Awards
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We’re just days away from Billboard’s 2025 Women in Music event, which is set to take place Saturday, March 29, at YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California. Hosted by Laverne Cox, the event will honor influential women in music, spanning artists and industry leaders, with performances, awards and tributes.
Honorees Aespa, Ángela Aguilar, Erykah Badu, Gracie Abrams, Megan Moroney, Muni Long and Tyla are also set to perform at the event.
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Tina Knowles is set to receive the Mother of the Year Award, which is entirely fitting. She’s the mother of not one, but two past Women in Music honorees. Beyoncé was Woman of the Year for 2009. Solange Knowles won the Impact Award in 2017.
The ranks of presenters at this year’s show include several women who were honorees at past Women in Music events. As part of Fifth Harmony, Lauren Jauregui won Group of the Year in 2015. Summer Walker took the Chart Topper Award in 2022. Becky G won the Impact Award in 2023. Victoria Monét won the Rising Star Award at last year’s event.
Billboard’s global partners have expanded Women in Music with new events launched around the world. ANNA, named Billboard Italy Woman of the Year at its inaugural ceremony, and Charlotte Cardin, honored as the Billboard Canada Woman of the Year, will be celebrated as Global Women of the Year.
VIZIO WatchFree+ is the exclusive home to the Billboard Women in Music 2025 live channel and on-demand collection available now through April 5, with the live show airing free on March 29 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on VIZIO TVs and in the VIZIO mobile app. The channel and on-demand collection features in-depth interviews, in-studio sessions with artists, episodic series and more.
VIZIO TV owners can watch Billboard Women in Music 2025 and the live event by opening the WatchFree+ app on their TV. For those who do not have a VIZIO TV, anyone can download the free VIZIO mobile app to their mobile device, click on the WatchFree+ button in the bottom row menu, and tune in to the Billboard Women in Music 2025 channel.
Jazzy will serve as red carpet correspondent, while backstage correspondent Drew Afualo will create behind-the-scenes content throughout the show. Girls Make Beats will host a special DJ performance during the red carpet featuring DJ Princess SC and DJ Sparkle. The red carpet will also feature appearances from Ari Lennox, Ashe, Ava Max, Bella Poarch, Heidi Montag, JoJo Siwa, Kandi Burruss, Keyshia Cole, Loren Gray, Madison Bailey, Queen Naija, Sophia Culpo, Tinashe, Victoria Justice and more.
Join us at Billboard Women in Music 2025 – get your tickets now! Get Tickets → HERE
Here’s the complete list of performers, presenters and honorees at the 2025 Billboard Women in Music event.
Honorees
Doechii, 2025 Woman of the Year Award
aespa, Group of the Year Award
Ángela Aguilar, Breakthrough Award
ANNA, Billboard Italy Woman of the Year
Charlotte Cardin, Billboard Canada Woman of the Year
Erykah Badu, Icon Award
GloRilla, Powerhouse Award
Gracie Abrams, Songwriter of the Year Award
JENNIE, Global Force Award
Megan Moroney, Rulebreaker Award presented by Crown Royal Whisky
Meghan Trainor, Hitmaker Award
Muni Long, Rising Star Award presented by Honda Stage
Tina Knowles, Mother of the Year Award
Tyla, Impact Award presented by Bose
Performers
Aespa
Ángela Aguilar
Erykah Badu
Gracie Abrams
Megan Moroney
Muni Long
Tyla
Presenters
Becky G
Kali Uchis
Madison Beer
Julia Michaels
Lauren Jauregui
Mickey Guyton
Suki Waterhouse
Summer Walker
Tanner Adell
Victoria Monét
Zara Larsson
The 2022 Academy Awards served as the ultimate rollercoaster ride of emotions for Will Smith, who won best actor honors for his role in King Richard, but also delivered the infamous slap across host Chris Rock’s face on stage for jokes made about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.
The actor-rapper received a 10-year ban from the Oscars, and had the option to appeal. The Associated Press caught up with Smith on Monday (March 24), during which he reflected on his actions and explained how he’s planning to move forward.
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“I am looking to be the best human I can possibly be, and I’m gonna take what I get with that,” the 56-year-old said.
Smith has since resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has been apologetic to Rock for slapping him onstage following a G.I. Jane joke about Pinkett-Smith.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris,” Smith wrote in 2022. “I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.”
Rock hasn’t been open to speaking with Smith yet, but didn’t rule out returning as host for the Oscars at some point in the future.
“You never know. This is what I would say, the most miserable people on earth are people that can’t forgive,” the comedian said earlier in March. “And not just people, you have to forgive yourself sometimes, too. So, hey, you never know.”
On the music side, Smith is returning with his first album in 20 years, Based On a True Story. The LP arrives on Friday (March 28), and he’ll be hitting the road this summer for a tour across Europe and the U.K.
“A well opened up inside of me, a well of understanding of art and pain … all kinds of things that I didn’t even know were in there,” Smith told Billboard in January of his rejuvenated hunger for music. “Then after the Oscars, that spiritual investigation continued and a whole world woke up inside that I didn’t even know was there.”
