs ever and from one of my favorite albums of hers.

lover stans we are finally out of the trenches!!!

It not only avenged but completely redeemed the Lover era,when Lover was slandered by media & public for juvenile singles and performative activism,its now remembered for being home one of her classics.

She has so many potential songs to become hit singles like Cruel Summer - Mr Perfectly Fine - Getaway Car - Don't Blame Me - August - Hits Different - New Romantics - Message in a Bottle

I never noticed the similarities between the two, but you are so right about Cruel Summer being the spiritual successor of I Wish You Would (which also deserves to be a single)

Prediction: Someday Taylor will Beat Madonna and be the biggest female pop star of all time! And I can't wait!

Cruel Summer is one of the songs that got me into being a swiftie in the first place so I’m really happy about this🥳🎉

I love Cruel Summer and has been one of my faves from Lover and her discography. It's sad we never got the music video for it. I'm sure it would've been fire 🔥 😁

Cruel Summer is just such a glorious song and moment for all the swifties and Taylor herself 💖

Wow, what a remarkable climb! I check billboard every Tuesday morning, and I cannot wait to see this song at the top.

Not gonna lie: For me personally, this song hits different after her breakup from Joe Alwyn and I think that's what triggered me to listen to it over and over again now. While you said that the song is a continuation of I Wish You Would and Delicate, I personally feel that it is a foreshadowing of You're Losing Me (and a complete, ironic 180º of it). It's so painfully beautiful to listen to and one I can totally relate to (at some point in my life).

I am not the biggest taylor swift fan, missed most of her albums and "big" singles. Started listening to the songs in the pandemic. Cruel summer was an instant hit with me (we were all in a cruel summer after all in 2020). Had no idea it wasn't a hit on the charts, only found about this, this year. Hope it gets a video. I also loved Archer.

Thanks for another great review! Cruel Summer has been one of my favorites since Lover was released and I’m so glad it’s finally hit the #1 spot! Singing the chorus with everyone at the concert this summer and at the movie a week ago was incredible-you can tell how much love we have for this song.

When lover first came out the archer was my favorite track I don't think I got into cruel summer until 2020.

i applaud the hustle, eljohn. to record and edit this clip in enough time to be able to drop it when the news about the placement hit the press? kudos.

I don't know if we ever will get a music video for it but if so I think it will be a new romantics style celebration of the tour

A bridge so good she sings it twice. 🌸

I never thought about the similarities with I Wish You Would but it makes so much sense now that I think about it. Well spotted! Loved your breakdown of what makes Cruel Summer the quintessential Taylor Swift song

Taylor has been my fav since 2014 so it doesn't surprise me that even now I still love her ❤ she's a genius

Lover is underrated and yes a Lover review essay please

Given the resurgence in popularity for both Cruel Summer and Lover as a whole, I can only hope that one day Taylor releases a true deluxe for Lover. When she finishes re-recording Debut and Reputation, Lover will be her only album that doesn’t have a set of bonus tracks whether that be vault tracks or songs on a deluxe version of the album. We could count All of the Girls You Loved Before but that was released mainly because it leaked months prior and she wanted to celebrate the start of the tour. There are a couple of other tracks like Need that leaked around the same time as All of the Girls and it’d be cool if we could get official versions of them as well.

I knew this song was going to hit #1. … as soon as I heard it on the air tour it confirmed that it’s gonna be an explosive spread I’m praying and praying and praying there’s a video

Ok so I am ashamed to say I used to not be a fan of Lover, but I have changed! When I gave a listen to Cruel Summer after the whole interpolation drama, and also watched your video essay on Lover, I gave the album a second chance looking past the singles, and the album has some of her greatest deep cuts!!? Even the slower songs in the back half of the album give a glimpse of folklore type writing and sound. It was really songs like Me! And You need to calm down that stopped me from giving the album a real listen. But I am glad I have come around to it 😊

Congrats tay ❤❤ I wish Lover and Rep had loads more No.1s (getaway car, delicate, daylight, The man) but this is still a great success 🎉🎉

from the moment i heard cruel summer the first time in 2019, i just knew that song was meant to be number 1

Damn. This is a perfect analysis. Are you a musician? The breakdown of how Taylor adds the subtle synth in the bridge and how so many song close perfectly. The reflective comment of Love Story makes perfect sense. That was when I found Taylor (Love Story).

I've been crying for a few days now over this

You're so right about this song being a continuation of I Wish You Would

girl where’s the Lover era recap video? we need one now unless another track hits top 10

I remember discovering it in 2021 and being SO confused on how it was SO underrated. I’m so happy Cruel Summer is having her moment ❤

This news made me so happy despite me not really caring about charts, but it was surprisingly since Drake literally just released an album. But really, I should've expected the music industry to land on top

og cruel summer & lover stans we will ALWAYS WIN.

She meant it when she said she comes back stronger than a 90s trend

This song is such a fuckin BOP. It was and is my favorite from Lover and I 100% think this should have been the lead single from the album

thank you!! for giving love to I wish you would!!!

