Taylor Swift caps off massive 2023 by entering her Time Person of the Year era

Taylor Swift is 2023’s Time Person of the Year, giving the billionaire, business mogul, singer, songwriter, director, actor and producer another heavyweight accolade for her mantlepiece.

"In a divided world, where too many institutions are failing, Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light," wrote Time Editor in Chief Sam Jacobs. "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."

Swift had a groundbreaking year with the kickoff of her Eras Tour that brought her 3.5-hour show to 66 shows in 23 cities across North America, Argentina and Brazil.

When the SAG-AFTRA strike halted the promotion of blockbuster movies, Swift struck a deal with the union and then bypassed production studios to release her movie with distributor AMC. Her Eras Tour film made more than $200 million globally, according to AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron on X/Twitter.

"Twelve of my last 13 tweets (there's that ubiquitous lucky number 13 again) have been about Taylor Swift. Want to know why?" he posted. "Well there are about 200 million reasons why! Taylor Swift's concert film is the highest grossing in history."

Swift rereleased two of her albums, claiming the ownership of eight of her 10 eras. At the end of 2022, she released the “Bejeweled” music video and embedded in it her plans for 2023. The singer rode an elevator and planned to stop at floors three (her third album “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and five (her fifth album “1989 (Taylor’s Version)”) on her way to the top.

More:Taylor Swift's '1989 (Taylor's Version)' sets Spotify music streaming records for 2023

The only two albums she has left are “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” and her eponymous debut album.

In November, Bloomberg named Swift a billionaire from her booming Eras Tour, movie hitting theaters, album re-recordings and merchandise sales.

A hidden “Taylor Swift economy” catapulted sales for business owners across the nation. From soaps to a thematic cruise inspired by her eras, the insatiable thirst for Swift gear skyrocketed. The USA TODAY Network even hired a reporter dedicated to covering the Taylor Swift beat full-time.

Professionally she killed it in 2023, and personally she started dating star tight end Travis Kelce. In Argentina, the Kansas City Chief attended her concert where she sang “End Game” in her surprise set and changed a “Karma” lyric to “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me.”

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The love story has played out publicly, boosting ratings for the NFL, spiking “Kelce” jersey sales and propelling the athlete into a bigger universe of fandom. The football player had to move into a gated home for greater security.

Heading into 2024, Swift will kick off the Eras Tour again in Tokyo, Japan, and Australia. Her current pinnacle has been a long time coming, but it may also be just beginning.

More:Travis Kelce joins Taylor Swift at the top of Billboard charts with Jason Kelce Christmas song duet

Follow Bryan West, the USA TODAY Network's Taylor Swift reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Taylor Swift enters her Time Person of the Year era to cap off 2023