Taylor Swift rewrites the record for the most No. 1s in the history of Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart, as “Cruel Summer” climbs to the top of the list dated Aug. 5. The song becomes her 12th leader on the list, surpassing the 11 each for Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Rihanna.
Swift claims the mark all to herself with a song that has been out for nearly four years: Originally released on Swift’s 2019 album Lover, and now being promoted by Republic Records as a single, “Cruel Summer” has been gaining momentum in recent weeks, as Swift has been performing it on her current 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. Each concert on the tour is divided into 10 acts, encompassing nine of her LPs; the Lover era kicks off the show, with “Cruel Summer” performed in the opening set.
Here’s a recap of Swift’s 12 No. 1s on Pop Airplay, which measures songs’ weekly plays, as tabulated by Mediabase and provided to Billboard by Luminate, on over 150 U.S. mainstream top 40 radio stations. (The chart began in October 1992.)
Just two weeks ago, Swift added her record-tying 11th Pop Airplay No. 1 with “Karma” from her most recent album, 2022’s Midnights.
Title, Weeks at No. 1, Year(s):
“Cruel Summer,” one (to-date), 2023
“Karma,” one, 2023
“Anti-Hero,” three, 2022-23
“Delicate,” one, 2018
“Look What You Made Me Do,” one, 2017
“Wildest Dreams,” two, 2015
“Bad Blood” (feat. Kendrick Lamar), five, 2015
“Style,” three, 2015
“Blank Space,” six, 2014-15
“Shake It Off,” two, 2014
“I Knew You Were Trouble.,” seven, 2013
“Love Story,” one, 2009
Meanwhile, “Cruel Summer” becomes the first Pop Airplay No. 1 from Lover. Lead single “Me!” featuring Brendon Urie hit No. 7 in May 2019, and “You Need to Calm Down” reached No. 9 that August. The set spun off two other top 20 hits: the title track (No. 16, November 2019) and “The Man” (No. 20, April 2020).
