2023 has been quite the momentous year for global icon Taylor Swift.
Aside from her record-breaking The Eras Tour, the successful rollout of the re-recordings of two fan favorites, Speak Now and 1989, alongside the box-office juggernaut that was the coinciding concert film to her tour, there has been so much on Swift’s plate from the point that the year began and ended. Swift was already recognized as the top pick for People Magazine’s Most Intriguing Person of The Year List, so getting recognized as TIME Magazine’s Person of The Year for 2023 comes as no surprise to those paying attention.
According to TIME Magazine, Swift was selected for the honorable title due to her undeniable presence as a pop culture icon who has contributed significantly to the cultural discourse of this generation. Explaining their rationale behind the choice, the magazine stated; “While her popularity has grown across the decades, this is the year that Swift, 33, achieved a kind of nuclear fusion: shooting art and commerce together to release an energy of historic force.”
“Much of what Swift accomplished in 2023 exists beyond measurement. She mapped her journey and shared the results with the world: She committed to validating the dreams, feelings, and experiences of people, especially women, who felt overlooked and regularly underestimated. They know she respects her audience, and trusts them with her story. She held up a mirror to her own life, helping people better see themselves. She embraced her past, foibles and all, and in doing so encouraged others to do the same,” the magazine adds.
In her interview with the publication, Swift opened up about numerous aspects of her personal life, including her evolution as a musician and how she’s approached her craft amidst the numerous projects she’s worked on throughout the year. “This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt, and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been,” she tells TIME. Even amidst the challenges she’s faced in the industry (whether it’s the sale of her masters to Scooter Braun or the smear campaign put against her by Kanye West & Kim Kardashian), Swift candidly talks about how she’s overcome such hurdles. It’s all in how you deal with loss,” she says. “I respond to extreme pain with defiance.”
Swift also discussed the challenges in preparing for The Eras Tour –– saying “I knew this tour was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot.” She tells the magazine about the intense training regime that helped her prepare for the show, working through a six month program that had her running through a treadmill while singing the entire set list of the tour out loud. Along with strength conditioning, weights, and dance training, Swift’s discipline to better herself (not merely for her fans, critics, or peers –– but herself) equated well with her methodology.
Despite all the praise and accolades that the pop star has been showered with, Swift still remains grounded with her approach to the craft of making music. She tells TIME, “Nothing is permanent, [so] I’m very careful to be grateful every second that I get to be doing this at this level, because I’ve had it taken away from me before. Swift adds “There is one thing I’ve learned: My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things. Keep making art.”
And with that statement, it’s something that has rung true all throughout her career –– and perhaps will continue to be her motto as Swift moves forward with whatever endeavor she puts her mind (and heart) to.