The most powerful Taylor Swift songs used in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3
Taylor Swift’s music has always been cinematic, but in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, it becomes emotional architecture.
Each song threads through the story like an aching heartbeat - from betrayal to longing, from goodbye to maybe-not-yet.
These standout musical moments not only complement the scenes, but they complete them.
For Swifties and TSITP fans alike, Season 3 feels like watching Swift's albums come to life.
Music News Blitz writer Anna Ferraz takes a look at the most iconic Taylor Swfit songs from the final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty - the tracks that made fans pause, rewind, and maybe cry a little.
Episode 1: "Last Season" - “You’re Losing Me (From the Vault)”
The season premiere delivers its first major punch with “You’re Losing Me (From the Vault)” as Belly discovers that Jeremiah cheated on her in Cabo.
It’s not a shouting match, not even a dramatic exit - it’s a quiet, soul-cracking realization. Taylor’s lyrics echo Belly’s internal spiral as the person she trusted most slips further out of reach.
The song’s haunting repetition of “you’re losing me” feels like a whisper Belly’s trying not to believe, until she has no choice.
Episode 6: "Last Name" - “False God”
Later, in Episode 6, Conrad slices his leg while surfing, and Belly’s the one tending to him.
The moment hums with unresolved tension, and just as their chemistry rises, Taylor’s “False God” starts playing. It’s sexy, electric, and impossible to ignore - just like them and the possibility of their rekindling.
The lyrics in the song, such as “we might just get away with this”, mirror their forbidden spark, a nod to a love they know is dangerous, but irresistible.
It’s the kind of moment where time slows down, and even the show seems to hold its breath.
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Episode 7: "Last Hurrah" - “loml”
Then comes Episode 7, when everything unravels. After a chaotic pre-wedding night, Conrad finds Belly on the beach and tells her not to marry his brother.
What we thought was just a love confession becomes a plea, especially when Taylor’s “loml” plays later and the emotional weight doubles.
The song’s devastating shift from “love of my life” to “loss of my life” mirrors the heartbreak hanging in the air.
No one wins. Everyone breaks.
Episode 8: "Last Kiss" - “cardigan”
But the most quietly hopeful moment might belong to Episode 8. After the cancelled wedding, Belly heads to the airport alone, ready to escape to Paris.
As she approaches her gate, she sees Conrad sitting there, waiting for his flight back to California.
Taylor’s song “cardigan” plays, specifically the lyric “I knew you’d come back to me” as Belly watches him, leaving the fans on a powerful cliff hanger.
It’s soft, it’s simple, and it changes everything. A promise that maybe some loves do come back.
Episode 9: "Last Call" - “How Did It End?”
In Episode 9, as the emotional fallout from the wedding continues, “How Did It End?” plays over scenes of Belly packing and everyone else sitting in the dust of what could’ve been.
The song doesn’t offer answers, just reflection. Taylor’s lyrics become a post-mortem, echoing the question that lingers for all three of them: Was it ever really going to work?
Episode 10: "Last Year" - “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” and “the 1”
Episode 10 opens with Belly narrating her new life in Paris, and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” sets the tone.
She’s showing up to class, to work, and to the independence she has always dreamt of - but the pain hasn’t left.
The contrast between the upbeat tempo and raw lyrics captures the performance of healing, the glittery mask she wears as she tries to move on. It’s survival, not peace.
And finally, “the 1” closes out the episode with quiet devastation and cautious hope.
As Conrad writes Belly a vulnerable, honest, and finally unfiltered letter, Taylor’s song becomes his inner monologue.
It’s not an attempt to rewrite their history, just an acknowledgment that maybe they were something… and maybe they still could be.
When Belly responds with her new address, the door stays slightly ajar, hinting at their possible reunion in episode 11.
Final thoughts
If there's one thing The Summer I Turned Pretty consistently nails - besides the love triangle drama and beachy aesthetics - it's the iconic soundtrack.
Music has always played a leading role in the show’s emotional pull, and the final season took these standards to the next level.
Whether you’re Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah (or just Team Belly-Needs-a-Break), the songs chosen for this emotional rollercoaster of a season added layers of meaning to every tear, kiss, and heartbreak.
In Season 3, Taylor Swift didn’t just soundtrack these iconic scenes in The Summer I Turned Pretty. She gave it a second narrator in which fans could relate to on a deep and emotional level.
From betrayal to longing, from endings to new beginnings, the soundtrack reminded us that sometimes the right song can cut through the mess of words and hit straight at the heart.
It’s why these moments will linger long after the credits roll - not just as scenes, but as songs we’ll never hear the same way again.
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