Call me weird but I love Cruel Summer so much I listened to it's instruments only for years now, even the that is a masterpiece on its own.

One thing thats really cool about cruel summer success is that each album since Red had at least one number 1 single: Red - We are never getting back together, All too well 1989 - Shake it off, Blank space, Bad blood Reputation - Look what you made me do Lover - Cruel summer Folklore - Cardigan Evermore - Willow Midnights - Anti-hero

Lover is my happy album, it just is a fun album.

Cruel summer is a one of a kind song!!

My Queen.

So now she’s tied with Janet Jackson and a few other artist for 10 #1 singles

I was messaging Taylor in 2020 (obviously with no response) begging her to release this as a single 😂

I’ve always thought it was so badly underrated! The first time I listened to the album I immediately made the worlds shittiest art from the line “He looked up grinning like the devil” and only took it down when I moved earlier this year

The fact that Cruel Summer hitting #1 and Lover going back for multiple weeks on Billboard 200 Top 10 in 2023 just proving so many fans/GP love Pop Taylor

Lover is in my top 3 albums from her

everybody is talking about cruel summer but have any of yall hears industry baby by lil nas x???? 👀👀👀

wanna know what pushed this? see the concerts in argentina and brazil

Lover era was cut short due to the pandemic and the release of Folklore before getting its own tour, also the main single choice was not great, Me! seemed like a nice radio bop but it wasn't what her fans wanted. Cruel Summer clearly would have been the better choice back then. So I'm glad that it finally gets the main recognition it has always deserved, even though I feel like my little secret is out now 🤣🤣🤣 I've been playing it repeatedly since 2019^^

Me! Gets such a bad rap. It’s actually a really good song, especially played acoustically.

No Because When I saw the Eras tour movie I was shocked that Cruel summer was in Lover I never paid attention to it

🌹

She's great, and so is this song, but boy am I getting burnt out from Taylor oversaturation lately. Plz don't come for me Swifties I still love her 🙏

This song sounds a lot like Out of the Woods

Welp Swifties already knew it would be this influential and grand when the album came out...Glad that Lover has her own #1 now. The album was phenomenal and i personally loved how it dealt with so many different themes from politics to sexism to love.

I think Swift really regretted not releasing “Cruel Summer” as the first single from _Lover_ back in 2019. It would have a different reaction than “ Me!” as the first single.

As someone who's only became an "official" fan over the last few years, who's been using the TVs to get to know her older discography (even though I already know 1989 pretty well)... Taylor Swift has too many excellent songs!! 😱😱😭😭 Cruel Summer is just one among a shit-ton of them. It's insane, it's mind-blowing, it's even a little annoying. I could totally not listen to any other artist or band if I'm not careful with myself.😅 It really is Taylor Swift's world.

THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING I WISH YOU WOULD

I wonder when and how she'll go for the egot

i thought Cruel Summer came out this year. how did this song did not make a hit before?

Wow I usually agree with you but I completely disagree that this song actually turns around at the end. He looks up grinning like a devil is a guy realizing he has power over her to me. She's still trying to play it cool and her desperate admission is met with an evil silence. It's fun to sing bc it's a little healing to yell at someone like who was featured in "I knew you were trouble." It's cathartic to relate to having a crush on someone who lead you on and wasted your time and then didn't reciprocate. The awful conversation in front of the vending machine where one person is feeling all the emotional stakes and the other person is just a long for the ride or worse feeding off it. It was amazing for Lover which to me was completely about how anxious love is. I don't think there is a genuine calm love song on it. Even LOVER the title track isn't romantic. It's very much one person wholly dedicated to a deep relationship but the other person is only putting in a fraction and maybe absent. I agree with everything else 😅 cruel summer should have been the lead single. "I forgot that you existed" is probably the only calm happy song other than calm down.

I find Lover to be one of her best

Now let’s not confuse being restrictive/controlling, with being wise. ME! is a terrible song and Borchetta would’ve made the right call not to allow it on the record, let alone being a lead single. Even for Speak Now they made the right call by giving the record that name and not the one Taylor intended. Taylor is a genius and for sure is talented, but she needed that bit of confinement to help her career trajectory going upwards and not downwards. For sure in some aspects BMR was way too restrictive, but many times they made the right call, for example by excluding MIAB from the original Red. Let’s not forget that Taylor got to the point where she is now also thank’s to the years she spent under BMR and following their guidance. Otherwise she probably would have imploded much earlier like Katy Perry did

I think you need to calm down turned off a good amount of fans and that’s why the album didn’t do as well. But the songs are great on it. I love cruel summer!

No cruel summer pick up where getaway car leaves, not delicate.

swiftie 4 life !!!!!!!!

she copied the song! check the song "STYLISH" by loona

wow i’ve never met anyone so desperate for a girl who doesn’t even know you!!

Horrible music 😂

All The Girls You Loved Before deserved a spot on Lover.

It’s a good song but highly overrated.