Watch Will Smith talk about his Oscar ban below.
Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words, The Voice, The Daily Show and Variety Power of Women are among the music and entertainment-leaning winners of the 50th Annual Gracie Awards, which seeks to amplify women’s voices, stories, and achievements in media. The winners will be honored at the Gracie Awards Gala on May 20 at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif. Comedian, writer and actress Fortune Feimster is set to host the show.
The Gracie Awards are presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF), which advances women in media through educational programs and scholarships.
Megan Thee Stallion’s documentary debuted on Prime Video on Halloween.
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Individual winners include Keke Palmer for Baby, This is Keke Palmer and Mayim Bialik for Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown.
“For 50 years, the Gracie Awards have honored the storytellers who push boundaries and redefine what’s possible,” Becky Brooks, president of AWMF, said in a statement. “This is more than an awards show—it is a movement that has championed inclusion, representation, and truth in the media. The women we celebrate today are shaping the next 50 years, ensuring that our narratives are not just seen or heard, but felt and remembered.”
The Gracie Awards Gala will be produced by female-owned production companies, and all-female production teams from Do Great Projects and Mythical Creators with Kristin Whalley serving as executive producer.
Local and student award recipients will be recognized at the Gracie Awards Luncheon on June 18 at Cipriani’s in New York City.
Here are highlights of the winners list for the 50th annual Gracie Awards Winners, with a focus on music and entertainment. The complete list of this year’s winners and event details is at www.allwomeninmedia.org.
Television/Streaming National Winners
2024 Paris Olympics on NBC; NBCUniversal; Sports Program; [TV – National]
Descendants: The Rise of Red; Disney+ / Disney Branded Television; Ensemble Cast- Family Programming; [TV – National]
DORA; Nickelodeon; Family Series; [TV – National]
INSIDE EDITION; CBS Media Ventures / INSIDE EDITION; News Magazine; [TV – National]
Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words; Prime Video; Documentary; [TV – National]
Molly McNearney (Jimmy Kimmel Live!); ABC; Writer Unscripted; [TV – National]
Molly Solomon (2024 Paris Olympics on NBC); NBCUniversal; Showrunner Non-Fiction; [TV – National]
The Daily Show; The Daily Show/Comedy Central; Talk Show – Entertainment; [TV – National]
The Voice; Warner Bros. Unscripted Television; Non-Fiction Entertainment – Competition; [TV – National]
Radio National Winners
Amy Brown (Women of iHeartCountry); Premiere Networks/iHeartMedia; Weekend Host / Personality; [Radio – Nationally Syndicated Commercial]
Angela Yee (Way Up with Angela Yee); Premiere Networks/iHeartMedia; Host/Personality; [Radio – Nationally Syndicated Commercial]
Breaking: Don’t Call It Break Dancing; ABC NEWS; Feature/Special; [Radio – Nationally Syndicated Commercial]
Music is Weapon (Thousand Miles Talks About Music); Taipei Broadcasting Station; Non-English Program; [Radio – Nationally Syndicated Non-Commercial]
Digital Media National Winners
Keke Palmer (Baby, This is Keke Palmer); Wondery; Audio Podcast Host – Entertainment; [DM – National]
Legacy Talk with Lena Waithe; Hillman Grad and Lemonada Media; Audio Podcast – Entertainment; [DM – National]
Mayim Bialik (Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown); ICON PR; Audio Podcast Co-host/Ensemble; [DM – National]
The Boar’s Nest: Sue Brewer and the Birth of Outlaw Country Music; Audible and Fresh Produce Media; Audio Podcast – Scripted; [DM – National]
Variety Power of Women; Variety; Website – Entertainment; [DM – National]
Radio Local Winners
Alabama (The Alabama Show); iHeartMedia; Host Morning Drive – Medium Market; [Radio – Local]
From Spirituals to Opera: The Inspiring Journey of Jubilee (Seattle’s Morning News); KIRO Newsradio; Soft News Feature – Historical; [Radio – Local]
Michelle Southern (Southern Rock); Guaranty Media – Eagle 98.1; Host Non-Morning Drive (Music DJ/Personality) Small Market; [Radio – Local]
Behind the Scenes of DJs: Women Setting the Vibe (MPR News with Angela Davis); Minnesota Public Radio News; Feature/Special; [Radio – Non-Commercial Local]
Trisha Yearwood added to her lengthy list of career accolades on Monday (March 24), when she was honored with the 2,805th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, during a ceremony held in Los Angeles.
Media personality Cody Alan, known for his work on SiriusXM and CMT, emceed the event, which honored Georgia native Yearwood’s numerous career milestones over the past three decades, and her journey from aspiring singer to multi-faceted entertainer, singer, author, television show leader, actress and businesswoman.
Two of Yearwood’s friends and fellow country artists, Reba McEntire and Carly Pearce, celebrated her at Monday’s ceremony.
