Barbenheimer, M3GAN, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and more make EW's 2023 Entertainers of the Year list

What a wild year it’s been making, writing about, and even just consuming pop culture this year. Then again, what recent year hasn't been wild?

But while much of the industry shut down during the historic double strike, there was still an endless amount of incredible entertainment to keep us all busy while the writers and actors hit the picket lines to fight for the future of their industry.

Superstars somehow found a way to shine even brighter. (Cheers, Bey and Tay.) The Barbenheimer phenomenon dispelled any notion that the movie theater experience is dead — as the patron saint of AMC, Nicole Kidman, has been telling us for two years now. And we're enjoying the 90-minute Amazing Race and Survivor episodes. But a large part of the year came and went without proper celebration of so many big breaks and moments in representation. (Cheers, Blue Beetle and Red, White & Royal Blue stars.)

Well, the contracts are ratified and Hollywood is back to work. Soon enough, we here at EW will be hearing acceptance speeches in our sleep after covering the 972 awards shows coming in the new year. But before that deluge of statues and sequins, we offer up a few accolades of our own — a celebration of those we couldn't get enough of, tributed by their celebrity fans.

Here are EW's 2023 Entertainers of the Year.

Barbenheimer

She's Barbie, he's just Oppenheimer. That could have been the narrative as Warner Bros. pulled out all the stops to saturate the globe in pink ahead of Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig's portrait of not-so-fantastic life in plastic.

Oppenheimer explodes while Barbie bombs. That could have been the narrative as Christopher Nolan fans forced movie chain owners to convert theaters into IMAX 70mm arthouses ahead of the director's epic biopic.

Unlike all the movies that moved to avoid competing with Taylor Swift's concert film, Warner Bros. and Universal stood their ground and were willing to go head-to-head for box office dominance. But, instead, something almost (to evoke Nicole Kidman again) magical happened: In a world that has become increasingly binary when it comes to everything from politics to fandom, an overwhelming majority of moviegoers asked themselves, "Por que no los dos?"

The result was a phenomenon of double feature weekends, fans dressing up to screen both visually stunning films — Barbie lifting Oppenheimer's profile and vice versa. Sure, Barbie ran away with the box office, but Nolan's opus sits just two positions lower on the worldwide charts as of mid-December. And their friendly competition helped lead an almost $2 billion increase from 2022's domestic box office numbers, rejuvenating faith in the future of the moviegoing experience and perhaps saving cinephiles from a life of strictly at-home streaming releases.

When will we see something like Barbenheimer again? Maybe never. But, damn, we had high hopes for a "Saw Patrol" movement in late September...

Kelsea Ballerini, tribute by Chase Stokes

Something Kelsea has really been good at since the beginning of her career is keeping her authenticity as a songwriter and really honoring and staying in that lane. She always tries to tell stories in a way that feels really truthful to her and it seems to resonate with the rest of the world and I think we saw that with Welcome Mat in particular, wearing her heart on her sleeve.... Read more.

Beyoncé, tribute by Gabrielle Union

That first night, we didn't bring the kids but it was like… we turned into 12-year-olds. We got there early and just watched all the people fill in, all the people that wanted to be there early to see all the different kinds of people coming together in community. You looked out and the crowd looked like the world, and it was just so powerful. You saw so many people who were a billion percent free.... Read more.

Sasha Colby, tribute by RuPaul

Sasha Colby is every woman. Performer Extraordinaire? Check. Trans Advocate? Check. Drag Mother? Check. Spiritual Warrior? Check. Sex Goddess? Check. Even before she was crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar, Sasha's talents and achievements were legendary.... Read more.

Ayo Edebiri, tribute by Rachel Sennott

I've had the privilege of working with and watching Ayo write and perform in a huge range of settings. We met while filming a friend's sketch in college and I was blown away by her. She was so funny in even her smallest actions but also so real and committed. I spent the entire shoot trying not to break with laughter.,,, Read more.

The cast of Jury Duty, tribute by James Marsden

It made me really happy when I met Ronald [Gladden] the first day. The only way this show was going to work is if it's somebody like this — he came in with such a lively spirit and a positive attitude and a smile on his face. The show was designed to create a hero's journey for somebody, and he did that perfectly. But beyond that, he kept surprising us with how perfect he was to be a candidate for this.... Read more.

M3GAN, tribute by Brian Jordan Alvarez's TJ Mack

Brian Jordan Alvarez channeled his social media character TJ Mack for a video tribute to the actor's M3GAN costar: Hello, this year I would like to introduce you to one of the most important people of the year. Her name is Megan and she is a robot and she is just AI and is very intelligent and she was just one of the big star of the year and she had a lot of fight with Allison William.... Read more and watch the video.

Pedro Pascal, tribute by Troy Barker

The thing about Pedro is that he's just so damn good in everything that he's done. And we were fortunate enough to be able to get him at such a time after Narcos, after Game of Thrones, right after The Mandalorian, and people are just loving him. No one's saying, "He's in too much." They're like, "We want more of him".... Read more.

Taylor Swift, tribute by Owenn

On the "Lover" shoot, I got to play her my music, and she helped me with a lot of stuff. And I remember thinking, I want to go on tour with her. I want to open for her. At the time, Lover Fest was about to happen — but then the pandemic happened. But I never let that go.... Read more.

The Vanderpump Rules cast, tribute by Matt Rogers

I don't think so, honey... if you don't think Vanderpump Rules proved it was television's greatest reality show this season. If you thought — in the words of the legendary Scheana Shay — that it was all happening before this season, the Scandoval said "You're a worm with a mustache!" a.k.a., you're wrong. What began as Guy's Night at the Mondrian — five words that chill me to my core — started a true reality television moment in culture.... Read more and watch Matt Rogers' video tribute.