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Chart Beat

Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ Is Now Her Sole Longest-Charting Hot 100 Hit

The song logs a 54th week on the chart (dated May 25), passing the 53-week stay of "Anti-Hero."

The song logs a 54th week on the chart (dated May 25), passing the 53-week stay of "Anti-Hero."

The song logs a 54th week on the chart (dated May 25), passing the 53-week stay of "Anti-Hero."

Christopher Jue/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

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.

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“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.”

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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.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.

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Kneecap Blasts Norwegian Government at Oslo Festival, Accusing It of Funding ‘Genocide’ Against Palestinians
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Mo Chara, DJ Provaí and Móglaí Bap of Kneecap performs on the West Holts Stage during during day four of Glastonbury Festival 2025 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 28, 2025 in Glastonbury, England.

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Kneecap Blasts Norwegian Government at Oslo Festival, Accusing It of Funding ‘Genocide’ Against Palestinians

The Irish rap trio went after the Norwegian government over its investments, which are currently under scrutiny, at Øyafestivalen.

Irish rap group Kneecap – which has drawn a storm of criticism, support, attention and legal action over the past half-year – continued to speak out about the war in Gaza during an afternoon set at the Øyafestivalen in Oslo, Norway, on Friday (Aug. 8).

Right before the trio of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí took the stage, an English-language white-text-on-black-background message played on a video screen, accusing the Norwegian government of “enabling” the “genocide” against the Palestinian people via investments held in the county’s sovereign wealth fund (referenced as “oil pension fund” in the message). “Over 80,000 people have been murdered by Israel in 21 months,” the band’s message continued. “Free Palestine.” The message was greeted readily by a cheering audience. Most estimates (including those from health officials in the area) place the Palestinian death toll at more than 60,000. That number does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas militants. An estimated 18,500 of those killed were children.

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