Taylor Swift has just been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.
It is the singer’s accomplishments as an artist—culturally, critically, and commercially— that has brought her to the prestigious title.
As a pop star, the publication reported, the 33-year-old musician has been sitting in rarefied company, alongside Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Madonna; as a songwriter, she has been compared to Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Joni Mitchell.
As a businesswoman, Time wrote, she has built an empire worth, by some estimates, over $1 billion.
The singer-songwriter has built an empire worth over $1 billion, fueled by a record-breaking world tour, concert film, and re-recorded albums
According to the publication, 2023 was the year Taylor “perfected her craft”, as a musician and as “the master storyteller of the modern era”.
Upon receiving the accolade, the songstress said: “This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt, and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been. Ultimately, we can convolute it all we want, or try to overcomplicate it, but there’s only one question. Are you not entertained?”
According to the prestigious magazine, Taylor became “the main character of the world” in 2023
Image credits: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Speaking of her Eras tour, Taylor recalled: “I knew this tour was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot.”
Each show reportedly spans over 180 minutes, including 40-plus songs from at least nine albums; there are 16 costume changes, pyrotechnics, an optical illusion in which she appears to dive into the stage and swim, and not one but two cottagecore worlds, which feature an abundance of moss.
“It feels like the breakthrough moment of my career, happening at 33,” Taylor described
With nearly two decades of performing under her belt, as well as being under scrutiny for her personal life, which has at times inspired her music, Taylor revealed what all those years within the music industry and the public eye taught her.
She explained: “Over the years, I’ve learned I don’t have the time or bandwidth to get pressed about things that don’t matter. Yes, if I go out to dinner, there’s going to be a whole chaotic situation outside the restaurant. But I still want to go to dinner with my friends.”
“I knew this tour was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot,” the singer said of her successful Eras Tour
She continued: “Life is short. Have adventures. Me locking myself away in my house for a lot of years—I’ll never get that time back. I’m more trusting now than I was six years ago.”
Swift told Time that the recognition came at the “breakthrough moment” of her career. “And for the first time in my life, I was mentally tough enough to take what comes with that.”
The 12-time Grammy winner later took to her Instagram account to express her gratitude for the unique distinction.
“I’m really reflecting on this year, and all the years that led up to it. Can’t say thank you enough times,” she wrote.
Swifties were thrilled by the news and congratulated Taylor on her fantastic year
