Billboard's Women in Music Awards Honors Doechii, Erykah Badu and More
'It's a night to celebrate the womb of the world… The womb of life,' Erykah Badu said, as she accepted the Icon award at Billboard's Women in Music event on Saturday. 'The wombiverse of all things. The smartest creature on planet earth. The wisest, the most invincible, sexiest, purist, finest – the woman.' Badu's speech also had a funny anecdote about 'the vagina' being the most important thing on the planet, but she made the biggest impression with her outfit, a 'full figure form' costume 'imagined' by herself and engineered and built by designer/artist Myah Hasbany.
View the to see embedded media.
The "booty suit," as Hasbany called it on her Instagram, lit up in strategic regions when Badu performed her classic, 'Annie,' live on stage, and it was a sight to behold in person, with some calling it a 'cultural reset' for stage wear.Badu's performance and acceptance speech wasn't the only attention grabbing moment on stage at the event, which took place at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood.
The annual event brings together women from the music industry (both recording artists and behind the scenes figures) to celebrate their achievements and impact. This year, producers, songwriters, managers, and even moms had their moment to shine alongside some of the biggest names in music. Tina Knowles, mom to Beyonce, Solange, and, as she addressed at the event, a mother figure to Kelly Rowland and the girls in Destiny's Child as well, spoke of her influence on the singing group when it got its start and exploded onto the music scene. 'Thank you Billboard for thinking about mothers because a lot of times we're forgotten,' Knowles said in her acceptance speech. 'There is no formal training class to prepare you for the most important job that you will ever have in your life. You will most likely screw up sometimes. I know I did…'Knowles also spoke of her input, both in terms of dress up and creative collaboration, noting that mothers are often a huge part of their kids' success. She dedicated her award to her mom, Agnes, and 'all the mothers who have supported their kids in their dreams.'
Another heartfelt moment at the two hour event included Angela Aguilar, who received the Breakthrough Award and sang a rousing version of the Spanish-language classic 'Cielito Lindo' with female mariachis on stage behind her. The daughter of beloved Mexican singer Pepe Aguilar got emotional as she accepted her award stating that 'this year almost destroyed me,' speaking about immigrant women's 'sacrifice and resilience' and raising her voice for women 'whose voices don't always have a platform." She reminded the live and streaming audience (via Vizio TV) that despite adversity, her fellow Latinas will continue to move forward with hope and determination.
Laverne Cox hosted the uplifting event Saturday and other honorees included GloRilla with the Powerhouse Award; Gracie Abrams with Songwriter of the Year Award; JENNIE (from Blackpink) with the Global Force Award; Megan Moroney with the Rulebreaker Award presented by Crown Royal Whisky; Meghan Trainor with the Hitmaker Award; Muni Long with Rising Star Award presented by Honda Stage and Tyla with the Impact Award presented by Bose.The biggest excitement was audibly near the end of the night when K-pop sensation Aespa accepted their award for Group of the Year. The foursome also returned to the stage at the end of the show to close it out, which had their fanbase in the balcony seats screaming non-stop. Long, Moroney, Tyla and Abrams also performed.
Disappointingly, recent Grammy winner, Doechii who took the last award of the evening honor, Billboard 2025's Woman of the Year Award, did not perform. Still, her speech was inspiring. It was just two years ago that the rapper accepted Billboard's Rising Star award, and she noted how far she's come, stating she lost her shoe that night performing and had to hop to the stage to accept it. "That moment really reflects how I've approached my entire career which is always go full out, always go hard and always be fab," she said, addressing her full circle perspective. "I stand here as a serious ally."Doechii also noted that "lack of inclusion and sexism are unfortunately still an issue in this industry," adding that events like Saturday's awards are still much needed. "This is our m*therf*cking night to come together and acknowledge each other, to support each other and to celebrate!" Check out the red carpet fashion below (photos courtesy of Billboard) and more extensive recaps of the event at Billboard.com.
