Taylor Swift is Time's Person of the Year - here's why and who she was up against

Taylor Swift has beaten the likes of King Charles III to become Time's 2023 Person of the Year.

Taylor Swift has been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2023, joining past winners such as Volodymyr Zelensky, Mark Zuckerberg and Elizabeth II.

Following a wildly successful year, the pop star topped shortlisted candidates such as Hollywood strikers, Sam Altman, Barbie, King Charles III and even Donald Trump’s prosecutors to become the 2023 Person of the Year.

Speaking with the magazine, Swift 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?”

Why is Taylor Swift Time’s Person of the Year?

For those who aren’t fans, you may be wondering why Swift – of all those included in the 2023 shortlist – has been honoured in this way.

Dating back to 1927, Time annually honour the person, group or concept which “has had the most influence on the world throughout the previous 12 months”.

Swift has dominated the news cycles in 2023, from her record-breaking Eras Tour to her relationship with American football star Travis Kelce.

Time said: “She became the main character of the world.”

Taylor Swift supporting Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelce. Credit: Getty Images

Part of this is down to her retrospective tour, recounting each of her artistic “eras”, which is projected to become the biggest of all time and the first to gross more than a billion dollars. There’s also the economic impact of Swift’s tour to consider, which saw booms within hotels and restaurants in each location and had politicians pleading for her to visit their countries. And we can’t forget the star’s release of The Eras Tour Concert Film, with Swift also somehow finding the time to re-record and release 1989 (Taylor’s Version).

Time asks: “If you’re sceptical, consider it: How many conversations did you have about Taylor Swift this year?”

However, to sum up why Taylor Swift is Time’s 2023 Person of the Year in the magazine’s own words: “She’s the last monoculture left in our stratified world.”

Previous Time Persons of the Year

Time Magazine selects their Person of the Year by considering the individual, group or concept which most shaped the headlines – whether it’s for good or bad.

In 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky – the president of Ukraine – was recognised as Person of the Year alongside “The Spirit of Ukraine”.

Elon Musk was Time’s 2021 Person of the Year. He was described by the magazine’s editor in chief Edward Felsenthal as “a person with extraordinary influence on life on Earth, and potentially life off earth too.”

Elon Musk was Time's Person of the Year in 2021.

In 2020, both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were recognised, while in 2019 climate activist Greta Thunberg was Person of the Year.

However, groups can also be recognised for their impact. In 2018, “The Guardians” were awarded Person of the Year; a group of journalists who faced prosecution, arrest or murder for their work, while in 2017 it was “The Silence Breakers”, those who spoke out against sexual abuse and harassment such as the figureheads of the MeToo movement.

Other notable Time Persons of the Year include:

• Mahatma Gandhi (1930)
• Franklin D. Roosevelt (1932, 1934, 1941)
• Winston Churchill (1940)
• Elizabeth II (1952)
• Martin Luther King Jr (1963)
• The Computer (1982)
• Vladimir Putin (2007)
• Barack Obama (2008, 2012)
• Mark Zuckerberg (2010)
• Donald Trump (2016)

Who was included on the 2023 Time Person of the Year shortlist?

Time Magazine also release the shortlist of candidates for each Person of the Year announcement, with Chinese president Xi Jinping and OpenAI boss Sam Altman among those considered for 2023.

Here is the shortlist of Person of the Year 2023 candidates that Taylor Swift overcame:

• Hollywood strikers
• Xi Jinping
• Sam Altman
• Trump Prosecutors
• Barbie
• Vladimir Putin
• King Charles III
• Jerome Powell