Taylor Swift, perhaps, in between securing the top spot at the American box office for the second week and weeping at the breadth of her domain for there are no more worlds left to conquer, has made another startling step towards world domination. Four years after the release of her album Lover, “Cruel Summer” hit number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts.
As she often does, Swift thanked Swiftie Nation for their round-the-clock support of their friendship bracelet-wearing demigod. In an Instagram post, Swift and one of the song’s co-writers, who else, Jack Antonoff, beamed with excitement over the song’s success to Swift’s 275 million followers. “It’s not even the summer anymore,” Swift said. “It’s deep fall. I’m wearing a sweater.” Though we cannot confirm, we have to assume “sweaters” have entered the Top 100 as well.
Per Deadline, the distinction of making “Cruel Summer” the number-one song of “deep fall” is a historic occasion. Swift’s recent command of Billboard’s charts includes the singer-songwriter becoming the first female artist with 10 No.1 hits on the Hot 100 and 10 No.1 albums on the Billboard 200. Ironically, “Cruel Summer” is the first track from 2019’s Lover to hit No. 1, an inspiration to all those underperforming Taylor Swift singles out there. Hang in there, “Tim McGraw,” there’s still a chance that you, too, will hit the top of the charts.
The song’s resurgence can be credited to the culture-devouring popularity of Taylor Swift, who, in just a couple of months, became the only celebrity in the United States. Oh, and also, she released two new versions of the song last week in hopes of pushing the song to the top.