Surprise! Taylor Swift drops live version of 'Cruel Summer', 'pride and joy' from 'Lover'
Taylor Swift has a gift that might have fans "grinning like a devil."
On Wednesday night, Swift released two new versions of "Cruel Summer": "Cruel Summer – Live from TS | The Eras Tour" (a recording from one of her shows at LA's SoFi Stadium that can be heard in her "Eras Tour" movie that released Thursday) and "Cruel Summer (LP Giobbi Remix)."
"What a truly mind blowing thing you've turned The Eras Tour Concert Film into," Swift posted on Instagram. "One of my favorite things you’ve done was when you supported Cruel Summer SO much, I ended up starting The Eras Tour show with it. For old times sake, I’m releasing the live audio from the tour so we can all shriek it in the comfort of our homes and cars PLUS a brand new remix by @lpgiobbi."
"Cruel Summer" was Swift's "pride and joy" and her "favorite song" off her 2019 album, "Lover," she told a Pittsburgh crowd in June. If the way that countless fans in stadiums across the U.S. screamed the song's bridge back to her is any indication, she's not the only one who considers "Cruel Summer" a favorite.
"All right, Los Angeles, we have arrived to the very first bridge of the evening," she says halfway through the performance. "Now, I have a question: Does anyone here know the lyrics to this bridge? Prove it!"
'Cruel Summer' is one of Taylor Swift's most-streamed songs
After it received an influx of fan support since Swift embarked on The Eras Tour in March (it's not only track 2 on the album but also the second song on her Eras set list), Swift and her record label released it as a radio single in June. In September, the track surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify, marking Swift's fifth time achieving that milestone, according to Billboard.
"I was finally, finally, allowed to have my favorite song become the single off of 'Lover,'" Swift said on June 17 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. "And I'm not trying to blame the global pandemic that we have, but that is something that happened that stopped 'Cruel Summer' from ever being a single."
Swift did not share whether any of the other songs from the movie will be released for purchase and streaming.
"Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" emerged victorious as the #1 movie of the weekend following its Oct. 12 debut, making it the biggest opening ever for a concert film, according to the Associated Press.
In her Instagram post, Swift noted that she's been lurking online, watching videos of Swifties "dancing and prancing and recreating choreography, creating inside jokes, casting spells, getting engaged, and just generally creating the exact type of joyful chaos we’re known for" in theaters around the world.
"Thank you, so much, forever, wow, just thank you!!!" she wrote in her caption.
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