As she turned to the first page in her 2023 diary and started writing out her goals, not even Taylor Swift could have imagined quite how many she’d achieve. What intentions did she set? What rare concentration did she use to manifest? We all asked the universe for stuff this year, but She didn’t always deliver. She was probably too busy bestowing success, wealth, love and good hair days on Swift herself.

Whatever your views on her music, it’s undeniable that 2023 was Swift’s year. She bagged her 13th number one album, then re-recorded 1989, in what was the biggest opening week for any album released this year. She produced the hit film of her Eras tour, the first tour to ever gross more than $1billion (£785million) in sales, and was nominated for a Golden Globe. She was the most-played artist on Spotify, and Time Magazine’s person of the year, previously awarded to Volodymyr Zelensky, with the publication noting that in 2023, she 'achieved a kind of nuclear fusion: shooting art and commerce together to release an energy of historic force.' 'She became the main character of the world,' they wrote.

los angeles, california october 11 taylor swift attends the taylor swift the eras tour concert movie world premiere at amc the grove 14 on october 11, 2023 in los angeles, california photo by john shearergetty images for tas
John Shearer//Getty Images

So powerful a phenomenon was the Eras tour - the highest-grossing concert of all time with with 4.35million tickets sold across 60 tour dates - that by October, world leaders were begging her to bring it to their countries. After it boosted the US economy by an estimated $5.7billion (£4.7 billion), politicians from five countries, including Canada and Chile, reached out to ask her via social media to include them in her list of tour stops. Financial analysts coined the term 'the T-Swift Lift' to describe the tour’s positive effects - ones from which the UK is breathlessly braced to benefit next summer. In June, she’ll play three shows in Edinburgh, followed by eight in London’s Wembley Arena in August.

To her fans, Swift is the real deal, an artist who supports and values other women

At 33, Swift is the highest-earning female musician in history. That she does things on her own terms is one of many reasons why her fans respect her. She herself isn’t an underdog, yet she champions them, and isn’t afraid to put her neck on the line in pursuit of her beliefs. She boycotted Spotify for three years in protest at its freemium model. She revealed in August 2019 that she would be re-recording her first six studio albums in order to gain total control and ownership of her past work. Unsurprisingly, her re-recorded albums have already broken records: Fearless (Taylor’s Version) was the first re-recorded album in history to top Billboard’s charts and Red (Taylor’s Version) broke Spotify’s record for the most-streamed album in a day by a female artist when it was released. She stunned Hollywood by shunning its studios and distribution networks to release the film of her Eras tour direct to a US cinema chain. Cinema websites crashed immediately as fans booked $30 million-worth of advance tickets.

taylor swifts the eras tour concert film made an estimated 96 million in its opening weekend
Taylor Swift / Instagram//Instagram

Whether you’re a tween or a teen, a twentysomething or a septuagenarian, you’ll likely have had your fill of so-called feminists whose gestures are more performative than transformative in any meaningful way. To her fans, Swift is the real deal, an artist who supports and values other women in a way that is tangible. 'She’s a proper role model, and there aren’t that many about,' says one Gen X mother of my acquaintance, delighted after securing a ticket for her Gen Z daughter to see the Eras tour. 'She works hard, she’s whip smart and she actually stands for something.' Including kindness: always thoughtful in interviews, one of her most aspirational quotes is: 'No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.'

She works hard, she’s whip smart and she actually stands for something

To her detractors, she might stand for nothing more than a woman with a knack for mining her former relationships for perceived slights to transform into bestselling hits via the medium of embarrassment, but her fans would argue that each ex reaped what he sowed. Swift’s exes might number Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hiddleston, Matty Healy and Harry Styles, but the anger, frustration and heartbreak she has felt is universal, expressed so relatably that it transcends the personal and becomes both rally cry and salve to every fan who’s ever had their heart broken. It’s why in Buenos Aires, Swifties camped out in shifts for months to buy tickets for her Eras tour, using tents and a meticulously planned schedule. Every artist has their fans, but Swifties seem preternaturally devoted. It’s why her tour merch has so far made $200 million (£158 million) alone, with 53% of Americans admitting that they themselves are Swifties.

taylor swift and selena gomez are on holiday together
courtesy of Selena Gomez via Instagram//Instagram

No-one can become as successful as Swift without being divisive, but even her critics would have to admit that she’s a force for good, a genuine superstar who - unusually for a woman - few people have many bad things to say about. Her squad - Selena Gomez, Blake Lively, Greta Gerwig, Gigi Hadid - are as loyal as her fandom, each united in the hope that 2023 is also the year she found true love alongside all that world domination. Whether NFL player Travis Kelce is The One remains to be seen: either way, there’ll be a song about it. 'I think I am smart unless I am really, really in love, and then I am ridiculously stupid,' she once said. Ever relatable, ever honest - and the opposite of stupid. Bring on 2024.