Cruel Summer (Taylor Swift song)

"Cruel Summer" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her seventh studio album, Lover (2019). The song was written by Swift, Jack Antonoff, and St. Vincent, and was produced by Swift and Antonoff. "Cruel Summer" is a synth-pop, industrial pop, and electropop song composed of synths, wobbling beats, and vocoder-manipulated vocals. The lyrics are about an intense romance during a painful summer.

Upon release, music critics praised "Cruel Summer" for its melodic composition and catchy production style, specifically highlighting the hook and bridge. Many deemed it a highlight on Lover and one of Swift's best songs; Billboard and Rolling Stone ranked it amongst the best songs of 2019. The song debuted in the top 30 of various national charts. "Cruel Summer" became a fan favorite and continued to receive critical acclaim retrospectively; several fans and publications questioned Swift's choice over not having released the song as a single, to which she responded that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted plans to make it a 2020 single.

In 2023, Swift embarked on her sixth concert tour, the Eras Tour, performing "Cruel Summer" as part of the set-list. The song received viral exposure on social media and resurged on several charts. Republic Records released the song as a single to US contemporary hit radio on June 13, 2023, following which it was met with wider commercial success. In the United States, "Cruel Summer" peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 as Swift's tenth number-one song. It became her sixth song to top the Pop Airplay, Adult Pop Airplay, and Adult Contemporary radio charts, an all-time record. Elsewhere, "Cruel Summer" topped the charts in Australia, Canada, the Philippines, and Singapore, and eventually the Billboard Global 200, and peaked within the top-ten in 20 other countries. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), it was the seventh best-selling single of 2023 with 1.39 billion global streams. The song was placed on the 2024 revision of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.