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“What matters is the impact she’s continued to have on this industry, the genre, on me and on all of the next generation of female country artists,” Pearce said.
Pearce recalled several of the kind gestures Yearwood has made to her over the years, including greeting her backstage at the Opry and sending gifts from Yearwood’s line of pet products, for Pearce’s dogs Johnny and June, and inducting Pearce as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
“What a full-circle moment and honor for me to get to be here to help usher in this historic achievement after all the times Trisha has stood by my side,” Pearce said. “She is as beautiful on the inside as she is the outside, and I believe her loved ones would say that she is the same, down-to-earth girl she has always been. I’m grateful to have such a wonderful blueprint for what it means to have an impactful career, but also most importantly what it means to be a good person. In an industry where people will chew you up and spit you out, Trisha is the warm hug. And don’t we all just need a Trisha Yearwood and a warm hug in our lives? This star is one not everyone will achieve, but where you belong.”
Yearwood’s fellow Hollywood Walk of Fame member McEntire recalled first meeting Yearwood at the ACMs in the 1990s, at a party after the show.
“I came by and sat with you and your mom…and I thought, ‘I love her already, she’s sittin’ with her mom,’ cause my mom and I were real close, just like you and your mom,” McEntire said. “Your dry sense of humor and wit won my heart….You were funny and the years just kept going by and we got to hang out and be with each other, we got to sing together and have dinners together. You taught me a lot about cooking on your cooking show and she was like, ‘Oh poor little Reba. I’m going to help her learn how to cook,’” she said with a grin. “And I appreciated that more than you know. But our friendship throughout the years means the world to me, because girls out on the road need a buddy and we are in the country music business where girls stick together. We have fun together, we complain and gripe to each other, because you can’t do that with anybody else, nobody else understands. So congratulations today, I’m thrilled to pieces for you…I love you with all my heart and congratulations.”
Among those in attendance was Yearwood’s husband and fellow country artist and Hollywood Walk of Famer Garth Brooks, who could be seen wiping away tears during the ceremony.
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Steve Nissen introduced Yearwood to the audience and welcomed her to accept her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The ceremony also took place near the iconic Capitol Records building, which also happens to be the place where Yearwood recorded her 2019 album Let’s Be Frank, an album of Frank Sinatra classics.
“This street represents creative genius, innovation, brilliance, recognized by your peers,” Nissen said, before Yearwood was presented with a resolution from the city council of Los Angeles.
Yearwood said, “It’s one of those surreal moments. My team, Team TY, who are all here and who I love, we all talk about being where your feet are and I’m trying to be where my feet are, but it’s very surreal to be here. It’s such an honor and the thing that makes it so special are the people who are here. I see a lot of faces in the crowd, who have been coming to see me since 1991. I love you and you know that, because all I ever wanted to do was to sing.”
To Pearce, Yearwood said, “Carly, your words were so kind. I want to tell you that when I met you for the first time, it was at a CMT Awards show and I just immediately knew that you were genuine. I knew I wanted to be your friend. So it’s been my honor to get to know you a little bit.”
Of McEntire, Yearwood said, “The person that taught me how to do that was the first artist who was so kind to me at an awards show and that was Reba McEntire, who just exemplifies friendship and class. She sent me flowers at my first awards show when nobody even knew I was in the dressing room. I though they were from my mom and dad and then I saw they were from Reba and I’m like, ‘Oh, okay.’ I’m so blessed that you and I have become more than just colleagues, but friends that get to hang out, because you’re right. There’s a misconception that female artists in particular are always climbing at each other and trying to get at each other, but the truth is, we’re all cheering for each other and with each other. This is an example of that. These girls, from every generation of country music, we’re all for each other.”
She also thanked the members of her team, Team TY, saying, “We are a team, I love you so much.” She added, “My family, my sister Beth, who is the crier, more than my husband actually. Her and her husband John are here representing our parents, who I know are here in this moment and just loving every second, especially my mom. She’s loving a star on Hollywood Blvd.” Yearwood continued by thanking her longtime producer Garth Fundis, saying, he is “the man who brought me ‘She’s in Love With the Boy,’ he brought me ‘The Song Remembers When,’ he brought me ‘Walkaway Joe,’” and thanked him for “helping me make my dreams come true.”
She also thanked her husband Brooks, calling him, “the one who has really been a cheerleader and one who, as many accolades and awards as he has won, I never see him get more excited than he does when I receive something. And for all the people who want this for me, nobody wants it more than you and I appreciate you for being my support. We’re down a few stars from each other, but we’ll figure out something, we’ll put out some breadcrumbs or something,” she added, jokingly. “I want to thank you all for taking out your time on this gorgeous day to be here for this star.”