View the 15 images of this gallery on the original article
Get the latest news delivered to your inbox daily! Sign up for Los Angeles Magazine's The Daily Brief below or click here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
40 minutes ago
- Forbes
Aerosmith's Future Is Uncertain, But The Band's Still Charting
What does the future hold for Aerosmith? As a band, it's tough to predict. The group announced a farewell tour in May 2023, only to cancel it shortly after when lead singer Steven Tyler damaged his vocal cords. At the time, the rockers stated they'd never tour again — but just months later, Aerosmith performed together once more. While there's been no official mention of brand new music, members have hinted that nothing is impossible. It may be a long time before the world gets to hear something fresh from Aerosmith…and there's a big question mark around such a topic. Until any news is shared, the hits that once propelled the superstars to the top of the charts remain standards in the rock world, and they're still helping the band climb. This week in the United States, Aerosmith scores a top 10 album. Greatest Hits climbs three spaces on Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart, rising from No. 13 to No. 10. The ranking lists the most consumed projects in the hard rock genre, blending both sales of the full-lengths and EPs and streaming activity, which is usually especially important when it comes to singles-packed sets like this one. The same compilation also appears on two other tallies — and in both cases, it's on the rise. On the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart, Greatest Hits pushes to No. 37, meaning it's a top 40 win on two of the three rankings it occupies. The project also moves up five spots to No. 149 on the Billboard 200, which ranks overall consumption across all music styles. Greatest Hits has spent nearly the same amount of time on all three of those tallies, which suggests that since its debut, it has managed to largely hold on across the three lists, like a number of other popular collections from legendary bands with catalogs full of smash singles. The compilation is now up to 88 weeks on the Billboard 200 and 93 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. Aerosmith also scores a smash once again in America, as 'Dream On' reappears on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart. This frame, the tune returns at No. 24 on the 25-spot tally. 'Dream On' has spent significantly more time on this list than Greatest Hits has on any of the rosters it currently appears on. The track has now racked up 252 frames as one of the most-streamed hard rock cuts in America — and it has previously reached No. 1.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Queens of the Stone Age Couldn't ‘Over-Rehearse' for Paris Catacombs Concert Film: ‘You Go Down There & All the Plans Are Off'
Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme has some sage advice for anyone who finds themselves in a difficult situation. 'If you're going through hell,' Homme says, 'keep going.' More from Billboard Queens of the Stone Age Announce 'Alive in the Catacombs' Concert Film, Album Billboard & Global Venture Partners Launch Billboard Africa Here's What Fans Think of SiR Claiming Drake Had His 2024 Toronto Show Canceled Easy for him to say: He's one of the few lucky souls who has left the Paris Catacombs, the subject of his band's new film and the final home to more than 6 million deceased Parisians following an 18th-century effort to fix Paris' overcrowded, dilapidated cemetery system. Homme has long been fascinated by the underground burial site, visited by more than a half-million people each year, and chose the dark and foreboding underground capsule as the central motif for Queens of the Stone Age's new project Alive in the Catacombs, a concert and concept film directed by Thomas Rames and produced by La Blogothèque. 'This place is like trying to run on a sheet of ice,' Hommes explains in the accompanying documentary Alive in Paris and Before, shot by the band's longtime visual collaborator Andreas Neumann. 'You have no idea how much time has passed up there, up above, and no time has passed below. It's the same time, all the time, every time.' It's easy to get lost in the maze-like film as it wanders through the subterranean tunnels and ossuaries buried deep beneath the City of Light. The film captures Homme at a low point in 2024, having to cancel a major European leg of the band's tour due to a cancer diagnosis from which he has since recovered. Performing in the Catacombs had been a lifelong dream of Homme's, and he pushes though the pain to delivery a carefully arranged performance of music from the band's back catalog, 'stripped down bare, without taking away what made each one wonderful,' band member Dean Fertita explains in the documentary. The band recruited violinist Christelle Lassort and viola player Arabella Bozig to repurpose tracks like 'Paper Machete,' 'Kalopsia' and 'Villains of Circumstance'; while each song was performed acoustically, Homme was adamant the project not simply feel like 'Queens of the Stone Age Unplugged.' 