Already a #1 hit at pop radio, Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” is approaching the peak position at the hot adult contemporary format. It could get there as soon as this week.
“Cruel Summer” received 1,548 spins during the first two days of the August 13-19 tracking period. The count tops the same-time-last-week mark by a whopping 20%.
Although “Cruel Summer” still ranks at #2 on Mediabase’s building/real-time chart for the format, there is reason to believe it could overtake Luke Combs’ building #1 “Fast Car” by the end of the week.
At present, “Cruel Summer” trails by just 43 spins — and has a clear momentum advantage. Whereas “Cruel Summer” is up 20% from last week, “Fast Car” is down by about 1%. If both songs continue on similar trajectories, “Cruel Summer” will move into #1 before the chart goes final.
But even if the tides change and “Fast Car” does hold onto #1 this week, it seems clear that “Cruel Summer” will move into that position in the very near future.
