The Billboard Women in Music Awards 2023 had been hosted by Quinta Brunson and held on Wednesday (March 1) in Inglewood, California. The occasion, which honored Lana Del Rey<\/strong><\/a> with the Visionary Award, featured appearances by Kim Petras, Rosal\u00eda, Olivia Rodrigo<\/strong><\/a>, and extra.<\/p>\n Who higher to honor this yr\u2019s Visionary than Rodrigo, who was final yr\u2019s Woman of the Year? \u201cLana has raised an entire generation of music lovers and songwriters like me,\u201d Rodrigo mentioned, \u201cand taught them that there\u2019s beauty in their vulnerability and power in their melancholy.\u201d She even spoke about Del Rey\u2019s \u201cVideo Games,\u201d including, \u201cI still consider that song to be probably the best love song of all time. She captures sadness, anger and sensuality in a way only the greatest of songwriters ever could.\u201d<\/p>\n Lana started her speech by saying, \u201cWe made it. Well, I\u2019m not much of speech person either. Olivia Rodrigo \u2013 I really don\u2019t deserve her giving me this wonderful award. She\u2019s so endlessly glamorous and talented I cannot tell you how much it means that someone who wrote \u2018Drivers License\u2019 is standing next to me. Thank you, John Janick [CEO, Interscope] for giving me the friendship of Olivia and also Billie [Eilish] and all the wonderful artists on the label. Thank you Carole Kinzel for being here with me and my besties Jen Stith and Alex Kaye, who choreographs my show.\u201d<\/p>\n Kim Petras<\/strong><\/a> was additionally honored with the Chartbreaker Award and supplied up a stirring efficiency of her single \u201cBrrr.\u201d after being offered the Chartbreaker Award. Petras additionally appeared notably enthused as she danced alongside to the show-ending efficiency of \u201cMoonlight Sunrise\u201d from Ok-pop superstars TWICE.<\/p>\n During Petras\u2019 speech, she mentioned, \u201cGrowing up I would question what rooms I would be put into and what boxes I would be put into \u2014 and I\u2019m grateful it\u2019s this one\u2026People should be able to decide what to do with their bodies to reach true equality.\u201d Doechii<\/strong><\/a>, TDE\u2019s first feminine rapper, was honored with The Rising Star Award and supplied up a rousing mash-up of her show-stopping singles \u201cPersuasive\u201d and \u201cCrazy.\u201d The efficiency was so intense that Doechii even misplaced a shoe. \u201cGirl, I done danced my shoe off!,\u201d she mentioned with a chuckle to kick off her speech.<\/p>\n Along with trailblazing artists, the awards additionally honored feminine executives within the trade, who’ve made important strides within the music enterprise resembling Jane Gowen, Executive VP of Product Development and Marketing, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), the worldwide catalog firm of Universal Music Group.<\/p>\n In 2022, two main UMe purchasers debuted on the Billboard 200, The Beatles and Norah Jones, with deluxe releases of Revolver<\/em><\/strong><\/a> and Come Away With Me<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (twentieth Anniversary), respectively. By yr\u2019s finish, UMe had seven of the highest 20 catalog albums on the chart. Beyond the charts, Gowen shared with us the largest lesson she discovered to get to her place.<\/p>\n \u201cRespect!,\u201d Gowen mentioned. \u201cI have learned the power of giving and receiving respect is so important, both on the way up and how I now manage a large team. It\u2019s enabled me to be myself and I love seeing that in others. I take great pride in seeing our team members grow into executives and flourish with the passion for the industry that I still have.\u201d<\/p>\n When it got here to the profession milestone she was most pleased with, Gowen spoke about her early days at Virgin Records.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my early days of working for the Virgin label in the UK, I was privileged enough to work as part of the team that worked with The Spice Girls<\/strong><\/a> and witness their global domination and creation of Girl Power! This eventually led me to have the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and continue my career here. My next career milestone was transitioning into the catalog business for EMI which eventually led to my current role at UMe. It was a new challenge and one that has been the most challenging in so many ways. It\u2019s an honor to have the responsibility of my role in marketing our amazing catalog at UMe. Recently, I had a \u2018moment\u2019 when I attended the Elton John Farewell Show at Dodger Stadium and how lucky I am to be in the business doing what I love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside of their celebrated efficiency, TWICE<\/strong><\/a> was additionally honored with the Billboard 2023 Women in Music Breakthrough Award, which Sabrina Carpenter offered to the Ok-pop group.<\/p>\n