McEntire and Pearce then joined Yearwood to reveal Yearwood’s newly minted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Among the Georgia native’s accolades are three Grammy wins, three CMA Awards, membership in the Grand Ole Opry and the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, the ACM Honors icon award and CMT’s inaugural June Carter Cash humanitarian award. She won her first Grammy for best country vocal collaboration, for a collaborative rendition of the Patsy Cline classic “I Fall to Pieces” with Aaron Neville. She picked up two more wins, for best female country vocal performance (“How Do I Live”), and for best country collaboration with vocals (“In Another’s Eyes”) with husband Garth Brooks.
The Belmont University alumna has amassed numerous hits including her breakthrough “She’s in Love With the Boy,” as well as “How Do I Live,” “XXXs and OOOs (An American Girl),” “The Song Remembers When,” “I Would’ve Loved You Anyway,” “Believe Me Baby (I Lied),” and “Thinkin’ About You.”
Beyond the 15 albums she has released, she is also host of the Emmy-winning Food Network show Trisha’s Southern Kitchen. She’s written four New York Times bestselling cookbooks and has had cookware, furniture and home accessories lines. She also co-owns the Nashville bar Friends in Low Places with Brooks, with menus created by Yearwood.
Ahead, Yearwood is prepping her upcoming new album, which will feature her own work as a songwriter on each of the tracks. She’s previewed the project with the lead song “Put You in a Song.” Beyond her own business initiatives, Yearwood supports a range of charitable causes, including her longtime work with Habitat for Humanity, her support for breast cancer research and her nonprofit Dottie’s Yard which aids shelters and animal rescue causes.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame launched in 1961. Other country artists with with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame include Brooks, Roy Acuff, Clint Black, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Brooks & Dunn, Freddy Fender, Lefty Frizzell, Crystal Gayle, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn, McEntire, Tim McGraw, Buck Owens and Charley Pride.
Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s old-school R&B smash “Luther,” now is in its fifth week atop the Billboard Hot 100, sounds like a natural to receive Grammy nods for record and song of the year when the nominations for the 2026 awards are announced later this year. The song, a nod to R&B legend Luther Vandross, contains a sample of Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 rendition of “If This World Were Mine,” which was originally recorded in 1967 by another legendary pair, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Its multi-format success in 2025 shows that old-school R&B songwriting values can still be embraced in today’s hip-hop-dominated R&B culture.
But while “Luther” may find favor next year with Grammy voters, Vandross had to wait nine years from his first Grammy nominations in 1982 until he finally won. His Grammy track record stood at 0-9 until he finally scored a W with “Here and Now,” which was voted best R&B vocal performance, male in 1991.
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Vandross was nominated for best new artist at the 1982 ceremony, but lost to Scottish pop singer Sheena Easton (who got off to a faster start, with a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, “Morning Train (Nine to Five),” and another top five hit with the Oscar-nominated James Bond theme “For Your Eyes Only”). More surprisingly, Vandross was nominated for best R&B vocal performance six times before he finally won in that category. That’s striking because Vandross is regarded as one of the premier R&B male vocalists of his time, and of all time.
Vandross, who suffered a severe stroke in 2003 and died in 2005 at age 54, won four Grammys during his lifetime. He won four more in the year following his death, including song of the year for “Dance With My Father,” which he co-wrote with Richard Marx.
Vandross isn’t the only R&B veteran who had to wait a good long while to finally win a Grammy. Gaye, who both wrote and recorded the original version of “If This World Were Mine,” had to wait even longer (15 years from the time of his first nomination) to win his first Grammys in 1983. His Grammy track record stood at 0-8 before he finally won best R&B vocal performance, male for his smash “Sexual Healing” and best R&B instrumental performance for an instrumental version that appeared on the B-side of that smash. Tragically, he was killed by his father less than 14 months after his belated double-Grammy triumph.
Vandross and Gaye have nothing on Lionel Richie, whose Grammy track record was a dismal 0-18 before he finally won best pop vocal performance, male, for “Truly,” also in 1983. Richie went on to win album of the year (for Can’t Slow Down) and song of the year (for “We Are the World,” a co-write with Michael Jackson), so we tend to think of him as Grammy royalty, but he had to wait a long while to be admitted to the club.
Lamar’s “Squabble Up” is also a strong candidate for Grammy nods in marquee categories. If either “Luther” or “Squabble Up” wins record or song of the year, coming on the heels of his wins in both categories on Feb. 2 with “Not Like Us,” Lamar would make Grammy history. He would become the fourth artist to win back-to-back Grammys for record of the year (following Roberta Flack, U2 and Billie Eilish), and only the second songwriter to win back-to-back Grammys for song of the year (following Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, who won for co-writing H.E.R.’s “I Can’t Breathe” in 2021 and Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” the following year).
The nominations for the 68th annual Grammy Awards are expected in November. The ceremony is expected in February 2026.
“I consider a hit song one that my 3-year-old knows,” Meghan Trainor says. The 31-year-old pop star and mother of two sons, Riley and Barry, says that her first-born has been jamming to Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” lately and also loves Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus. When her own breakout single, “All About That Bass,” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014, she noticed that the song connected with both young children and adults. “So if I get kids involved in my songs as well as adults, I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s a hit,’ ” she says.
