Look back at Taylor Swift’s most talked-about moments of 2023, from her Eras Tour to her relationship with Travis Kelce.
Taylor Swift was a big conversation in 2023.
From her widely successful Eras Tour to her newfound romance with Travis Kelce, the “End Game” singer had a huge year, both professionally and personally.
In addition to breaking music and box office records, Swift officially reached billionaire status, Forbes reported in October.
As she continued to solidify her “big reputation” as a pop icon this year, it’s no wonder that she topped PEOPLE’s 2023 Most Intriguing People of the Year list.
In honor of Swift’s 34th birthday, take a look at her most talked-about moments from 2023.
Her Eras Tour
Talk about starting the year off with a bang! After making headlines with her record-breaking Ticketmaster presale in October 2022, excitement rose to a fever pitch when the sold-out tour kicked off.
The tour, which started on March 17 in Glendale, Arizona, took fans on a musical journey as Swift played 44 songs from her career in 3 hours and 13 minutes. From special guests to nostalgic costumes that paid tribute to her many musical eras, the tour quickly captivated Swifties and critics alike.
With concert dates still running into 2024, Swift has already broken the record for the highest-grossing music tour ever surpassing $1 billion in revenue, per Guinness World Records.
Her Historic Wins
Just shortly after kicking off her Eras Tour, Swift was honored for her achievements in music with the iHeartRadio Innovator Award in March. As she accepted her award on stage, she gave her fans some valuable advice, telling them to “give yourself permission to fail.”
Later that year, Swift continued to dominate award season (and make history in the process). As she attended the MTV VMAs in September, she took home a historic nine awards, including video of the year and artist of the year. The feat meant she was now tied for most wins in one night and second-most overall wins to Beyoncé, who holds the title with 26.
Her Re-Recordings
In addition to taking fans on a musical journey with her Eras Tour, Swift continued to release her re-recorded albums to regain control of her masters. Swift certainly had fun with the rollout process as she announced Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on stage in May and August, respectively.
“You know how I love to plan things, and how I love to surprise you with the things I plan. It’s my love language with you — I plot, I scheme, I plan and I get to tell you about it,” Swift told the crowd as she unveiled the artwork for Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) during her Nashville show.
Similar to her past re-recordings, the 2024 albums featured brand-new songs from the vault and guest artists such as Fall Out Boy and Paramore’s Hayley Williams on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
The re-recording of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) became her most commercially successful
Her Star-Studded Music Videos
With the new singles from Midnights and her re-recorded albums, Swift was able to deliver a number of star-studded music videos in 2024. Though it seemed hard to top all the celebrity cameos in “Bejeweled” last year, Swift did just that with the music video for “I Can See You” in July.
The Easter egg-riddled video from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) features several notable faces from Swift’s past, including Presley Cash, Joey King and Taylor Lautner, as they pull off a heist to break out “Speak Now Taylor” from the vault. As Swift debuted the music video during her Eras Tour, she surprised fans by having the trio join her on stage.
The reunion between Swift and Lautner, who briefly dated in 2009, sent social media ablaze as the singer sweetly introduced him on stage. “He was a very positive force in my life when I was making the Speak Now album, and I want to say he did every single stunt that you saw in that music video,” she said of the Twilight alum, who fittingly entered the stage by doing a backflip. “He and his wife have become some of my closest friends, and it’s very convenient because we all share the same first name.”
Of course, that wasn’t Swift’s only epic team-up this year. In May, Swift released a remix of her hit Midnights song “Karma” featuring Ice Spice, which she also debuted during the Eras Tour. She even had the rapper join her on stage as she performed the song in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Her Fashion Easter Eggs
We all know Swift loves her Easter eggs, and she really played it up this year. As Swift teased the release dates for her re-recorded albums, fans caught on to many hidden clues in her clothes, including a recycled purse from her Speak Now era and her all-blue looks during her Eras Tour before she announced 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Additionally, she jam-packed her music videos with fashion Easter eggs. In her “Karma” music video specifically, Swift donned a Medusa chain necklace by Versace, alluding to all the snake imagery from her Reputation era and a Dorthy Gale-inspired dress as a nod to her debut album.
