AWARDS

Taylor Swift wins 2023 Person of the Year: List of Time Magazine’s past winners

The singer has been on people’s lips the entire year with a number of impressive achievements as well as the first billionaire based on just her music.

MARIO ANZUONIREUTERS

Taylor Swift has capped off an incredible year by being named Time Magazine’s person of the year.

“This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt, and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been,” she told TIME. “Ultimately, we can convolute it all we want, or try to overcomplicate it, but there’s only one question... Are you not entertained?”

The American singer can celebrate a number of record-breaking achievements:

  • The 'Eras' tour frankly dominated all other music this year,
  • The same tour prompted an inquiry into Ticketmaster's sales practices,
  • The biggest-selling record of 2023 - a re-recording of her decade-old album 1989,
  • First living artist to have five albums in the US Top 10 at the same time,
  • Biggest selling concert movie of all time,
  • Broke the record for most number one albums by a woman in US chart history with 13,
  • Most streamed female artist in history.

Time Magazine’s past winners

Time magazine has been awarding this honor since 1927, recognising individuals, groups, or ideas that have had a significant impact on the world during the year.

2022: Volodymyr Zelenskyy

2021: Elon Musk

2020: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

2019: Greta Thunberg

2018: Jamal Khashoggi, the Capital Gazette, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone, and Kyaw Soe Oo (Journalists as "The Guardians")

2017: The Silence Breakers (representing those who spoke out against sexual harassment)

2016: Donald Trump

2015: Angela Merkel

2014: Ebola Fighters (representing healthcare workers fighting the Ebola virus)

The 2023 shortlist included Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and the Hollywood actors and writers who are on strike. The award is chosen for the person who had the most impact on the year and is not a popularity contest; previous winners includes Adolf Hitler in 1938 and Josef Stalin the following year.

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