A decade removed from “All About That Bass,” a body-positive doo-wop riff that went viral years before TikTok, the former best new artist Grammy Award winner has fashioned a career as a chart stalwart with all-ages appeal. After her first two albums, 2015’s Title and 2016’s Thank You, produced six top 20 hits on the Hot 100 combined, Trainor spent the rest of the decade releasing one-off singles and collaborations, dabbling in film and TV projects and starting a family with her husband, actor Daryl Sabara. She returned to the Hot 100 in 2022 with “Made You Look,” which spawned a widespread dance trend online and peaked at No. 11, and “Criminals,” from her 2024 album, Timeless, reached the chart last year after serving as the theme song to the hit Netflix drama The Perfect Couple.
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Next on the to-do list for Billboard‘s 2025 Women in Music Hitmaker? Two more kids (“There’s so many dudes here — I want a baby girl”) and, maybe, leveraging her music career into a big-screen debut. “I want to be in a rom-com and then write the song for it,” she says. “Who do I have to talk to?”
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Which of your own hits sticks with you the most?
I love the reactions I get from the audience. There’s nothing harder than when you’re onstage and you’re a songwriter and you’re like, “You don’t know this one?!” And when they do, you see me call out people who know every word. I know “Me Too” is always going to be fun. I know “Lips Are Movin’ ” is always going to be a blast.
BUNDÏ top and bra.
Munachi Osegbu
When you’re in the studio, do you think about what the potential hits will be?
Usually when I’m writing an album, I’ll have one song that’s my favorite and I’ll say, “This is the top girl. This is how I want the entire album to sound like and we need to beat her.” For [the 2022 album] Takin’ It Back, I had “Don’t I Make It Look Easy.” “Made You Look” came after, and every day we just tried to beat it.
Why do you think the TikTok audience loves you so much?
My songs are really hooky. My main thing when I’m trying to write a song is I want you to be able to sing the melody by the second chorus. I think my stuff was just catchy enough that [TikTok users] could use the sound or make a simple dance to it or have fun and show something. I’ve noticed “Made You Look” still being used to sell products. I’m like, “That’s my song!” I still freak out.
Annakiki top, Michael Ngo skirt, Silent Opus jewelry.
Munachi Osegbu
Hearing new artists like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, what do you think a hit sounds like now?
I need you to answer this for me, Sir Billboard, because I’m literally about to start my next album. There’s so many open lanes. Chappell and Sabrina are bringing instruments in and beautiful melodies and taking risks. What Doechii is doing — she’s just changing the world through art and [her] talent is thriving. Going into my next album, I’m nervous but also excited because there’s no more rules.
Is there something to be said about writing for yourself versus working with others?
I love learning from others. I always [say], “Please put me in a room with a better tennis player than me so I can learn more about tennis.” And sometimes going into a session with new people is scary. It’s like blind dating. And then you have to go, “Let’s try to create magic together.” My goal on this album is to find as many writers I love that I can collaborate with. I love Daniel Nigro. I want to work with him so bad. If you’re reading this, that’s my dream. And Andrew Watt. Andrew, pick me, choose me, love me. We would do something magical.
Munachi Osegbu
This story appears in the March 22, 2025, issue of Billboard.
Blake Shelton, Eric Church and Lainey Wilson are the first performers to be named for the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards. Hosted by Reba McEntire, the 60th ACM Awards will stream live exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch on Thursday, May 8 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
Shelton, a five-time ACM Awards co-host, will perform his current hit, the highly apropos “Texas.” The song is currently in the top 20 on both Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay. Shelton is set to release his 13th studio album, For Recreational Use Only, on May 9, the day after the ACM Awards. This will mark Shelton’s first album for BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville, following a long and successful run on Warner Music Nashville. Shelton co-hosted the ACM Awards in 2011-12 with McEntire and from 2013-15 with Luke Bryan.
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Church will perform on the heels of the release of his eighth studio album Evangeline Vs. The Machine, which is due May 2, six days before the show date.
Wilson will perform one year after winning the ACM’s top honor, Entertainer of the Year. Her fifth studio album, Whirlwind, was released in August. It reached No. 3 on Top Country Albums and No. 8 on the Billboard 200, both career highs for the artist.
Nominations for the 60th ACM Awards will be announced on Thursday (March 27). Additional performers, presenters and ACM Awards week will be announced in the coming weeks.
Established in 1966, the ACM Awards is the longest-running country music awards show. The Country Music Association Awards launched the following year. In 2022, the ACM Awards became the first major awards ceremony to exclusively livestream, in collaboration with Prime Video.
The 60th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions (DCP). Raj Kapoor is executive producer and showrunner, with Patrick Menton as co-executive producer. Damon Whiteside serves as executive producer for the Academy of Country Music, and Jay Penske and Barry Adelman serve as executive producers for DCP. John Saade will also continue to serve as consulting producer for Amazon MGM Studios.
This year’s ACM Awards will celebrate six decades of country music. A limited number of tickets to the show are available for purchase on SeatGeek.
DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldridge. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.
In 2019, Priscilla Renea’s solo career was stalled. She had released an album in 2009, and when it didn’t chart, she had turned to songwriting. Her second album, released in 2018, also failed to make much of an impact. So, Renea decided, a rebrand was in order.
For her new moniker, “I picked Melrose at first. That was terrible, a very short phase,” the 36-year-old recalls with a laugh. “Then I quickly settled on [the word] ‘money’ and went through a few last names like Money Jones, Money Smith. But when I heard the 2 Chainz lyric ‘hair long, money long’ [from 2012’s “I’m Different”], I was like, ‘Whoa. That’s it.’ ”
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Two years later, the artist now known as Muni Long hit the jackpot. Her seductive smash “Hrs and Hrs,” initially featured on her 2021 EP, Public Displays of Affection, went viral on TikTok and became the then-indie artist’s first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart. In February 2022, it peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 — and helped her land a contract with Def Jam Recordings (through her own imprint, then called Supergiant, now rechristened Muni Long Inc.). In September 2022, the hit appeared on her debut set, Public Displays of Affection: The Album, and won the artist her first Grammy Award, for best R&B performance, at the 2023 ceremony. At the 2025 awards, she won the same Grammy trophy for “Made for Me (Live at BET)” — and declared onstage during her acceptance speech, “Please stop calling me Priscilla… It’s Muni Long now!”
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Born and raised in Gifford, Fla., Priscilla Renea Hamilton wrote her first song at age 8; at 21, she signed a contract with Capitol. But when her 2009 debut album, Jukebox, didn’t chart, she pivoted to writing — and amassed a string of impressive co-writing credits for Rihanna (“California King Bed”), Kelly Clarkson (“Love So Soft”), Ariana Grande (“Imagine”) and Pitbull (“Timber”). As Christopher “Tricky” Stewart — the Grammy-winning hit-maker who executive-produced Muni Long’s Grammy-nominated 2024 album, Revenge — puts it: “She’s a professional song assassin.”
Genny romper, Wolford tights.
Joelle Grace Taylor
But even with those songwriting successes, her second album as Priscilla Renea, 2018’s Coloured, also failed to gain traction. “I started writing songs to make money because I bought into the [idea of] ‘Well, if you write enough hits, then you can be an artist,’ ” Muni Long says. “I gave it my all… I did so much free work, got stolen from and taken advantage of so many times, so many bad deals. I’d also been the only Black person in the room writing all these pop songs for years. So I quit to focus on me… keeping these songs for myself.”
After her 2022 breakthrough, Long released “Made for Me” in 2023. Buoyed by a viral TikTok challenge and a remix with idol Mariah Carey, “Made for Me” peaked at No. 8 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 20 on the Hot 100. Two Adult R&B chart-toppers, “Make Me Forget” and “Ruined Me,” quickly followed. (All appear on Revenge.)
“She’s real — there’s no facade with her,” Def Jam chairman/CEO Tunji Balogun says. “In an era where things can sometimes feel forced or indirect, Muni is able to take personal experiences and write about them in a way that projects universally onto her fans. She’s just very unfiltered and people appreciate that.”
Dolce & Gabbana dress, On Aura Tout Vu cuffs and earrings.
Joelle Grace Taylor
The artist recently released a new single, “Slow Grind,” that she says is for an upcoming project she’s already working on: “It’s all songs to make love to; I’m a lover girl.” But Billboard’s 2025 Women in Music Rising Star honoree is also taking a moment to enjoy her long-awaited plaudits.
“There are things that you can’t viral your way, relationship your way or accolade your way into,” she says. “This award signifies to me that I’ve reached a place in my transition as an artist from trying and aspiring to now I am doing, I am becoming. And I only have further up to go.”
This story appears in the March 22, 2025, issue of Billboard.
Ángela Aguilar has a tangible presence — even over Zoom. It’s mid-February and the 21-year-old singer is all smiles, almost giddy, as she joins our call from Mexico City, where she’s hunkered down in a studio working on her next album. “You probably didn’t recognize me because it’s a new me,” she says, referencing the shoulder-length, soft chocolate brown style that has replaced her signature short bob. “I do miss being [The Incredibles character] Edna ‘E’ Mode,” she adds with a grin, “but I’m enjoying this new stage.”
The “new me, new stage” goes beyond the new hairstyle. Ángela, the youngest of the Aguilar dynasty — her father is música mexicana icon Pepe Aguilar, her grandparents legendary Mexican entertainers Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre — married fellow regional Mexican superstar Christian Nodal last July in an intimate ceremony in Mexico (a subject she prefers to keep private and not discuss during our interview), and for the first time, she’s producing her own music.
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“I doubted myself a lot because I had never [produced] before, but I’m figuring out what I want my sound to be,” says Ángela, whose father produced all of her previous albums, including her latest, Bolero, which was nominated for album of the year at the 2024 Latin Grammy Awards. “At the beginning I was scared, but now I know that this album is me. It’s also scary to think if it goes well, it’s because of me, but if it goes badly, it’s also because of me.
