The Summer I Turned Pretty has featured many Taylor Swift needle drops in past seasons — but which song was almost used but didn’t make it into the final cut in season 3?
Creator and author Jenny Han surprised Us on Monday, August 4, by sharing a behind-the-scenes TikTok with Lola Tung filming a scene from the season 3 premiere. In the video, Tung’s character, Belly, was filling out Conrad’s (Chris Briney) crossword as Swift’s “All Too Well” played in the background.
While “All Too Well” didn’t make it into the show — yet — The Summer I Turned Pretty has often used Swift’s discography to set the scene. Han, who is a self-proclaimed Swiftie, has been candid about including her music so often on the hit Prime Video show.
“I think for me, just as a fan, to be able to give the book fans that moment is what is really meaningful to me, because if you’re a fan of The Summer I Turned Pretty, I’m pretty sure you’re a fan of Taylor Swift,” she told The Wrap in June 2022. “And I know this because so many fans have asked me to put her music on the show, and I just never knew if we were going to be able to or not. So when we were, I just, I couldn’t believe it. That’s probably the most excited I’ve been in the whole process and the fact that we got, like, five total, which I’m really excited for the fans to see, because it will be, like, I think maybe unexpected at times at certain big moments.”
Every Taylor Swift Song Used in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’
Season 1 used songs such as “Cruel Summer,” “Lover,” “The Way I Loved You (Taylor’s Version)” and “This Love (Taylor’s Version).” The second season, meanwhile, featured “August,” “Sweet Nothing,” “Delicate (Taylor’s Version),” “Bigger Than the Whole Sky” and “Exile.”
The season 3 trailer used “Daylight” and “Red (Taylor’s Version)” before “You’re Losing Me” was featured in the premiere.
Han recently recalled her initial attempts to get Swift’s music into the season 1 finale of the hit Prime Video show.
“I was kind of trying to Inception it into everyone’s heads that we need this,” Han recalled on Jenna Bush Hager’s “Open Book” podcast in January about how she was willing to do “whatever it took” to get “The Way I Loved You” from Swift’s Fearless album for the season 1 finale. “I don’t think anyone thought we were gonna get it, honestly.”
TV Shows That Feature Taylor Swift’s Music in Pivotal Moments
A rep at Amazon Music suggested to Han that she write a letter to Swift, 35, about why it was “really important” to feature the song on screen.
“I wrote a handwritten note about how much it would mean — not just to me — but to the fans. That was the gift I really wanted to give because I’m like, ‘They’re gonna go crazy for this,’” she recalled. “We were so lucky to get more than one [song].”
The Summer I Turned Pretty airs on Prime Video Wednesdays.
