TIME Person of the Year 2018 voting opened: Details here
What's the story
The voting for the TIME Person of the Year 2018 is open, and of all contenders, South Korean boy band BTS is leading the readers' poll right now with 10% of total votes - 3% higher than the Thai Cave divers who rescued trapped children. In third place is South Korean President Moon Jae-in, followed by Planet Earth (burned by climate change). Here's more.
Notable contenders
Notable contenders for this year's award based on polls
Based on popular votes (at the time of writing), notable contenders for TIME Person of the Year 2018, apart from the aforementioned candidates, include Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Brett Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford, Michelle Obama, Undocumented Children, Lady Gaga, and Meghan Markle. Following Markle are Robert Mueller, Serena Williams, Colin Kaepernick, Simone Biles, and Justin Trudeau to make up the top 15.
Other contenders
Other contenders for this year's reward
Other notable contenders, not based on readers' polls, are US President Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Kim Jong-un, Pope Francis, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, Xi Jinping etc. Dubious contenders (in my opinion), are abound too, with contenders such as Ariana Grande (seriously?), Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Kanye West, Cardi B, and the like. Sign of the times, one might say.
History
A brief history of the TIME Person of the Yer
For those unaware, the TIME Person of the Year award is being handed out since 1927, and goes to individuals/entities who, for better or worse, have dominated news and have had major influence on the events in a year. However, while readers can vote in the readers' poll, that only serves as a reflection of public opinion. The ultimate call remains in the hands of TIME editors.
Range
The award has gone to all sorts of people, entities
It should be noted, however, that the award for TIME Person of the Year has always faced somewhat of an identity crisis. The list of winners have ranged from Mahatma Gandhi to Adolf Hitler, from Joseph Stalin (twice) to Martin Luther King Jr. Computers, and The Endangered Planet Earth too, have won. Last year, the #MeToo Silence Breakers won. The year before, it was newly-elected US President Donald Trump.