The magical announcement came during Taylor Swift’s Eras tour at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium on Saturday (June 17) that “Cruel Summer” was set to be the next single from her album “Lover,” four years after its release. Swift shared that she had received a flood of feedback from fans and loved ones about which song should be the next single from “Lover,” which was initially released in 2019. “I want to say that ‘Cruel Summer’ is the song I love the most and am most proud of on the album,” she expressed passionately.

Swift reminisced about the perfect timing for the summer of 2020 release, only to have the COVID-19 pandemic derail any plans for “Cruel Summer” to emerge as a single. “No one understands how this happened. But it turns out you guys have been streaming ‘Cruel Summer’ like crazy until now. Thank you to anyone who has listened to the song 500 times every day,” Swift jokingly quipped to her rapt concert audience.

Republic Records, the label representing Swift, confirmed that they would start promoting “Cruel Summer” to numerous radio stations starting next Tuesday, while also highlighting “Karma,” another single from the album “Midnights.”

The track “Cruel Summer” surged back onto the Billboard Hot 100 on June 3, after two weeks on the charts since September 2019. From June 2-8, the song secured the 47th spot on the Hot 100, with 9.6 million official streams, 2.6 million radio plays, and 1,500 downloads in the United States.

After a long time coming, “Cruel Summer” is finally getting the recognition it so rightly deserves from fans and the music industry. With its re-entry onto the Billboard Hot 100 and the upcoming promotion plans, it seems like the “Cruel Summer” journey is just beginning. Be sure to stay tuned for more updates on this thrilling musical adventure!