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Taylor Swift has capped off a stellar 2023 by being named Time Magazine’s person of the year.
The star, whose Eras tour broke box office records and provoked an inquiry into Ticketmaster’s sales practices, follows the likes of Barack Obama, Greta Thunberg and Volodymyr Zelensky.
She told the magazine that she is “the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt”.
The singer also admitted the toll of her 180-minute Eras concerts often left her feeling physically wrecked.
After a run of shows, “I do not leave my bed except to get food and take it back to my bed and eat it there,” she said.
“I can barely speak because I’ve been singing for three shows straight. Every time I take a step my feet go crunch, crunch, crunch from dancing in heels.”
Time editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs said the US pop icon was “the rare person who is both the writer and hero of her own story”, adding that she “found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light”.
On Monday, Time Magazine announced its shortlist of nine candidates for the title. Those included Chinese President Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Barbie and the striking Hollywood actors and writers.
In November, Swift appeared to be struggling to breathe during a concert in hot weather in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The star ended up postponing her concert after a fan died shortly before Friday’s show due to the heatwave the country was experiencing.
As well as her tour, Swift has also released the fastest-selling record of 2023 – a re-recording of her decade-old album 1989.
Her decision to re-record all of her first six albums came after her old record label, Big Machine, sold her master tapes to music mogul Scooter Braun in 2019. He later sold them to an investment company.
There are still two albums, Taylor Swift, and Reputation, that have not been re-recorded.
Swift also recently became the first songwriter to score seven Grammy nominations for song of the year, overtaking Sir Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie.
Last month, the star was declared a billionaire by business publication Bloomberg, which estimated her net worth to be $1.1bn (£907m).
Only three other musicians have achieved billionaire status – Rihanna, Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
However, Swift is the first to reach the milestone based on music alone, as her rivals’ fortunes incorporate business ventures in fashion, beauty products and hi-fi equipment.
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