Time magazine announces 100 most influential list

NEW YORK, April 18 (UPI) -- Rapper Jay-Z, tennis star Li Na and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., are on Time magazine's list of the world's most 100 most influential people, announced Thursday.

The issue, due on newsstands Friday, will feature seven different covers bearing the likenesses of Jay-Z and Paul, as well as actress Jennifer Lawrence, SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai on five covers for U.S. distribution. Li and Indian filmmaker Aamir Khan are featured on some U.S. covers, USA Today reported.

U.S. President Barack Obama is on the annual list for a record eighth time.

Vice President Joe Biden; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.; Miami Heat star LeBron James; Chinese President Xi Jinping; North Korean leader Kim Jong Un; first lady Michelle Obama; and entertainer Justin Timberlake are all making return appearances on the list.

The list also includes singers Christina Aguilera and Beyonce, actors Bryan Cranston and Daniel Day-Lewis, and late-night TV host Jimmy Fallon.

The issue features essays by some of those on the list about others who made the cut.

TV talk show queen Oprah Winfrey wrote "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes "is a story­teller for our times. Courageous in her approach to the work, she's never played by other people's rules. ... She creates an assemblage of worldly foibles and aspirations. She understands that every dream is valuable and every identity deserves inspection through the looking glass of television."