“This is the first time I’m doing everything myself,” she continues. “I’m taking care of the arrangements, choosing the songs, directing myself vocally.” And for this project, she’s especially focused on supporting other female talent. “Most of the songs on the album are written by Mexican women. It’s a full mariachi album, but it is a little bit different; it has a modern twist, some subgenres in mariachi that you are not expecting me to ever sing.”
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While this may be her first time flying solo, Billboard’s 2025 Women in Music Breakthrough honoree has for a while been on a journey of self-discovery behind the scenes, carefully strategizing how she moves through a genre that has been historically dominated by men. “It’s been a process of trial and error,” she says. “I’m still figuring out who I want to be and what I want to say.”
Her father has consistently encouraged that process. “My dad is the biggest macho ever, but he’ll be like, ‘Vas mijita. You can do it.’ Or he’ll tell me, ‘You’re not singing good enough, you have to be better.’ It prepares you to take on the world.”
Pooneh Ghana
Ángela made her stage debut as a toddler when she joined Pepe at one of his concerts. Five years later, at age 8, she released her first album, a joint set with her older brother Leonardo Aguilar. The two later joined Pepe on back-to-back arena tours when he launched Jaripeo Sin Fronteras in 2018, honoring the jaripeo-style show — singing while riding horses — that their grandparents pioneered. Along the way, Ángela landed three No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart and four top 10 hits on Latin Airplay, including her first No. 1 on that chart, “Por el Contrario,” with Leonardo and Becky G, last year.
“No one really asked me if I wanted to do this,” she says when reflecting on her start in music and her journey from child star to regional Mexican fixture. “It just happened and I’m happy it was that way. When you’re younger, you don’t realize how huge this is. I just thought it was fun getting to dress up and sing with my grandparents or dad and then everyone clapped for me. But when I was around 10 years old, I fell in love with performing and I thought, ‘This is what I’m here for.’ ”
With her grandmother’s vibrant falsetto and a mesmerizing, regal presence onstage, Ángela makes even the difficult skill of singing on horseback look effortless. As might be expected for someone from a family of born performers, she is extremely disciplined and has a strict routine: Besides training to sing on horseback, she sings while running or dancing to build her vocal projection and physical energy. But her diligence hasn’t stopped her talented family from giving her their opinion.
“It’s constructive criticism,” Ángela says with a smirk. “We don’t see each other as often so when we do, it’s like, whoa, they definitely catch me up on their feedback. I’m in the studio working on my new album and I showed my mom one of the songs — it was literally a demo on a voice note — and my mom was like, ‘You have to open your mouth when you sing because I don’t understand what you’re saying.’ And my dad is the same way. It really helps me. I don’t want people to tell me something is good when it isn’t. There’s a lot of yes men in the industry, so the best thing in the world is to have a whole family who is part of this artistic life.”
Pooneh Ghana
Her mother, Aneliz Aguilar, is also her manager, and has been pivotal in helping Ángela navigate the industry. “Having her by my side has saved me,” Ángela says. “She has taken care of me in this industry that is so difficult for young women, so difficult to have your voice heard. She’ll also ask how I’m feeling or if I’m emotionally prepared for something. I mean, she’s my mommy, I love to have her with me. From the dresses she would make for me when I was little to now showing me how to be a woman, I’ve learned so much from her.”
Mid-conversation, another important family member enters the screen. “Look at Gordo,” she says, picking up the family’s Instagram-famous 4-year-old pug. “He’s going to be a dad — my [other] doggie is pregnant, and she will have pugsitos with Gordo. I’m going to be a grandma.” (A couple of weeks after our interview, five adorable pugsitos arrive.) Then she adds with a shrug, “Actually, it’s weird because my dad says Gordo is my brother but he’s having babies with my dog, who is my daughter. I’m not sure what that makes me.”
But for now, figuring out this family tree will have to wait: Ángela is headed back to the studio to keep working on her new album. “I’m getting out of my comfort zone but still honoring my roots and traditions. I just turned 21, so it’s kind of like exploring where I want my career to take me.”
Pooneh Ghana
This story appears in the March 22, 2025, issue of Billboard.
Memphis-bred rap star GloRilla knows a thing or two about staging a comeback.
In 2022, she exploded into the mainstream with the Grammy Award-nominated, summer-dominating “F.N.F.” — and quickly followed it up with the Cardi B-assisted “Tomorrow 2,” which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became her first top 10 hit on the chart.
But 2023 proved to be a far cry from her triumphant rookie year. She kicked it off with the Moneybagg Yo collaboration “On What U On,” which stalled at No. 56 on the Hot 100 — and was her only release that year to even reach the chart. Everything she dropped bricked, whether it was the radio-ready “Lick or Sum” or her direct response to detractors, “Internet Trolls.” And that March, tragedy struck when three people died in a fatal crowd surge at her concert with Finesse2tymes in Rochester, N.Y. With her commercial pull waning, everyone on the internet (trolls and otherwise) seemed to agree: Big Glo had fallen off.
