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There\u2019s no doubt this has been Taylor Swift\u2019s year. Just 34 years old, the American singer songwriter has been in the music industry for more than half her life. She\u2019s a multi-award winning performer whose diehard fans have helped her break all sorts of records.

Time Magazine\u2019s 2023 Person of the Year is also the most streamed female artist on Spotify and Apple and this week she achieved a record 90 weeks at number 1 on the US Billboard Artist 100 chart.

Swift\u2019s Eras tour, which began in March this year and concludes at the end of 2024, has become the first to gross over $1 billion. Wherever Swift\u2019s concerts land, they bring a big boost in the local economy.

Host James Reynolds hears about Swift\u2019s appeal from those with a professional and personal interest in the singer-songwriter. They include the first full-time Taylor Swift reporter and also the professor who is about to start teaching a \u2018Taylor Swift and her World\u2019 course to students at Harvard University.

We also meet fans - or Swifties - from across four continents about why her songs are so special.

\u201cI was in the southern most part of Africa,\u201d says Agape, who is from Cape Town and currently studying in the UK. \u201cBut I felt, even in her song lyrics, like she was writing for me or about me.\u201d\n\xa0\nA Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team.