Taylor Swift Ties Her Longest Pop Airplay Chart Reign With ‘Cruel Summer’
Written by djfrosty on September 22, 2023
Summer turns to fall Saturday (Sept. 23), but Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” continues going strong.
Swift ties her longest rule on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart, as “Cruel Summer” rebounds for a seventh week at No. 1, on the ranking dated Sept. 30. She first dominated for seven weeks with “I Knew You Were Trouble” in 2013.
Here’s an updated look at Swift’s record 12 Pop Airplay No. 1s, ranked by most weeks spent at the summit:
Title, Weeks at No. 1, Year(s):
- “Cruel Summer,” seven (to date), 2023
- “I Knew You Were Trouble,” seven, 2013
- “Blank Space,” six, 2014-15
- “Bad Blood” (feat. Kendrick Lamar), five, 2015
- “Anti-Hero,” three, 2022-23
- “Style,” three, 2015
- “Wildest Dreams,” two, 2015
- “Shake It Off,” two, 2014
- “Karma,” one, 2023
- “Delicate,” one, 2018
- “Look What You Made Me Do,” one, 2017
- “Love Story,” one, 2009
“Cruel Summer” first hit No. 1 on the Pop Airplay chart dated Aug. 5, giving Swift sole possession of the most leaders in the history of the survey, surpassing the 11 each for Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Rihanna. (Pop Airplay, which began in 1992, measures songs’ weekly plays, as tabulated by Mediabase and provided to Billboard by Luminate, on over 150 U.S. mainstream top 40 radio stations.)
“Cruel Summer” was originally released on Swift’s 2019 album Lover. Republic Records began promoting it as a single in June, as Swift has performed 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.
“Cruel Summer” previously became Swift’s 11th No. 1 on the Adult Pop Airplay chart, pushing her past P!nk for the most leaders among soloists. It has hit No. 3 on the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100, extending Swift’s record for the most top 10s among women, a total now up to 42.
All charts dated Sept. 30 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Sept. 26.