Music News

Billboard Names Ariana Grande Woman of the Year

NEW YORK — Music news magazine Billboard has named Ariana Grande its 2018 Woman of the Year. The award-winning singer, songwriter, actress and activist will accept the honor at the 13th annual Women in Music dinner and awards ceremony on December 6 in New York City. The event, held in conjunction with the release of Billboard’s Women in Music issue, will also honor the most powerful female executives in the industry.

“Ariana Grande is a star on her own terms, never bending to any particular musical trend or path in the industry,” says Billboard’s VP of Content, Ross Scarano. “Certain in her convictions, she consistently stands up for herself and her decisions in a world that often isn’t hospitable to that sort of strength in young women. She’s got guts, she’s making some of the best music of her career, and she’s absolutely deserving of Woman of the Year.”

Over the past year, Grande has continued to assert herself as one of popular music’s indispensable superstars, with Top 40 hits including “No Tears Left To Cry,” “Breathin'” and “God Is A Woman.” All three singles come from Grande’s critically acclaimed 2018 full-length, Sweetener, which became her third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 albums chart and scored the largest streaming week ever for a pop album by a female artist upon its release.

She also made news with her short-lived engagement this year to Saturday Night Live comic Pete Davidson.

Grande has also used her formidable voice to support worthwhile causes: earlier this year, she participated in March For Our Lives in support of gun control legislation, and has been a staunch advocate for mental health awareness, gender parity and the Black Live Matters movement. Last year, Grande helped organize the One Love Manchester benefit concert in response to aid the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, broadcasting to 50 countries and raising more than $23 million.

With 10 career Top 10 hits and a combined 6.4 million equivalent album units earned to date, Grande is a premier pop personality, an in-demand arena headliner and a role model to young women around the world. Grande was previously honored with the ‘Rising Star’ Award at Billboard’s 2014 Women in Music event.

Billboard’s Woman of the Year award has become one of the music industry’s highest honors. Previous artists named Woman of the Year include Selena Gomez, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift.