Taylor Swift to release her 2019 track Cruel Summer as her next single

Taylor Swift will release Cruel Summer as her next single. The 33-year-old singer had initially planned to release the track, which was featured on her 2019 album Lover, in summer 2020.

However, her plans changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After being left “truly perplexed” by the song’s sudden surge in popularity on the streaming charts, the hitmaker has confirmed Cruel Summer is finally getting an official release.

Speaking on stage during her Eras show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Saturday (Jun 17), Swift said: “So basically, Cruel Summer was on the Lover album. That album came out four years ago. And I just need to let you know something. That song was my pride and joy on that album. That was my favourite song.”

She added: “You have conversations before the album comes out and everyone around weighs in on what they think should be singles and I was finally about to have my favourite song become the single off of Lover. I’m not trying to blame the global pandemic that we had but that is something that happened that stopped Cruel Summer from ever being a single.”

Swift went on to thank her fans for continuing to play her “favourite” song on repeat.

“You guys have streamed Cruel Summer so much, right now in 2023, that it’s at the top. My label just decided to make it the next single. It’s truly, truly perplexing to me because I just haven’t had something like this happen in my career. So thank you to anyone who has been listening to that song 500 times a day because that is my favourite one.”