Her Relationship with Travis Kelce
Amid her many professional highs, Swift’s personal life also was in the spotlight in 2023 as she started dating Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce. After attending Swift’s Eras Tour in July, Kelce put Swift “on blast” on his podcast as he revealed that he tried to give Swift his number in the form of a friendship bracelet.
As the internet laughed off Kelce “shooting his shot” with Swift, the two secretly connected behind the scenes, with the singer later recounting to Time that she thought Kelce’s actions were “metal as hell.”
The two eventually broke the internet in September 2023 as Swift made a surprise appearance at Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs game, watching the game from Kelce’s suite alongside his mother Donna. After going public with their romance the following month, the two have wasted no time giving glimpses of their blossoming love story, including sweet quotes about each other in interviews and publicly supporting each other’s career endeavors.
Her Kansas City Chief Game Appearances
Not only was Swift’s relationship with Kelce a topic of discussion, but her appearances at his games quickly made headlines as well, especially as the NFL spotlighted the singer during the football broadcasts and on social media.
Swift attended games with friends including Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Sophie Turner, and even her outfits generated buzz as people tried to track down her vintage Kansas City Chiefs gear.
While viewership soared as Swifties tuned in to the games, some football fans criticized the NFL for its coverage of Kelce and Swift, noting that the NFL appeared to show favoritism toward one team over another.
Like many other things in her life, Swift “shook off” the haters, telling Time her presence at the games was for one primary purpose. “I’m just there to support Travis,” she said, adding, “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads.”
Her Eras Tour Film
Swift decided to take her show from the stage to the screen with her Eras Tour film. Just like the actual tour, the film quickly broke records, setting a single-day ticket sale record for AMC and a 2023 sales record on Fandango.
The film’s premiere took place on Oct. 12. with Swift shut down The Grove in Los Angeles to play the film at multiple theaters in the shopping mall. In addition to gracing the red carpet in a 1989-esque blue dress and her classic red lip, she snapped selfies with some of her loyal fans who had been standing and cheering for her arrival outside.
Even since its release on Oct. 13, the film has continued to make headlines. During its three-day opening weekend and Thursday night previews alone, The Eras Tour became the highest-grossing concert film of all time, beating out Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never, which earned $73 million total over the course of its 2011 domestic run. Most recently, the film earned Swift her fifth Golden Globe nomination as it scored a nod for cinematic and box office achievement.
Her Star-Studded Friend Group
As Swift’s 1989 songs got a second life with her re-recorded version of the album, her famous “squad” from that era also had a resurgence. Throughout the year, Swift made several notable appearances with her celebrity friends, including celebrating the Fourth of July with her “independent girlies,” cheering on Kelce with her A-list guests and grabbing dinner with her pals in New York City.
While Swift hung out with many of her longtime friends such as Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Sophie Turner and Blake Lively, she also made a handful of new friends thanks to Kelce. Most notably, Swift made connections with the partners of Kansas City Chiefs players, including Patrick Mahomes’ wife, Brittany Mahomes, with whom she was regularly spotted sitting in the box at football games.
Her Friendship with Beyoncé
People couldn’t get enough of Swift’s friendship moments this year, but the internet was really buzzing about her close bond with Beyoncé. As both superstars had huge years with successful tours and concert films — and social media users tried to pit them against each other — the ladies proved they “both have crowns” as they publicly showed their support for one another.
Following Beyoncé’s surprise appearance at Swift’s Eras Tour film premiere, the “You Need to Calm Down” singer posted a sweet tribute to Beyoncé, calling her a “guiding light” in her career. “I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without @beyonce‘s influence,” Swift wrote. “The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms. Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility. She’s been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale. 😇🙏🥹.”
As Beyoncé released her own concert film for Renaissance, Swift showed her support as she attended the London premiere in November. During her cover story for Time‘s 2023 Person of the Year, Swift further reflected on their friendship, calling Queen Bey “the most precious gem of a person,”
“She’s such a great disrupter of music-industry norms,” the “Cruel Summer” singer continued. “She taught every artist how to flip the table and challenge archaic business practices.”
In the interview, Swift also opened up about how challenging it was to see some on social media compare their equally acclaimed, record-shattering Eras and Renaissance tours. “There were so many stadium tours this summer, but the only ones that were compared were me and Beyoncé,” she said. “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.”