The Cast Of The Summer I Turned Pretty Revealed Their Favorite Taylor Swift Songs, And They'd Make A Fantastic Playlist

Taylor Swift in the Bejeweled music video and Lola Tung in The Summer I Turned Pretty.
(Image credit: Republic Records and Amazon Prime)

Asking what someone's favorite Taylor Swift song is guaranteed to garner some interesting and diverse answers. The artist has hundreds of songs to her name, and between the Eras Tour and her re-releasing albums, her discography is at the top of mind for many. However, the cast of The Summer I Turned Pretty has a special connection to the singer, because her music is frequently used in their Amazon Prime series. So, with Season 2 on the horizon, the ensemble opened up about their favorite songs from the “Cruel Summer” singer.  

With Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty premiering on the 2023 TV schedule soon, the cast was doing press on the day its new trailer dropped. Featured in it are two Taylor Swift songs, “August” from folklore and “Back To December (Taylor’s Version),” which will be featured in Swift’s upcoming project Speak Now (Taylor’s Verison). So considering this re-recording comes out in a few days, and the Amazon Prime series premieres soon too, GMA asked the cast what their favorite T-Swift songs were. 

Starting with Belly herself, Lola Tung had a very thoughtful answer, saying:

It’s so hard to say. ‘You Belong With Me’ has been one that I’ve always loved. ‘Mirrorball’ is the one that I’m listening to a lot recently.

“Mirrorball” was notably one of the first surprise songs Swift played on the Eras Tour, and for sure a fan favorite deep cut. As for Tung’s on-screen brother Steven, Sean Kaufman gave a serious answer and a silly one too, saying: 

Normally I’d say ‘Hey Stephen,’ but I think it’s ‘You Belong With Me’ by Taylor Swift.

From left to right: Sean Kaufman, Gavin Casalegno and Christopher Briney laughing together in The Summer I Turned Pretty.

(Image credit: Amazon Prime)

Gavin Casalegno, who plays Jeremiah, not only picked a banger, but had a fun personal reason why, saying:

I’m going to say ‘22.’ That’s the most recent favorite. When I had my 22 birthday, everybody did a big surprise party for me, and I just had a blast. It’s where a lot of my friends were to love me, and party with me, and have fun.

On a similar note, David Iacono, who plays Cam, also picked a song that he has a personal connection to. Choosing a tune of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) the actor said:

It’s gotta be ‘Love Story,’ it’s just a classic. It reigns true to me. I don’t know, I have visceral memories of watching the music video with my cousins when I was younger.

Meanwhile, Christopher Briney gave a very Conrad answer by saying there were “too many to choose from. And like mother, like son, Rachel Blanchard, who plays Susannah, Conrad and Jeremiah’s mom, gave a very diplomatic answer, saying she loved all the songs. 

Jackie Chung, who plays Belly and Stephen’s mom Laurel, shared a relatively hot take, saying “Me!” was her favorite song. 

If you ask me, all the songs mentioned are bops, and they would make for the perfect summer playlist. You can hype everyone up with “You Belong With Me,” “22,” “Me!” and  “Love Story,” then vibe to “Hey, Stephen” and end on a moody note with “Mirrorball.” Along with these tracks you can add the song the book’s author Jenny Han was really passionate about getting into her series: “This Love.” It’s well-rounded, it gives major summer energy, and it’s a great way to pay homage to both Taylor Swift and The Summer I Turned Pretty

Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty will be available to stream with an Amazon Prime subscription on July 14, and you can watch all of Season 1 right now. Most of the songs mentioned in this story are also part of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, which is currently touring around the United States.

Riley Utley
Weekend Editor

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.

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