Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift was named Time Magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year as a result of her record-breaking Eras Tour and impact on the United States economy. 

“I’m not surprised that Taylor Swift is Time’s Person of the Year,” Sarah Kim (10), Taylor Swift fan, said. “She has been working hard with her Eras Tour which has gone extremely viral as well as the Eras Tour film. People on social media are constantly showing off their ‘Eras Tour outfits’ and the stadiums she performs in are so huge that people of all ages have been able to go.”

The Eras Tour was accredited as a critical reason for Taylor Swift’s growth as a singer in 2023. This tour, which began in March, grew in popularity so rapidly that Ticketmaster, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, crashed to the dismay of thousands of fans. Those able to buy tickets for the show often flew across the country and spent hundreds of dollars on merchandise, with Time Magazine reporting that the average Eras Tour attendee spent nearly $1,300. The amount of revenue generated by the Eras Tour led to significant economic growth in the United States.

Expectedly, her fanbase has also increased rapidly. Millions of fans collaborated in decoding clues left by Swift on social media and trading friendship bracelets while in line for the Eras Tour. 

The majority of Time’s Person of the Year choices have been of national leaders, including 14 U.S. presidents, five leaders of Russia or the Soviet Union, and three Popes. Because of this, Time Magazine noted that Swift was a special case of a non-politician exerting the greatest influence throughout the year.

“[Taylor Swift] has harnessed the power of the media, both traditional and new, to create something wholly unique—a narrative world, in which her music is just one piece in an interactive, shape-shifting story,” Sam Lansky, editor for Time Magazine, wrote.