Entertainment Music Jack Antonoff Says 'Cruel Summer' Was Always His and Taylor Swift's Favorite Song on 'Lover' "With no one on the business side doing anything, just kids started playing it more and more and more," Antonoff said of the 2019 song's recent success By Ilana Kaplan Ilana Kaplan Ilana Kaplan is a Senior Digital Writer/Editor at PEOPLE. They have been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Their work has previously appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Vogue and more. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 3, 2023 01:25PM EDT Jack Antonoff is once again professing his — and Taylor Swift's — love of "Cruel Summer." During his appearance on The Tonight Show on Wednesday night, the Bleachers musician, 39, opened up about the massive success of the track, which he co-wrote and produced with Swift, 33. "Oh it's so cool," Antonoff said of the song's reception and reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Jack Antonoff. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff React to 'Favorite Song' from '5 Years Ago' 'Cruel Summer' Hitting No. 1 He then told host Jimmy Fallon that the fans are really responsible for the success of singles like "Cruel Summer" these days. "I'm loving where the music business is going because it just melted down into nothing but what people like. And you can talk your crap about this or that, but the fans are God. What they say goes and all this," the "Modern Girl" singer told Fallon, 49. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift. Kevin Mazur/Getty Antonoff then began to talk about how the landscape of choosing singles has transformed. "You know, the idea of a single is just like, if you could get your friends in a room you would you play? And what happened with 'Cruel Summer' is a testament to that," the Bleachers musician told the host. "It was always our favorite song on the album," Antonoff said, referring to him and Swift's favorite track on Lover. "And then with nothing, with no gas in the fire, with no one on the business side doing anything, just kids started playing it more and more and more. He concluded: "It happened with that song, and it happened with a bunch of things — and I just think the music business is just a fun place for the work." Late last month, "Cruel Summer" took the No. 1 spot amid the Eras Tour film becoming the biggest concert movie debut ever and just days after Swift released new mixes of "Cruel Summer." To celebrate the news, Swift shared a video on Instagram featuring herself and Antonoff celebrating the good news with the caption, "IT'S COOL 😎." Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff in Los Angeles in February 2021. Kevin Mazur/Getty Taylor Swift Says Watching Jack Antonoff Make 'Beautiful Art' Has Been 'Thrill of a Lifetime' During the clip, both musicians playfully yell and interrupt each other while sharing their excitement over the song's success. "Our favorite song from Lover from five years ago. The song that we said was the best song but we thought, 'Oh, you know what? This is going to be our secret best song.' That's what we thought," the "Don't Take the Money" performer said in the video. Swift added, "We just wanted to say thank you so much for making 'Cruel Summer' a Hot 100 No. 1. And it's not even the summer anymore, it's deep fall. I'm wearing a sweater." "It's deep fall," Antonoff concurs, before the pop megastar added "we love you guys" with a wink.