Taylor Swift Named Billboard's 'Woman of the Year'

Don't get us wrong, 1989 was an important year for Taylor Swift. Not only was it the year she was born, but it also inspired the title of the same name for her latest, record-breaking album. This said, we can't help but dub 2014 as Swift's hallmark year, and it's no surprise that she's just been announced as Billboard's Woman of the Year — for the second time, no less. From her monumental career feats — she most recently scored the best first-week sales for an album since 2002 — to her charming, yet uncompromising attitude, she's truly the whole package.

In her cover story, Swift sounds off on controlling her image, being a songwriter just as much as a singer, and her artistic integrity. Naturally, she had plenty to say about the latter.

"I remember all the sit-downs in the conference rooms... they said, 'Are you really sure you want to do this?'," Swift recalled to Billboard. "Are you sure you want to call the album 1989? We think it's a weird title. Are you sure you want to put an album cover out that has less than half of your face on it? Are you positive that you want to take a genre that you cemented yourself in, and switch to one that you are a newcomer to?' And answering all of those questions with 'Yes, I'm sure' really frustrated me at the time -- like, 'Guys, don't you understand, this is what I'm dying to do?'"

The magazine also spoke to Swift's industry BFF Lorde, who deemed the country-turned-pop-singer a life coach of sorts.

"Taylor is like this force of protective energy," Lorde said. "She looks after everyone she knows. We're both interested and involved in the workings of the industry. I have this thing in my head that she should do seminars -- 'Swift's 13 Steps' or something."

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