“2023 was an eye-opener for me,” the 25-year-old says. “I realized that I can’t take my foot off the gas. I didn’t know I was doing that, but I did. It was a reality check when I would drop music and people would hate it. Getting closer to God was one of the key things that helped me.”
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Born Gloria Hallelujah Woods, the eighth of 10 children, GloRilla grew up in the church. She sang in the choir and her mother only allowed gospel music in the house; as her taste evolved and she found a home in hip-hop, gospel music and its encouraging messages remained present in her raps — from 2022’s “Blessed” to “Rain Down on Me,” a gospel-rap track from Glorious, her 2024 debut studio album.
GloRilla also looked to Yo Gotti, the rap superstar and fellow Memphian who’s now her label head, as a mentor. Since Gotti signed Glo to his CMG Records imprint in 2022, the two have worked closely to hone her sound and image, taking her from viral breakout to presidential campaign surrogate (she performed at a Wisconsin rally for former Vice President Kamala Harris last fall). “Even with all the success and accolades, she’s still the same authentic and ambitious hustler that I met back in 2022,” Gotti says of Glo.
With the help of her CMG team, renowned choreographer Sean Bankhead and creative director Coco Gilbert, GloRilla spent late 2023 plotting the perfect road map to recapture her momentum. The plan worked: With her first release of 2024, the anthemic “Yeah Glo!,” GloRilla came out swinging. Arriving in February, the motivational anthem took over nightclubs, cookouts and locker room celebrations. The song topped Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay for two weeks and reached No. 28 on the Hot 100, then her highest peak for a solo single.
“To have that little break, come back with ‘Yeah Glo!’ and have it start going up on the first day [of release] — that was personal,” GloRilla tells Billboard in between rehearsals for her forthcoming Glorious tour.
“Yeah Glo!” was meant to introduce GloRilla’s debut album, but its runaway success significantly shifted those plans. “I felt like I had to build my momentum back, so that’s where the mixtape kicked in,” she explains. “We made that decision around the time ‘Yeah Glo!’ came out.” Ehhthang Ehhthang arrived in April and yielded another hit single, the Megan Thee Stallion-assisted “Wanna Be,” which later received a Cardi B remix and peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100. The week before, Megan had announced Glo as the special guest for her arena-conquering Hot Girl Summer Tour. Between Ehhthang Ehhthang and successful guest appearances on BossMan Dlow’s “Finesse” and Big Boogie’s “Bop,” GloRilla had become inescapable — and she hadn’t even launched her official album campaign yet.
While opening the Hot Girl Summer Tour in June, GloRilla released “TGIF,” which kicked her 2024 into an even higher gear. Within a week of the song’s release, Rihanna shared an instantly viral clip of herself adorably dancing and singing along to it. By February 2025, GloRilla became the first artist to simultaneously become a face of all four of Rihanna’s Fenty brands.
With Riri begging for an album in her DMs and Beyoncé posting pictures with her on Instagram, GloRilla had undoubtedly became the hottest woman MC in the game. As “TGIF” cemented her pop appeal, GloRilla kept her core audience fed — and reinforced her sound — with her feature on Real Boston Richey’s “Get in There.”
“Me and my team figured out the difference between a mixtape and album song: You just got to hear it,” she says. “My core sound is how [gritty] the mixtape sounded. When I went into album mode, I already had a lot of those songs before the mixtape — but I knew they weren’t mixtape songs.”
After months of recapturing and multiplying her momentum, GloRilla finally released Glorious in October. With collaborators ranging from Sexyy Red to Maverick City Music, Glo’s studio debut was a capstone on her massive year, earning the highest opening week total for an album by a female rapper in 2024 (69,000 units) for a No. 5 debut on the Billboard 200. Five of its songs landed on the Hot 100, including “Whatchu Kno About Me” (No. 17), which Taylor Swift later used to soundtrack an Eras Tour TikTok. “I was real excited about that,” Glo recalls. “Everybody was sending it to me — I was feeling like ‘that girl’ when she posted that.”
Now, after scoring three Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay No. 1 hits in under a year and being named Billboard’s Hottest Female Rapper of 2024, Billboard’s 2025 Women in Music Powerhouse is determined to deliver an impeccable show on her tour, which commenced March 5 in Oklahoma City and will play arenas and music halls throughout the United States.
“Even though I’m not as good at dancing, I’m getting better and I learn fast,” she says, noting that her tour prep playlist includes gospel classics like Yolanda Adams’ “Open My Heart.” “I learn about two new routines a day. I like helping out with choreography because I get to do what I’m comfortable with and showcase my vision.”
Still, GloRilla isn’t as concerned with being the best rapper alive as she is with her own consistent personal growth. “I have the desire to be the best me I can be,” she proclaims.
This story appears in the March 22, 2025, issue of Billboard.