Iconic singer, songwriter, and producer Dr. Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, which means that she turns 34 years old on Wednesday (December 13).
2023 became a very significant year for her as she launched her much-anticipated Eras Tour, released the "Taylor's Version" of some of her albums, and confirmed her much-celebrated relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.
As a way of celebrating Taylor Swift's 34th birthday, HNGN looks back at 13 moments that defined her in the year 2023.
Eras Tour
For at least a few months of the year, Swift has not been in the headlines, but since the start of her Eras Tour last March, she has been a sensation not only for her fans but also for most observers in multiple points of interest, with USA Today reporting that her show shattered records.
The Eras Tour was the most memorable experience for Swifties fortunate enough to secure a ticket to her concerts. It was during these shows that the tradition of fans wearing their favorite Swiftie era - based on her albums, including her "Taylor's Version" re-recordings - as well as the exchange of "friendship bracelets," some of which were worn by Virgin Galactic passenger astronaut Kellie Gerardi at the edge of space.
As for the international leg of the Eras Tour, many major cities were sidelined due to the high demands of Swift's performances. But in some places where she would be performing, she added several shows - particularly in Australia and the UK.
But not all was smooth sailing in the tour, as at least one woman died due to heat stroke in Swift's Rio de Janeiro leg. The death prompted Swift to postpone the rest of her shows in Rio, and upon resumption, paid tribute through her song "Bigger Than the Whole Sky."
Eras Tour Concert Film
In relation to the Eras Tour and how difficult it was to get into her shows, Swift decided to document the US leg and directly distribute them to cinemas worldwide, apparently as a way of appeasing her fans who would not be able to see her live.
And her American fans managed to crash the AMC app in a mad dash to get a ticket to the concert film.
By the time the Eras Tour concert film was being negotiated by Swift and cinema distributors, the screen actors union SAG-AFTRA was on strike. It was reported that Swift, herself a member of the union, managed to meet SAG-AFTRA's demands over the release of the concert film.
The Los Angeles Times added that the film would be available for on-demand streaming on Wednesday.
Swifties Cause Mini-Earthquake
In one of the more interesting facets of the Eras Tour, Western Washington University geologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach managed to record a simulated 2.3 magnitude earthquake created by Swifties in Seattle who were dancing to "Shake It Off" in Swift's two shows in the city last July.
"I grabbed the data from both nights of the concert and quickly noticed they were clearly the same pattern of signals," she told the Seattle Times at the time.
Tay-Tay Has Most Billboard Hits
By late July, Billboard announced that Swift's single "Cruel Summer" managed to reach the top of its Pop Airplay chart, four years after the song was released as part of her 2019 album "Lover."
The song broke a four-way tie between herself, Maroon 5, Rihanna, and Katy Perry, who each had 11 tracks to the top of the Pop Airplay chart, with "Cruel Summer" being Swift's 12th overall.
She only tied the three other artists recently after her "Midnights" singles "Karma" and "Anti-Hero" spent some time at the top of the tally earlier this year.
Matty Healy Breakup
The latest man who broke Swift's heart was The 1975 vocalist Matty Healy after a close friend of the pop singer confirmed the end of the short-lived relationship.
The confirmation came three days after Healy was seen kissing a male security guard at a concert in Denmark. A source said Swift "had fun with [Healy], but it was always casual."
Prior to her relationship with Healy, Swift was in a six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn.
Scooter Braun Loses Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato
In August, Billboard reported that Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato announced they were separating from their long-time manager Scooter Braun.
It could be recalled that Swift had a saga of bad blood with Braun over the ownership of Swift's master recordings, which prompted her to re-record every single album she had prior to "Lover," known by her fans and observers as the "Taylor's Version" series.
Grande and Lovato followed Swift and Colombian star J Balvin, who initially signed with Braun in 2019 but left in May to transfer to Roc Nation.
Read Also : Taylor Swift Recalls 'Career Death' Moment After Kim Kardashian Released Infamous Kanye Phone Call
Elon Musk Requests Swift to Post Content on X
In September, Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who owns X, the social media formerly known as Twitter, faced criticism for asking Swift to post music and concert videos directly to the platform.
