Ivy Queen Accepts Icon Award at 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards: Full Speech

La Diva, La Potra, La Caballota, la Reina del Reggaetón. Ivy Queen goes by many nicknames because she is a true icon and a genre pioneer. On Thursday (Oct. 5), the Queen — who wore an elegant black velvet dress with a touch of sheer — accepted her Icon Award at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards, presented to her by Yandel.

The award recognizes the Puerto Rican superstar, a pioneer of reggaetón, as an artist who has carved out a career that has remained relevant through time.

“It’s a great night for me and for my family in a genre that has taught me many things,” she said while accepting her award. “One of the greatest things is not to sell my essence, to stand firm despite the thousands of stones that got in my way from the beginning.”

She continued: “This is a genre that also taught me to embrace my masculine side, because when I started in this genre I had to battle with males and not with females. I want to think that I can pick each one of these flowers while I am alive, and you don’t know the immense pride I feel knowing that there are more women on the stage because I say that I did my job as it should be.”

Celebrated globally for achieving both musical and commercial success, Ivy Queen’s career spans nearly 30 years. She earned her first entry on a Billboard chart with “Quiero Bailar,” which peaked at No. 16 on the Tropical Airplay chart in July 2005, and, a few months later, scored her first No. 1 on that tally with “Cuéntale.” She boasts 20 entries on Latin Rhythm Airplay, the third-most among Latina artists; 400 million on-demand official streams in the U.S., according to Luminate; 560,000 albums sold in the U.S.; and 584,000 song downloads.

The 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards featured performances from Bad Bunny, Calibre 50, Chiquis, Eddy Lover, Eladio Carrión, Farruko, Grupo Frontera, La Factoría, Los Sebastianes, Manuel Turizo, Marc Anthony, Marshmello, Myke Towers, Nicki Nicole, Olga Tañon, Pepe Aguilar, Peso Pluma, Sky Rompiendo, Sofía Reyes, Ximena Sariñana, Yandel and Yng Lvcas.

Check back to Billboard.com throughout the night for the latest news on performances, special awards and more.

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