The 5 best and 5 worst Taylor Swift moments of the year
Callie Ahlgrim
- Taylor Swift was the biggest star of 2023.
- With triumphs like The Eras Tour and "1989 (Taylor's Version)," Swift has earned her cultural dominance.
Taylor Swift was easily the most dominant cultural force of 2023.
With a record-breaking tour, a box-office smash, and a steady flow of new music — not to mention the ever-bright spotlight on her personal life — news about Swift has become virtually inescapable, even for the uninitiated. She was recently named Person of the Year by Time and hailed as "the last bastion of monoculture" by Vogue.
However, not all of Swift's headlines have been flattering. Given her influence, talent, and alarmingly devoted following, it can be easy to forget (or willfully ignore) that Swift is a real person with flaws and blind spots.
Even as a self-proclaimed Swiftie, I try to resist the trap of celebrity worship. In every fandom, there should be room for both praise and critique. The unrivaled reach and power that Swift has accrued, especially this year, makes it even more important to hold her accountable.
In this spirit, I rounded up the biggest highlights and letdowns that came with being a Swiftie in 2023.
The Eras Tour was the defining pop-culture event of 2023.
With just one line in the outro of a deep cut, Swift created a symbol of femininity, joy, and the shameless embrace of sentimentality: "Make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it." Such is the power of her songwriting.
As many culture critics have already pointed out, The Eras Tour personifies the importance of girlhood. But it's not just about handmade jewelry. It's about every lyric Swift has written that makes people feel seen, every memory she has committed to music — whether it's a teenage crush, a twentysomething heartbreak, or an adult epiphany. The Eras Tour is designed to honor all feelings and celebrate all phases of life, however "cringe" or passé they may seem now.
The emotional triumph of The Eras Tour has fueled its financial success. This, in turn, has fueled many other feats worth applauding.
The first US leg of the tour, which kicked off in March, significantly boosted the country's economy. With each new stop, Swift made a large donation to local food pantries. She also made sure her own team was taken care of, distributing bonuses that reportedly total more than $55 million.
The tour's openers are also reaping the benefits. Swift has shared her massive stage with hand-picked supporting acts, almost all of whom are openly queer, including Phoebe Bridgers, MUNA, beabadoobee, Gayle, and girl in red.
Swift and Beyoncé joined forces and shut down worthless comparisons.
Despite their distinctive strengths and skills, some people remain obsessed with comparing Beyoncé and Swift — an utterly unproductive habit that only worsened in 2023 due to both women touring in stadiums simultaneously.
Thankfully, the women in question were having none of that nonsense. Beyoncé was on hand to support Swift for "The Eras Tour" movie premiere; Swift returned the favor when "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé" arrived in theaters weeks later.
Swift also gushed about Beyoncé when she was interviewed for Time's Person of the Year issue.
"She's the most precious gem of a person — warm and open and funny," Swift said of Beyoncé. "And she's such a great disrupter of music-industry norms. She taught every artist how to flip the table and challenge archaic business practices."
"Clearly it's very lucrative for the media and stan culture to pit two women against each other, even when those two artists in question refuse to participate in that discussion," she added.
Swift struck a deal with AMC to release "The Eras Tour" in theaters, possibly setting a new precedent.
Speaking of "The Eras Tour" movie, it's another example of Swift bucking norms and forging a new path through the entertainment industry — hopefully one that inspires another generation of musicians.
To bring her tour to the silver screen, Swift bypassed the major movie studios and struck a distribution deal directly with AMC (after getting permission from SAG-AFTRA, of course).
The unconventional decision allowed Swift's team to maintain creative control and keep a larger chunk of the profits. Amid the dual Hollywood strikes by the actors' union and writers' union in 2023 — which were both frustrated with huge payouts for studio executives and little compensation for creatives — Swift's deal was no less than revolutionary.
"Ultimately I did what I tend to do more and more often these days, which is bet on myself," Swift told Time. And why shouldn't she? "The Eras Tour" broke box-office records for concert films.
Her friendship moments with Sophie Turner were both heartwarming and juicy.
Swift blessed us with plenty of pap walks in 2023, usually in New York City with a gaggle of gal pals. But her intentionally visible outings with "Game of Thrones" star Sophie Turner were by far the most compelling.
Swift began to step out with Turner after the actor announced her divorce from Joe Jonas, whom Swift also dated as a teenager.
As an adult, Swift has rarely made public statements about any of her romantic partners, but this was as close as she's gotten to her old habit of putting ex-boyfriends on blast. Swift made it clear that she stood by Turner, a clear vote for girl power — and a delicious throwback to juicier days of the Swiftie experience.
Swift released "1989 (Taylor's Version)" with some of her best vault tracks yet.
Swift has been prolific throughout her career, but especially since she launched the "Taylor's Version" series in 2021. By rerecording and rereleasing her first six albums, Swift aims to reclaim ownership of the music she doesn't legally control.
This year, Swift announced the second coming of "1989," which already had a lot to live up to. The original, released in 2014, spawned three No. 1 singles and won album of the year at the Grammy Awards.
Luckily, "1989 (Taylor's Version)" lived up to the hype. When it arrived in October, it included five excellent vault tracks, each adding a new layer of intrigue and vulnerability.
