Musical talent, sharp business mind, hard work, sociable behavior with fans plus close, easy-to-listen, easy-to-feel music… have made pop superstar Taylor Swift an idol. of American youth and is a rare phenomenon in American life, according to VOA research.

In 2032, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour created an unprecedented craze in the US, sweeping across major cities. Wherever Taylor Swift went, audiences flocked to see her, stadiums were empty and ticket websites collapsed because they couldn’t handle the large number of ticket buyers.

‘Eras Tour’ grossed about $2.2 billion in ticket sales in North America alone, according to data from research firm QuestionPro cited by CNN.

Taylor Swift’s shows even create a boost for the local economy with hotel, restaurant, and travel services.

And she was also recently honored by Time magazine as ‘Person of the Year’ for 2023. The magazine explained that Swift was chosen because she has a way of bringing hope to people around the world in desperate times. dark power.

“Though her popularity has grown steadily over the years, this is the year that Swift, 33, has had a breakout year: both art and commerce have come together to unleash an energy of historic power. Time commented.

“No one else in the world can move so many people at this time,” Time wrote.

“Achieving this feat is something we often attribute to fate, but talking too much about fate is to miss her ability and charisma.”

Not only in giant stadiums, Taylor Swift’s appeal also spreads to movie theaters across America. In its opening weekend, the musical film titled ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ grossed approximately $96 million in ticket sales in the US and Canada, making it the highest-grossing musical film in the industry. countries in the first week of showing, according to AMC, a movie theater system in the US.

Additionally, Swift broke her own Spotify record by becoming the most-streamed singer in a day in Spotify’s history, as ‘1989’ (Taylor’s version) became the most-streamed album. Spotify’s best in a day this year.

‘Learning model’

Talking to VOA from Orange County, California, Mira Minh Chau Doan, a student studying communication disorders at California State University in Fullerton, said she has listened to Taylor Swift’s music since she was a child.

And during the COVID-19 pandemic, because she had to stay at home more, she listened to Taylor Swift all the time and became a ‘hard’ fan of this singer, according to her.

When asked where she ‘ends up’ Taylor Swift’s music, Mira said that she and her friends find what is told in Taylor Swift’s songs ‘very close to them’.

“Taylor writes about human experiences, very real experiences,” she told VOA in English because she does not speak Vietnamese well, and said her favorite Taylor Swift album is ‘1989’.

Also a singer who often performs on stages in the Vietnamese community, Mira said Taylor Swift ‘inspired her’ because she was also learning how to write music.

“Sometimes there are emotions that I can’t express in words that I can put into music,” she added, saying she is a big fan of Taylor Swift’s songwriting talent in terms of both lyrics and melody. tune.

She said she really dreams of going to see the Eras Tour show, but the affordable tickets cannot afford to buy them and the remaining tickets are too expensive and out of the reach of students, so until now she has not had the chance to see it. In return, she went to the theater to watch ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ which she said was ‘very good’.

Regarding the personality of this pop star, Mira considers her ‘very humble compared to someone with a high status in the world like Taylor Swift’.

“Even though she can ignore the fans and only focus on performing, she always treats her fans like friends and makes time for them. It’s a very warm feeling,” she commented. “No matter how successful she is, she is very approachable and always grateful to the audience.”

Mira also appreciated Taylor Swift burning her heart out on stage. “She always performs 100%, she never gets tired,” she said.

This student admitted that she sees Taylor Swift as a role model for her to learn and imitate. She said she learned from Taylor ‘talent, ethics and sharp business sense’.

“She’s a marketing genius, and she knows how to work without burning out while ensuring she always delivers the best content to her audience,” she added.

Therefore, Mira Minh Chau Doan believes that Taylor Swift becoming person of the year is ‘extremely worthy’.

When asked about Taylor Swift’s campaign for young people to vote, which was criticized by some Republicans, Mira said ‘she will follow Taylor Swift’s words now and in the future’.

“I’m only 19 years old, I haven’t had a chance to vote yet, but in the next election I will definitely go,” she expressed.

“I’m very happy that Taylor made that call. It helps me know that voting is very important and that I must be a good citizen of America.”

Not only her, but her friends of the same age also admire Taylor Swift very much. Mira said that she has a cousin of the same age who listens to Taylor Swift music together, goes to see movies about Taylor Swift together, and often arguing with each other about songs or telling rumors about this pop star’s love life, like ‘girls gossip to each other’.

‘Admiring the talent’

Mr. Minh Pham, a UCLA bachelor of science in biochemistry and currently studying preparatory studies to prepare for a master’s degree in medicine, also agrees that Taylor Swift “completely deserves” to be voted “Person of the Year” by Time. ‘.

“I really admire Taylor Swift because she has real talent,” Mr. Minh told VOA from Westminster, Orange County, California, and pointed out that Taylor Swift just received an honorary doctorate in arts from the University of California. New York.

Mr. Minh said he has been listening to Taylor Swift’s music since he was in college. “At night before going to bed or when studying, playing Taylor Swift’s music is very cute,” he said.

According to him, the content of Taylor Swift’s songs sounds “very true to my student mood because I was in school or dating.”

“The lyrics are innocent and carefree, the melody is mellow and easy to feel, and the voice is very natural,” Mr. Minh commented, saying that Taylor Swift’s works ‘all have their own mark, you will know it when you hear it’.

“She told stories about her childhood and the countryside, which sounded very real.”

Regarding Taylor Swift’s call for fans to vote, Minh Pham said ‘it’s a good thing’ because ‘citizens must exercise their right to vote’ and Taylor Swift is just using her position with fans to call on them. do the right thing.