Taylor Swift Praised by Hayley Williams, Tim McGraw & More Stars after being named people most intriguing person of the year

According to the publication, Swift earns this year’s honors for her “record-shattering” Eras Tour, Taylor’s Version rerecords and public intrigue-generating relationships with both her famous friend group (Selena Gomez, Sophie Turner, Gigi Hadid and others) and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. But for Carpenter, a pal of the “Anti-Hero” singer and one of several Eras openers, the secret to Swift’s magic is her ability to connect with fans — although her cookie-making skills don’t hurt either.

“She’s able to connect with every single person in the crowd, like she’s singing to them personally,” the “Nonsense” singer told the publication. “And offstage she is still a superstar, but she’s a superstar who’s really good at baking.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time with her, and I’ve never seen anyone wait on her,” Aaron Dessner, a frequent collaborator of Swift’s, added. “When I have stayed at her house, Taylor herself was cooking everyone breakfast and dinner. She’s legitimately just a very down to earth and hard-working person.”

One of Swift’s former country music peers — and the namesake of her 2006 debut single — Tim McGraw also gave his thoughts on Swift’s character. “She knows when, where, how to promote [her work], but she also knows when, where, how to be normal and be a human just living her life,” he said.

Unsurprisingly, the 12-time Grammy winner is cropping up on quite a few year-end lists. Not only was she named the top artist of 2023 by both Spotify and Apple Music, but she was also recently declared Forbes‘ fifth most powerful woman in the world. The latter publication estimated that she’s ending the year with a net worth of $1.1 billion, comprised of $500 million from royalties and touring, $500 million from her music catalog and some $125 million in real estate.

Swift also scored two new No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 this year — “Is It Over Now?” and “Cruel Summer,” which reached its peak four years after its release — and topped the Billboard 200 for five weeks. And, her Eras Tour film became the highest grossing concert movie of all time — but even with all of that in mind, Hayley Williams thinks it’s only the beginning for the superstar.

“I’m almost afraid to say it,” the Paramore frontwoman told the magazine, “but I kind of think she’s just getting started.”