Taylor Swift Is Time’s Person of the Year Because America Is Disgusted With Politics
Time Magazine’s announcement yesterday of Taylor Swift as its annual Person of the Year is an emphatic fuck you to politics, marking the first time in almost a decade that the Person of the Year wasn’t a political figure — an accurate reflection of Americans’ disgust with politics.
Here are Time’s previous choices:
2022: Volodymyr Zelensky
2021: Elon Musk
2020: Joe Biden / Kamala Harris
2019: Greta Thunberg
2018: Journalists facing persecution
2017: The #MeToo movement
2016: Donald Trump
2015: Angela Merkel
Despite much griping online (Why not Biden? Or Trump? Or Netanyahu?), Time was right to pick Taylor Swift. The simple fact is that, in the last several months, Swift has become more popular than any political figure, including President Biden, as reflected by Google Trends data from the past year.
This is a new development. Biden outpaced Swift during the first year of his presidency, before entering into roughly equal footing. Then around October of last year, Swift surpassed him for good.
While Swift’s music isn’t for me, it’s easy to see why it’s resonating with people so much this year especially: it’s almost an exact counterpoint to our political climate. Whereas shambling corpses dominate both political parties — from 81-year-old Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who can’t stop freezing up in public, to Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein who died in office at age 90 — millennial Taylor Swift doesn’t just embody youth, that’s her audience as well. Put our top political leaders in the same room with her, give her a shotgun, and it would look exactly like a zombie movie!
I won’t bother to go over the mountains of polling data that shows young people are deeply unhappy with the political system. Consider their unprecedented rejection of the Washington consensus on Israel; or compare Biden’s polling numbers with people under 35 to Obama’s. Given the discontent, is it any surprise that when someone speaks to the youth, they listen?
I recently asked a friend why Taylor Swift commanded such a devout following. (I put it a bit more flippantly, asking why Taylor Swift is the Hassan Nasrallah of young white women.) His answer was insightful.
“As the father of two such women, who the fuck else are they going to look up to? Hillary Clinton?” he replied.
Popular figures today aren’t politicians, they’re entertainers like Dolly Parton, who wields the gold standard of power: the power to inspire.
Until the political system can learn how to do that, get used to a lot more articles about plummeting youth participation in politics. And when you look at what’s on offer, can you blame ‘em, Jack?
I find it telling that people of color & those Gen X and older who are also Swifties continue to be dismissed as though Swifties are only young, white women. My family, friends & colleagues are all mixed, different ages, and other than Swift - have completely different preferences in so many areas - yet, we all love Taylor - and not just in 2023. Kind of reminds me of my "Bernie Bro" days in the media where I simply didn't exist in their eyes. I'm Puerto Rican, 45 years old. My husband is White & also 45.
Taylor is a global phenom - not just an American one. Fans in the Latin America leg of her tour "Taylor-gated" from 10+ hours to DAYS prior to her shows for general admission seats to get as close as possible. YouTube any clips from her shows in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo or Argentina. When Taylor restarts her tour in 2024, I can guarantee you every show will be sold out & she will also be more popular & beloved as compared to any of their politicians, too.
As a household of 4, Taylor is the only artist that we all can listen to & agree is the GOAT. Better than Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Elvis, Sinatra, Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Prince, Whitney, U2 -- they all fall short by a LONG SHOT.
I've seen Madonna(2), Mariah(3), Xtina, JT(2), Beyoncé & Jay-Z, Eminem & RiRi, RiRi by herself(2), Alicia Keys, Britney, John Legend, Demi (2), JLo (2), Chris Brown, Boyz II Men, Pink (2) & so many more the last 2 decades. Taylor is hands down the best performer & concert my husband & I have ever been to amongst all of these superstars/legends.
Her lyrics bypass generations, genders, cultures, language. Why is she more popular than all other politicians? You're correct in that she's inspiring - but you're also missing the point. She is a political force (one post & fans take action), a symbol of excellence & evolution, resilience & defiance in the face of the patriarchy, and the characteristics most of our politicians lack & even find weak to their own detriment: genuine empathy, relatedness, love for humanity, and trying to do make a positive difference in the world (vs the ugly raging greed that sits at the rotted core of our government - the rest of us be damned.
Ken, you're thinking too small on this one & missing the full picture. She's everything they're not & that's why she's on top.
Every time I get your letter I think of “Ken ‘Einstein’ general douche-about-town” and chuckle. Have you seen the right wind punditsphere melting down over this cover and calling it a dem psy-op?