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Taylor Swift, Beyonce & Janet Jackson's Concert Fashions: Rachel Zoe Weighs In
We've loved it 3 summers now, honey, but we got them all.
Apologies to Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night Away" and aboriginal condolences to Olivia Rodrigo's impending azygous "Vampire," but Taylor Swift has officially released the opus of summertime 2023: "Cruel Summer," the 5th azygous disconnected of 2019's Lover.
That's right, the beloved bop was yet sent to radio, overmuch to the delight of Swifties who person been blasting "Cruel Summer," preferably with their car windows down and the measurement turned each the mode up successful the 4 years since its release, contempt it being cruelly looked implicit successful favour of—no discourtesy to "Me" and "You Need to Calm Down"—lesser songs. (Forget the angels, fans were rolling their eyes.)
So, however the hellhole did this happen? Well, adjacent Taylor herself is amazed by the clasp the tune has had connected her fanbase.
"You guys person streamed 'Cruel Summer' truthful overmuch close present successful 2023 that it's similar astatine the top," Taylor said connected signifier during the Pittsburgh halt of her Eras Tour June 17 show. "It's, like, rising connected the streaming charts truthful crazy."
Getty Images
The superstar past shared the quality that her grounds statement decided to merchandise "Cruel Summer""—co-written by St. Vincent and produced by Jack Antonoff—as a single, describing the uncommon occurrence arsenic "the weirdest, astir magical thing...that has ne'er happened to maine successful the full clip that I person been doing this."
Not that Taylor didn't realize its potential powerfulness and popularity when she archetypal recorded it, admitting connected signifier that it is her "pride and joy" and "favorite song" from Lover, her seventh workplace album.
Looking back, it's hard to comprehend however it was passed implicit arsenic the pb azygous successful favour of "ME!", her earworm of a collab with Panic astatine the Disco! frontman Brendon Urie that was released connected April 26—less than 2 months earlier the authoritative commencement of summer when "Cruel Summer" was close there!
Still, determination was time. But past "You Need to Calm Down" was the 2nd tune sent to radio, followed by "Lover" and "The Man," which deed the airwaves connected January 27, 2020, agelong aft different sun-soaked play had faded away.
Natasha Moustache/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Again, we inquire of Dr. Taylor Swift: How the hellhole did that happen?
"You know, you person conversations earlier the medium comes retired and everyone astir weighs successful connected what they deliberation should beryllium singles," Taylor explained connected stage. "And I was finally, finally astir to person my favourite opus became a azygous disconnected of Lover, and I'm not trying to blasted the planetary pandemic that we had but that is thing that happened that stopped Cruel Summer from ever being a single."
Cruel, indeed.
Still, contempt ne'er getting its clip to radiance arsenic a single, "Cruel Summer" caught and held on, uncovering its mode onto year-end lists of the champion songs of 2019, apt owed to Taylor's quality to distill the restlessness and wistfulness that lone a summertime romance tin animate into a catchy two-and-a-half-minute tune.
"This opus is 1 that I wrote astir the feeling of a summertime romance, and however often times a summertime romance tin beryllium layered with each these feelings of pining distant and sometimes adjacent secrecy," Taylor explained during the Lover Secret Sessions. "It deals with the thought of being successful a narration wherever there's immoderate constituent of desperation and symptom successful it, wherever you're yearning for thing that you don't rather person yet, it's conscionable close there, and you conscionable can't scope it."
After Lover's merchandise successful August 2019, "Cruel Summer" peaked astatine No. 29 connected the Billboard Hot 100, a presumption it didn't look apt to apical without a promotional propulsion oregon euphony video.
Republic Records
But the lingering emotion for "Cruel Summer" turned into an unexpected tidal question erstwhile Taylor embarked connected her long-awaited The Eras Tour successful March and it was the archetypal afloat opus successful the 44-song acceptable list, kicking disconnected a surge in streaming numbers. Even earlier Taylor announced it was being officially released arsenic a single, "Cruel Summer" had already re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 aft 3 years.
On June 20, the time it officially crossed implicit into the Swiftie single-verse, "Cruel Summer" re-peaked connected U.S. Spotify astatine No. 3 with implicit 885,000 streams and roseate to No. 12 connected the planetary illustration with 2.853 cardinal plays.
By June 23, the opus had earned its biggest streaming week ever, totaling 20.8 cardinal listens.
Forget breakable heaven, there's nary rules successful Taylor's world. Now, where's the "Cruel Summer" euphony video?
