Taylor Swift, a renowned singer-songwriter who has been involved in the music industry for the last 18 years, was recently named “Person of the Year” by Times Magazine. Throughout the past year, she has dominated the music industry and has proven herself to be a savvy and astute businesswoman. Along with Times Magazine’s Person of the Year award, she was also Spotify’s Most-Streamed Artist Globally and Apple Music’s Artist of the Year. Swift brought in over a billion dollars for the United States economy with her well-known “Eras Tour.” This world tour spans across five continents and has 151 tour dates. Needless to say, she certainly deserved this recognition. 

Despite her countless accomplishments, many people disagree with the selection of Swift for Person of the Year. They claim she is over-hyped and absorbing the everyday lives of people who are simply uninterested in what is going on in her life. We believe Taylor Swift is beyond worthy of being named Person of the Year because of her tremendous impact on not only our lives but on millions of others all over the world. Listening to any other artist isn’t the same experience. Once you truly start to appreciate Swift for her tremendous talent and hard work, you can never go back. 

Swift’s latest relationship with one of the best tight ends the NFL has to offer, Travis Kelce, has taken the world by storm. While Swift’s strong “swiftie” fandom has grown a new love for football, claiming that “she put him on the map,” the football fans of the world seem to have the opposite reaction. 

“I’m just there to support Travis,” she says in the Times article. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.” The enormous amount of hate that came with Swift attending Kelce’s football games is over the top. Sports broadcasters report on her during the game as if she’s trying to make the game about her. Thousands of football fans make videos publicly shaming her for attending her boyfriend’s games.

Taylor Swift’s talent is incomparable. The lyricism and production on her ten albums is life-changing. Swift has re-recorded four of her albums to gain ownership of them. In her recent Times interview, Swift said, “I realized every record label was actively working to try to replace me. I thought instead, I’d replace myself first with a new me. It’s harder to hit a moving target.” Swift has reinvented herself and her music too many times to count. It’s remarkable how she has maintained her relevancy in the music industry for so long, and at such an elite level.

With the help of massive fandom, Swifties have made sure that listening to any song that doesn’t include the words “Taylor’s Version” in them is a crime. With this massive amount of support, Swift was able to restore the albums that were rightfully hers–and profit from the work she created. Swift says in her Netflix documentary Miss Americana, “Sorry, was I loud? In my own house that I bought with the songs that I wrote about my own life.” This is evident and perfectly describes why she purchased and gained ownership of her music.