The song spent 54 weeks on the chart (as of May 25), surpassing the 53-week record of “Anti-Hero.”

Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” became her longest-running single on the Billboard Hot 100, extending its run to a 54th week in the poll conducted on May 25. The song surpassed the 53-week record of previous No. 1 “Anti-Hero.”

“Cruel Summer” is one of 263 songs by Swift to chart on the Hot 100, the most by a female artist 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 The Eras Tour, the first tour in which she was able to showcase songs from Lover, which was released just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Cruel Summer” debuted at No. 29 on the Hot 100 on September 7, 2019, and remained on the chart the following week. It re-entered the chart on June 3, 2023, entered the top 10 last July, and marked the first of four weeks at No. 1 on the chart dated October 28, becoming Swift’s 10th of 12 career No. 1s. It peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100 dated May 25.

Among Swift’s Hot 100 hits, “Cruel Summer” also has 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, between its Hot 100 debut and re-entry, the three were credited as co-writers of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu,” which included “Cruel Summer.”

“The song that we said was the best [on Lover], but we thought, ‘Oh, you know what? “This is going to be our best secret song,” Antonoff said of “Cruel Summer” when it topped the Hot 100. Swift added, “We just want to say thank you so much for taking ‘Cruel Summer’ to No. 1 on the Hot 100, and it’s not even summer. It’s fall, I’m wearing a sweater.”

Here’s an update on Swift’s longest-running Hot 100 hits (as of May 25, 2024).

54 weeks, “Cruel Summer,” No. 1 for four weeks, beginning October 28, 2023
53 weeks, “Anti-Hero,” No. 1, eight weeks, beginning November 5, 2022
50 weeks, “Shake It Off,” No. 1, four weeks, beginning September 6, 2014
50 weeks, “You Belong With Me,” Peak No. 2, August 22, 2009
49 weeks, “Love Story,” No. 4, January 17, 2009
48 weeks, “Tears on My Guitar,” No. 13, March 1, 2008

38 weeks, “Blank Space,” No. 1, seven weeks, beginning November 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” also became Swift’s longest-running number-one hit on the All-Format Radio Songs chart, reigning for 12 weeks—double her second-longest reign (“Blank Space”). It was also her longest-running number-one hit on Adult Pop Airplay (23 weeks—the most by a woman) and Pop Airplay (10 weeks). Additionally, it topped the All-Genre Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales charts in a single week.

All charts dated May 25 will be updated on Billboard.com on Tuesday, May 21.