In 2022, it had a man of the year, President Volodymyr Zelensky. This 2023, Time magazine considers the singer Taylor Swift “person of the year”. The hundred-year-old American magazine highlights on its cover for these dates someone (many times, politicians) who has had a great impact during the year, who has starred in the news, either positively or negatively (Hitler had the title, although not the cover, in 1938; Stalin, in 1939).
The Ukrainian president took the news for the invasion of his country by Russia. For a war in Europe that still lasts. The artist from the United States (he turns 34 tomorrow) has earned the title for his commercial success. It is, for example, number 1 in the Spotify charts, displacing Bad Bunny, the most listened to, apparently, for three years in a row – yes, there was a pandemic, but how repetitive!–. Although this did not earn the Puerto Rican the title; Time highlighted those years Greta Thunberg, Joe Biden and his vice president and Elon Musk.
Swift’s replacement of Zelenski should not be seen as trivialization. Like everyone, Time has to do its balancing act, men, women, positive impact, negative, politics, culture… And really, the more than 26.1 billion streams of Swift’s songs on Spotify will have reached more people than the speeches that Zelenski, tirelessly, has given for the world. Who doesn’t prefer music to war. For this reason, it would be perfect if the relief reflected a new, happier stage, in which we can live a little more carefree. Some enjoy being the Christmas Grinch, but most don’t.
However, no one would be surprised if the person of the year was Benjamin Netanyahu or Hamas, personifying another year with wars. Or Sam Altman, father of ChatGPT (elected CEO of the year with his famous dismissal-reinstatement) who represents the overwhelming advance of AI, which has us in our hearts.
How has 2023 been? Except for Pedro Sánchez, those who live from tourism, those from Girona and some others, normal? No big milestones, a lot of political struggle, the economy that is suffering but has not collapsed… Perhaps there would be a desire to end 2023 already if the conviction reigned that 2024 will be a year more Swift than Zelenski.