Taylor Swift and ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Reshaped How TV and Music Intersect. Who Will Follow?

By the time the series finale of The Summer I Turned Pretty premiered in September — with lead character Belly making a much-anticipated choice between two brothers in a pearl-clutching sequence soundtracked by Taylor Swift’s “Dress” — the pop star’s catalog had already become singularly associated with the teen love-triangle drama. Viewers could practically count on hearing her voice in each episode — a frequency that would be unusually high for any artist, but especially one like Swift, whose music was famously used sparingly in visual media as she fought to reclaim the rights to her masters after Scooter Braun acquired them in 2019.

Because of this, the Amazon Prime Video hit series — which premiered in June 2022 — has been as much of a tool for Swift to reestablish herself in the world of TV as her music has been for the show to advance its narrative arc and cultural currency over the past few years. As Swift promoted her early-discography rerecordings — known as her Taylor’s Version releases — she often premiered new tracks in teaser trailers or episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty, with those synchs serving as Swifties’ first tastes of her Taylor’s Version albums well before they were released. Even for older, original material, Swift often received streaming and chart boosts, with “Dress” shooting to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind (a Songtradr company), after it was used in the finale’s steamiest scene.

Since its debut, The Summer I Turned Pretty quickly earned a reputation for the big-name synchs packed into each episode, often dozens per show. In the season two premiere, Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license” blares as Belly tearfully drives away from a graduation party gone awry, while later in the season Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs” plays during a classic wrong place, wrong time misunderstanding of the heart.

But Swift’s involvement was more personal. Executive producer and author Jenny Han has said that she listened to a lot of the 14-time Grammy Award winner’s music in 2009-11 while writing the trio of novels on which the series is based. When it came time to request permission to use “The Way I Loved You (Taylor’s Version)” in the season one finale, Han penned a handwritten note to the singer explaining “how much it would mean, not just to me, but I thought, to the fans,” as she revealed on Jenna Bush Hager’s Open Book podcast in January.

Swift didn’t just approve the one song. In season one, four other Swift tracks were used; in season two, that total bumped up to eight. By season three, 12 songs were used across 11 episodes.

Such access to Swift’s catalog gave the show’s creative team the freedom to use her music as a narrative device. From “Lover” playing in Belly’s mind when she first lays eyes on Conrad in season one to “Out of the Woods (Taylor’s Version)” fueling her as she makes her ultimate decision in the season three finale, it’s established again and again that Swift’s tracks aren’t just setting the vibe in those moments — her lyrics are also serving as a direct window into Belly’s inner monologue. As Swift explained during a visit to On Air With Ryan Seacrest in October, “I feel like my music comes from inside her mind.”

And yes, Swift is a fan. “This show has completely used my music in the most thoughtful, beautiful ways and with these important moments in Belly’s life,” she said on Seacrest. “I’m here for whatever is next.”

Right now, what’s next for the franchise is a major motion picture written by Han — which, from a narrative and musical standpoint, feels like a natural progression. Han, along with music supervisor Melyssa Hardwick, has always taken a cinematic approach to soundtracking The Summer I Turned Pretty, with the stacked playlist of A-list artists featured throughout all three seasons — Swift or otherwise — mirroring star-studded soundtracks to box-office smashes such as Barbie or, more recently, F1: The Movie. Additional TV shows could follow suit, with Netflix unveiling a buzzy season two soundtrack for Nobody Wants This, featuring songs by Selena Gomez, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton and more. Plus, Stranger Things (already a synch behemoth for Netflix) has produced gains for ABBA and Diana Ross, among others, since its final season kicked off in November.

Yet, there’s only one pop star whose discography has all the songs needed to correspond with the complicated scenarios that arise from such emotional chaos as a battle between brothers for Belly’s heart. And for Swift, the use of her music has only helped reaffirm her continued potency nearly two decades in — and across generations. The positive impact of her embedding herself within a widely adored coming-of-age series is exactly why more artists may want to follow Swift’s lead in letting their catalogs become as much of a living, breathing character as a show’s actors.

And while it’s too early to know whether Swift’s music will appear on the soundtrack to The Summer I Turned Pretty: The Movie, what would Belly’s story be without it?

This story appears in the Dec. 13, 2025, issue of Billboard.