Could Cruel Summer Have Been a 10+ Week #1 on the Hot100?

[ificanthaveyou]

Had Taylor Nation pushed it sooner during its chart run (when it was peaking in streaming during the Summer Eras Tour dates), could Cruel Summer have been a 10+ week #1 on the H100? Let’s say she stagger released vinyls, alternative versions, remixes, MV, etc.

[Dylan :)]

Am I the only one who is happier that it is a 100%, organic hit. No push bar one remix the day before the chart tracking period ended

[Eloqueen™]

If she went full force, especially staggering vinyl releases, I certainly believe she could have amassed more weeks, but I don't know about 10. I'm glad she didn't this time tho, just to prove she doesn't have to!

[Acid Eyes]

I actually think the "lack of push" helped with its longevity. The fact that we're about to have a song called Cruel Summer (from 2019) compete with AIWFCIY (from 1994) in December 2023? What is this insanity lol

Only Love Story, You Belong with Me, and Anti-Hero have had more longevity than this. The former two were slow and steady rises, which AH started strong, stayed there for a while, and fell very slowly.

This is sort of a mixture of the two. It had a medium-fast rise into the top 10, bounced around the top 10 for months, and only recently hit #1. Once Christmas music fizzles out, it should benefit from both year-end pop/HAC countdowns as well as a resurgence on AC to keep its airplay afloat for awhile. I imagine streaming stays consistently strong through January at least. I can see it lasting a year on the Hot 100 (and who knows if airplay and streaming pick up again in summer 2024 to keep it around a little longer).

BUT had they pulled out all the stops in July or August when it first started to rise, I could see it peaking too early and radio/people moving on by now. It might have gotten like 8-10 weeks at #1 with a music video and a Drake or Post Malone remix, but it would have been fast rise, faster fall (like cardigan, willow, Karma to some extent).

[avamaxstan]

No. She still would’ve been blocked by Morgan, Oliver, Zach and herself for 4 weeks. But she could’ve edged out Doja in points for 2 of those weeks.