It is almost time to say goodbye to 2023, a year which has been phenomenal as far as music lovers are concerned. Besides fabulous new music from accomplished and new singers, this year has seen epic world tours, record-shattering concert films, massively successful festivals, exciting collaborations, unexpected comebacks, band reunions, popularity of new genres of music and the emergence of new stars on the music horizon. Before we bid adieu to a musically robust and trendsetting year, here’s taking a look at the biggest newsmakers in music, ranked in order of importance not just by their earnings and chart positions, but also by the impact and influence they generated through their work globally in the last 12 months.

Taylor Swift

Entering the year on a high following the massive success of her 10th studio album Midnights, Taylor Swift continued to enjoy unprecedented success the whole year through. Her Eras Tour of the Americas, which saw a colossal demand for tickets, was recorded as the second-highest-grossing tour of all time. The tour is said to have given a boost to the US economy by more than $5b. Swift also made headlines for her short-lived, rumoured relationship with The 1975 singer Matty Healy. The relationship was subject to much media and public scrutiny because of Healy’s controversial standpoints on sensitive subjects and fans heaved a sigh of relief when the relationship “ended”. The pop megastar also created waves for her re-recorded album releases — Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in July and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in October. Both releases caused fan hysteria and broke chart and sales records soon after they dropped. Her concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opened in theatres in most countries in October. By November the film was announced the highest-grossing concert film of all time. In September, she once again made news when she apparently confirmed her relationship with American football star Travis Kelce. The duo later made several more public appearances together. The superstar also won numerous music awards throughout the year sweeping most award ceremonies, including the Billboard awards, the VMA awards and MTV awards.She also took home a Grammy for best music video for All Too Well: The Short Film. She also shattered Billboard and Spotify records. Swift was named the most-streamed artiste of 2023 by Spotify and Apple Music at the end of November, unseating Bad Bunny who held both positions in 2022. With her current net worth estimated at more than $1b, American business magazine Forbes named Swift as the fifth most powerful woman in the world and the most powerful woman in the world of entertainment. As a definitive icon of contemporary pop culture, she was also announced Time magazine’s Person of the Year.