Taylor Swift may be at her best now than ever.
On December 6, the pop icon was live-announced as Time magazine‘s Person of the Year on TODAY. This is Swift’s 33rd milestone in a year that has been capped off by her sold-out “Eras Tour,” the greatest concert film ever made, and a romantic relationship that has made headlines with Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Swift is the first performer to win the title of Person of the Year solo in Time’s 96-year history. U2 frontman Bono was one of the charitable individuals known as “The Good Samaritans” in 2005.
Before Time’s extensive feature on the singer, editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs gave a detailed explanation of the selection’s thinking.
According to Jacobs’ article, “Taylor Swift found a way to go beyond borders and be a source of light.” Nobody else in the world today is as good at moving as many people as they are. We frequently attribute this achievement to the planets’ and fates’ alignments, but putting too much stock in the stars diminishes her strength and ability. Swift is one of the few people who can write her own story and also be its hero.
The “Blank Space” singer discussed her incredible 2023—which turned her into a billionaire and made her the most-streamed artist globally on Spotify—in an interview with Time. She also talked about how she and Kelce first became acquainted, making it clear that they had been seeing each other in private for a long time prior to the Chiefs vs. Bears game she went to on September 24.
“We were a couple by the time I went to that first game,” she says in her Time interview.
Her remarkable year commenced in March when she embarked on her worldwide “Eras Tour” in Arizona. The epic performances, which attracted fans decked out in friendship bracelets and do-it-yourself costumes, generated enormous demand for tickets, more money for lodging facilities around the nation, and an economic boost worth billions of dollars.
Swift ended up running into his arms for a kiss after Kelce, who had flown to Argentina to see her perform, saw her perform last month.
The “Eras Tour” concert movie, which has made over $250 million at the box office, was made using footage from the concerts.
Swift also dethroned Bad Bunny as the most-streamed artist globally on Spotify this year with the release of her re-recorded versions of her “1989” and “Speak Now” albums.
Nor does her reign appear to be ending anytime soon. The “Eras Tour’s” international leg will last for the entire upcoming year and end in Vancouver on December 8, 2024.
In an interview with Time, the singer expressed satisfaction with her impact in 2023, when she ventured outside the music industry to include the box office and Rio’s renowned Christ the Redeemer.
She told the magazine, “This is the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been, as well as the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt.”
She went on, “In the end, we can try to overcomplicate it or convolute it as much as we want, but there’s only one question,” before echoing Russell Crowe’s line from the movie “Gladiator,” which was released almost 20 years ago: “Are you not having fun?”
Swift was chosen among nine finalists, which also included Russian President Vladimir Putin, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Hollywood actors and writers who went on strike, China President Xi Jinping, Russian King Vladimir III, the prosecutors who have charged former President Donald Trump, and the famous Barbie doll that served as the inspiration for the summer blockbuster.
In a TODAY.com poll, 43% of fans voted for the “Cruel Summer” singer, making her the obvious choice for Person of the Year. Barbie received 19% of the vote, a far cry from first place.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, was named the 2022 Time Person of the Year. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, X, and SpaceX, was named the 2021 recipient.
Additionally, Time announced on TODAY on December 5 that Lionel Messi, the soccer sensation, would be its 2023 Athlete of the Year.