Pop star Taylor Swift has been named TIME Magazine's 2023 Person of the Year - the first person to win the title purely for her "success as an artist".
ADVERTISEMENT"For building a world of her own but making room for so many others, for making her story a global legend, for bringing joy to a society that desperately needed it, Taylor Swift is Time's Person of the Year 2023," said TIME editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs.
"Taylor Swift has found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light", added editor-in-chief Jacobs. Swift - who penned and performs hits such as 'Shake It Off' and 'Cruel Summer' - has succeeded Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to the title.
As well as her numerous musical successes and concert sell-outs, Swift, 33, recently topped the global artist of 2023 for Spotify, and also took to the screens, with the release of the concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. Swift topped the North American box office on the weekend her film was released.
Over the past year, she has also made a name for herself by criticising ticketing behemoth Ticketmaster for the cacophony surrounding ticket sales for her tour, "The Eras Tour", which led to the platform, often criticised for its monopoly position, having to explain itself to the US Congress.
"Much of what she [Swift] has achieved in 2023 is immeasurable (...)," said Jacobs. "She has committed herself to giving value to the dreams, feelings and experiences of people, especially women, who felt neglected and routinely undervalued."
Swift has finished the South American leg of her phenomenally successful "Eras" world tour - off the back of her fourth re-record of '1989 (Taylor's Version)', which is still topping the US charts. She will be heading to Europe next year.
On the list of finalists for TIME Person of the Year were Russian and Chinese leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping; British King Charles III; US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell; OpenAI boss Sam Altman; Hollywood strikers; the prosecutors who indicted Donald Trump and... the Barbie character, played by Margot Robbie, who dazzled cinema-goers earlier this year.