'When you go into the Catacombs, there are 6 million people in there, and I think about, 'What would you want to hear if you were one of those people?'' Homme said Wednesday night (June 4) during a Q&A in Los Angeles following a screening of the film. 'I'd want to hear about family and acceptance and things I care about. A lot of the songs we picked are about the moment you realize there's difficulty and the moment you realize you're past it, so a lot of the songs we picked were about letting the people down there know it's all right and that we care about them.' Homme said the challenges of the performance was that unlike a traditional concert where the band plays to the audience, 'We're in the belly of this thing. The ceiling is dripping and it's an organic thing that's really dominating.' The Paris Catacombs were built during a time of great upheaval in French society, as revolution completely reshaped civic life and laid siege to the political fabric of the French monarchy. There are no coffins or headstones in the Catacombs, with the bones of the princes and kings mixed with peasants and non-nobility. The band shot the entire film in one day, Homme said, securing permission from the historical group that oversees the Paris Catacombs to shoot on a day the space was closed to the public. 'We didn't over-rehearse; we just rehearsed twice,' Homme said. 'It's not supposed to be perfect. You try to make a plan, but you go down there and all the plans are off.' Fans can preorder the film in advance on Queens of the Stone Age's website; fans who order the video before Saturday will also receive the mini-documentary film. Watch the trailer below: Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jimmy Barnes Drops ‘DEFIANT' Album Ahead of Australian Tour: Stream It Now
Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes has released his 21st solo studio album DEFIANT, just one day before launching a national tour across Australia. Out now via Mushroom Music, DEFIANT arrives after a difficult period for Barnes, who has undergone multiple surgeries in recent years, including a life-threatening heart operation. Despite the challenges, the Cold Chisel frontman says the new 10-track set carries a message of resilience. More from Billboard Queens of the Stone Age Couldn't 'Over-Rehearse' for Paris Catacombs Concert Film: 'You Go Down There & All the Plans Are Off' Billboard & Global Venture Partners Launch Billboard Africa Here's What Fans Think of SiR Claiming Drake Had His 2024 Toronto Show Canceled 'Nobody lives this long without copping some knocks and I've taken my fair share, particularly lately,' he said in a press statement. 'But none of us can control what life throws at us. We can only control how we respond — and for better or worse, I've never liked to take a backward step.' While he didn't intend for the album to take on a particular theme, Barnes says that in hindsight, DEFIANT reflects a consistent message. 'I didn't set out to do it deliberately but now that the album is finished, I can see there's a recurring theme about the satisfaction you can get from fighting back. That's why it's called DEFIANT.' The album marks his first new project since 2022's Blue Christmas and follows a career that includes a record-breaking 15 solo No. 1 albums on Australia's ARIA Albums Chart — more than any other artist in ARIA history. He's also notched five more chart-toppers with Cold Chisel, making him a singular force in Australian rock. 'I'm ready to rock!' Barnes said. 'All of the songs on DEFIANT are made to play live and I can't wait to blow the roofs off with them in my live set.' 'I'm really looking forward to getting back on stage with my band again. I'm so proud of this new record – all the songs mean a lot to me and I can't wait to share them with you. It's going to be some serious fun!' The Defiant Tour kicks off June 7 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre and will continue through major cities including Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, wrapping in Canberra later this month. In addition to the album and tour, Barnes will appear on the debut season of That Blackfella Show, billed as Australia's first national First Nations variety show. The series is filmed in front of a live studio audience and features a lineup that includes rapper BARKAA, comedians Steph Tisdell and Dane Simpson, and broadcaster Abbie Chatfield. DEFIANT is available now on all streaming platforms. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