It was said that Musk made the request shortly after Swift promoted the "Taylor's Version" of her 2014 album "1989."
However, Swift did not respond to Musk's offer.
Sophie Turner Turns to Swift After Divorcing Joe Jonas
On October 8, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner announced their divorce after four years of marriage.
In the aftermath of the breakup and the bitter custody battle for her two daughters, Turner posted a photo of her wearing a friendship bracelet with the caption "Fearless," and showing a reunion with her old friend, Swift, at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to watch an NFL game between the New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The two later went on a girls' night out in New York City.
Album Re-Releases
Last June, Swift released the "Taylor's Version" of her 2010 album "Speak Now," which reportedly enlisted the help of other famous artists, such as Hayley Williams of Paramore and Fall Out Boy.
"Since Speak Now was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most powerfully as a lyricist at that time and ask them to sing on the album," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter, during that time.
In October, she also released "1989 (Taylor's Version)" as the fourth of her six-part series of re-recordings.
Aside from the re-releases of her old songs, she also released five exclusive bonus tracks only found in the "Taylor's Version," which were labeled as "From the Vault."
Taylor Swift Joins Billionaire Club
With the massive success of all her endeavors for 2023 - from the Eras Tour to the concert film to two Taylor's Version releases - the Bloomberg Billionaires Index reported that Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour contributed to an estimated $1.1 billion to her fortune, officially making her a billionaire, a rare feat for performers.
SeatGeek director of growth marketing Chris Leyden said at the time that Swift was "rewriting the playbook of entertainment economics."
"She's not just a performer - she's an economic phenomenon," he added.
Spotify's 2023 Global Top Artist
By late November, Spotify announced that Swift was its 2023 global top artist, with over 26.1 billion global streams on the app since January 1.
In its 2023 Wrapped report, Spotify revealed that the singer had a dominating presence in all of its musical lists, evident of which was her unseating Bad Bunny after holding the top spot for three years in a row.
"Cruel Summer" and "Anti-Hero" were the top six and ten songs globally this year, respectively, while "Midnights" and "Lover" were ranked second and seventh top albums globally.
Swift was also hailed as Apple Music's 2023 Artist of the Year and nominated for six Grammys
Time Person of the Year
Earlier this month, Time Magazine revealed Swift as its Person of the Year, making her the very first performer to ever win the annual title, which was traditionally awarded to world leaders - including 14 US presidents, five leaders of the Soviet Union and Russia, and three Popes of the Catholic Church.
"Every year contains light and dark; 2023 was a year with significant shares of darkness," Time editor Sam Jacobs told The Hollywood Reporter. "In a divided world, where too many institutions are failing, Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light. No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well."
Swift bested several geopolitical and pop culture figures for the title, including Barbie, the Hollywood strikers, King Charles III, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and the prosecutors of former US President Donald Trump.
People also named Swift as 2023's Most Intriguing Person last week.
Swift-Kelce Romance: From 'Fun Girl' Era to Fangirl Era
Wrapping up the list is Swift confirming her relationship with Kelce.
Rumors of the two dating each other first surfaced in late September, when Travis Kelce's older brother Jason allegedly hinted at the rumors in a sports podcast.
E! reported at the time that speculations of a dating relationship between Swift and Kelce began over the summer after the latter attended the former's Kansas City leg of her Eras Tour and attempted to make his advances, including the attempt of giving Swift a friendship bracelet.
In the aftermath of the spill, an insider familiar with the matter said that Swift found Kelce "very charming," which also positively affected attendance and interest in NFL games, particularly with Kelce's team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
The rumors were confirmed when Kelce attended Swift's Buenos Aires leg of the Eras Tour, prompting Swift to make flirtatious gestures towards him throughout the show, especially during the song "Karma."
After the show, fans managed to record Swift running towards Kelce's arms and exchanging a kiss in the view of some of the audience.
Over the weekend, Swift and Kelce were spotted hanging out in Missouri after the Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills in Sunday's (December 10) NFL game.
A source close to Kelce told Us Weekly that he was looking to surprise Swift with a birthday party in New York City.
Related Article : Taylor Swift Reveals Extreme Eras Tour Training!
