Barbie, Putin and King Charles III: these were Taylor Swift’s rivals as Time’s ‘Person of the Year’

The recognition as ‘Person of the Year’ from popular magazine, Time, is one of the most anticipated moments of the year and the title finally went to the American singer Taylor Swift, but who almost took it from her?

The choice has been made official after being selected from a wide range of nine names that are, to say the least, interesting. Swift was competing for the accolade with other well-known faces such as King Charles III of Great Britain and Vladimir Putin, to name a few.

Candidates for 2023 Time Person of the Year

Even institutions and works of fiction competed for the award. The others considered by Time for the title were:

The highest-grossing film of the year is, for the aforementioned magazine, an example that the possibility of theatrical success persists even in the novel world of streaming. The film also had strong feminist messages with Margot Robbie starring.

• Jerome Powell

The chairman of the US Federal Reserve was another finalist for playing “a key role in managing high inflation in the United States,” thus helping the nation’s 350m people.

• The Hollywood strikers

The group of Hollywood actors and screenwriters who were on strike during the last few months is another nominee for making a “show of the power of both workers and the entertainment industry”.

• King Charles III of Great Britain

One of the names of the year after the death of Elizabeth II and her accession to the throne of the United Kingdom after several decades of waiting, a lifetime for many people.

• Prosecutors who sued Donald Trump

According to Time, prosecutors from the states of Florida, New York, Georgia and Washington DC have set a precedent after clipping the wings of the former, controversial US president.

• Vladimir Putin

He has been among the final candidates after the rebellion of the Wagner group this year, which they explain, far from weakening him, seems not to have affected him.

• Xi Jinping

The president of China was one of the names of the year for the American magazine after being considered “one of the most powerful modern leaders in China”.

• Sam Altman

The CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, was another finalist after the great advances in artificial intelligence that occurred in 2023. ChatGPT catapulted AI to a new level of discussion.

Why did Swift win?

In the end, Swift won the award, after a year full of successes and in which her influence and transcendence have been more than notorious.

After a 2023 covered in success both personally, Swift‘s new relationship with Travis Kelce and being crowned as the most listened artist on the Spotify platform over names like “The Weeknd” or “Bad Bunny”, she won the award which is handed out every 12 months.

The singer, who will bring her ‘The Eras Tour’ to Europe next year, has been compared in the magazine with massive legends of music such as Michael Jackson and Madonna.