Taylor Swift named Time’s Person of the Year

Coming off her record-breaking concert tour, which was followed by a box office-topping concert film, Taylor Swift has a new accolade: Time magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year.

Swift is the first person primarily known for being an entertainer to be named Person of the Year. The award has been given annually since 1927.

Time editor Sam Jacobs made the announcement Wednesday on the “Today” show. Jacobs said Swift was chosen for “bringing light to the world.”

“Every year contains light and dark; 2023 was a year with significant shares of darkness,” Jacobs wrote. “In a divided world, where too many institutions are failing, Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light. No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well. Achieving this feat is something we often chalk up to the alignments of planets and fates, but giving too much credit to the stars ignores her skill and her power. ”

The magazine said that it had been four years since Swift had given a one-on-one media interview.

“I’ve been raised up and down the flagpole of public opinion so many times in the last 20 years,” she told Time. “I’ve been given a tiara, then had it taken away.”

Earlier this week, Time announced the finalists for the yearly honor. Hollywood strikers, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman, Trump prosecutors, Barbie, Russian President Vladamir Putin, King Charles and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell were among those considered.

Swift follows last year’s winner Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 2021 winner Elon Musk, and 2020 winners Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.

Time says it selects the “individual, group, or concept that has had the most influence on the world throughout the previous 12 months.”

Time will release three covers featuring Swift as Person of the Year starting Dec. 15.

By Justin Boggs, Scripps News