In fact, the final song in the set has already earned its place in the pantheon of pop showstoppers, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Is It Over Now?" was also named Business Insider's third-best song of 2023.
Unfortunately, "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" was less successful.
"Speak Now" was originally released when Swift was 20 years old. It's still one of her best albums, but the rerecorded version definitely has some missteps. The vault songs are mostly OK, not phenomenal — but it's the tweaks made to the original tracklist that really fall flat.
Most notably, Swift decided to change the lyrics of "Better Than Revenge," a fan-favorite emo-pop banger that takes aim at an ex's new girlfriend.
Instead of "She's better known for the things that she does on the mattress," Swift now sings, "He was a moth to the flame, she was holding the matches."
On paper, it makes perfect sense why Swift would want to erase the original line. It reeks of slut-shaming and doesn't align with her current brand of feminism. (When reached for comment about the switch, a representative for Swift cited a scene in the 2020 Netflix documentary "Miss Americana," in which Swift notes her struggle to "deprogram the misogyny in my own brain.")
However, I would argue that changing it now does nothing to atone for a teenage girl's internalized misogyny.
Most of us were still working through these harmful, gender-biased instincts when we were young and angry. Instead, Swift could've used "Better Than Revenge (Taylor's Version)" as a teaching moment — to own up to her mistakes and acknowledge the harm she may have caused.
Whatever Swift was doing with Matty Healy was a mess.
At first, I felt fine about Swift reconnecting with Matty Healy. There had been rumors about those two for years, and Swift's surprise cameo at The 1975's concert back in January (where she debuted the live version of "Anti-Hero") was an early clue about their shared artistic spark. I saw the vision.
However, even I can't deny their fling was a mess. Healy immediately came under fire for a string of satirical stunts and questionable comments — worst of all, an appearance on the "Adam Friedland Show," during which he engaged with casual racism.
After about 33 days of pure chaos, Swift and Healy emerged from their public relationship with little more than angry think pieces and bruised reputations.
Her new status as a billionaire is disappointing at best.
If you're at all familiar with the inequality crisis that plagues this country, this one should be self-explanatory.
No individual should be able to hoard $1 billion when the average American can't support themselves with a minimum-wage job. And sure, the very existence of billionaires is a policy failure more than anything, but there's a reason Swift hasn't acknowledged her financial status.
Swift's pursuits as a billionaire have also wreaked havoc on the environment, according to reports. The superstar continues to face scrutiny over the constant use of her private jet, which leaves a massive carbon footprint. ("Taylor's jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals," a rep for Swift said in a statement. "To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect.")
Swift failed to use her platform to promote social change, even with causes she has claimed to value.
In "Miss Americana," Swift confronts her reputation as an apolitical pop star. She grapples with the psychological damage of striving to be "a good girl," craving approval and applause, and how that fed her reluctance to speak up for progressive causes.
She also pledges to do better moving forward, proclaiming, "I feel really good about not feeling muzzled anymore."
The documentary arrived amid Swift's "Lover" era, which she used as a platform to champion LGBTQ+ rights. The music video for "Me!" (featuring pansexual singer Brendon Urie) is a rainbow-covered celebration of individuality. In the album's second single, "You Need to Calm Down," she gives a shout-out to GLAAD and denounces homophobia. The music video, which sees Swift moving into a trailer park full of out-and-proud celebrities, ends with a call to sign the Equality Act. Swift echoed this call when she won video of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Swift explicitly aligned herself with the queer community for months, only to drop the torch when it got too hot.
This year, we've seen catastrophic losses in the fight for equality, with 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bills becoming law across the US — including in Swift's native Tennessee. The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest gay-rights organization, even declared a state of emergency.
Other musicians like Kelsea Ballerini and boygenius (who opened for Swift in Nashville) have taken a stand against bans targeting drag queens and trans people. By contrast, Swift's comments have been mostly vague.
During Pride Month, she told fans that her tour is a "safe space," but only alluded to the wave of harmful legislation: "I wish that every place was safe and beautiful for people of the LGBTQ+ community." More recently, she encouraged people to vote, but didn't say for who.
To be fair, Swift did warn us about this when she released her hit single "Anti-Hero" ("Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism like some kind of congressman?").
Tragically, a fan died at one of Swift's concerts in Brazil.
Ana Clara Benevides Machado, 23, attended an Eras Tour stop in Rio de Janeiro. Likely due to record-high temperatures in the stadium, she lost consciousness and was later pronounced dead. (The cause was reported as cardiac arrest.)
Let me be abundantly clear: We have no reason to believe Benevides Machado's death was caused by any kind of negligence on Swift's part. All evidence points to Swift and her team prioritizing health and safety during The Eras Tour.
Upon hearing the news, Swift said she had a "shattered heart." According to Time, she also spent time with Benevides Machado's family before leaving Brazil.
Honestly, I debated whether to include this tragedy in a roundup that also discusses movie sales and dating mishaps. But if I'm claiming to name the "worst" moments in Swift's orbit this year, it would feel wrong to omit this. Benevides Machado deserves to be remembered.
I sincerely hope her family can find some peace, and I hope artists, venues, and organizers will continue to be vigilant — so that no one has to fear for their life at a concert ever again.
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