TIME magazine cover with Taylor Swift as “Person of the Year”
TIME magazine on Wednesday named American pop icon Taylor Swift Person of the year, calling this musical force of nature the “heroine of her own story.”
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“In a divided world, where too many institutions are failing, Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light… Swift is the rare person who is both the writer and the heroine of her own story.”, wrote TIME in a note from its editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs. “No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well,” she added. “Achieving this feat is something we often attribute to the alignment of the planets and destiny, but giving too much credit to the stars ignores their skill and power.”
TIME‘s recognition caps a year of unprecedented success for Swift. The 33-year-old singer concluded 2023 as the most listened-to artist in the world on Spotify, the largest streaming audio platform on the planet, with a total of 26 billion listens. Swift was also chosen in 2023 as the “Artist of the Year” by another important audio platform such as Apple Music, after having managed to get 65 of her songs to reach the global ‘Top 100’, more than any other figure in music.
According to TIME, this year Swift “achieved a kind of nuclear fusion: firing art and commerce together to release an energy of historic force. “She has achieved this by dedicating herself to what she knows how to do better than anyone else: entertaining and writing songs that connect with people.”
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“Now she becomes the first Person of the Year recognized for her success in the arts, in a year in which we have once again questioned who creates and to whom our cultural expressions belong. “Swift is also a symbol of generational change: she is only the fourth solo Person of the Year born in the last half century,” the TIME editor-in-chief explained.
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“In 2023 it was everywhere, filling stadiums and breaking records,” he added. TIME noted that Swift had more No. 1 albums than any other woman in history, with three achieved this year alone, and the “monumental success” of her Eras Tour; In addition, she recalled that prestigious universities in the United States have integrated courses about the star into her study plans. Even, “Swift was showered with keys to cities and street signs were changed to her name.”
For the influential magazine, “ Swift has become a feature of American soft power […] Swift, as we now know, has had a Midas touch, improving the fortunes of every place she visits and business she celebrates.”
“At the same time, much of what Swift accomplished in 2023 cannot be measured,” TIME added. She “charted her journey and shared the results with the world: she committed to validating the dreams, feelings and experiences of people, especially women, who felt ignored and undervalued. They know that she respects her audience and trusts them with her story. She has held up a mirror to her own life, helping people see themselves better. “She embraced her past, weaknesses and all, and in doing so encouraged others to do the same.”
In short, according to TIME, the secret of Swift’s success “has ancestral roots”: “She is writing her myth, based on her own journey. And it has been an epic.”
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“Taylor Swift is TIME ‘s 2023 Person of the Year, ” the magazine concludes,“ for building a world of her own in which there is room for so many, for turning her story into a global legend and for bringing joy to a society that needs it.” desperately.”
