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Latto Promises She’s ‘Kickin’ Down the Door’ for Female Rappers at 2023 Women In Music
Latto hit the stage at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (March 1) to perform her new single “Lottery” and receive the Powerhouse award during the 2023 Billboard Women in Music event.
Flanked by four backup dancers, the rapper swaggered and danced her way through the disco-inflected track in a sparkling body suit and matching opera-length gloves and dramatic heels.
Following her performance, Latto was presented her award by previous Rising Star honoree Chlöe Bailey, who called her pal and “For the Night” collaborator “a force to be reckoned with,” “an icon for young women everywhere” and “the personification of a powerhouse.”
“Megan Thee Stallion won this award, Doja Cat won this award. It’s crazy because I’m fans of my peers and they’re now my peers,” Latto said, gratefully gripping Bailey’s hand for support. “All the inspiring women who paved the way for me and all the women that there are to come. I’m grateful to be a part of this new wave of female rap and baby, we kickin’ down the door and we ain’t takin’ no for an answer.”
Latto recently sat down with Billboard at Los Angeles’ luxe Paramour Estate to reflect on her rise to Powerhouse status and her dedication to supporting the upcoming generation of female MCs.
“My No. 1 thing has been being a girl’s girl,” she said, giving props to the likes to Flo Milli, Lola Brooke and GloRilla. “I utilize my power in uplifting others on my way up. When you see Latto do a feature with an upcoming female rapper, I don’t charge them.”
Becky G Brings Latinidad Flair to 2023 Billboard Women in Music with ‘Mamiii’
Becky G was honored on Wednesday night (March 1) with the American Express Impact award at 2023 Billboard Women in Music.
The bilingual crossover star also brought Latinidad flair to the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles during the show by performing a solo rendition of her Karol G collab “Mamiii” while flanked by a guitarist, percussionist and two backing vocalists. “Lo que no sirve, que no estorbe/ Te metiste autogol por torpe/ Te quedó grande este torque/ Ya no estoy pa que de mí te enamores, baby/ Sin visa ni pasaporte/ Mandé tu falso amor de vacaciones,” she sang in Spanish.
The singer later got teary-eyed as she accepted this year’s Impact award from Dove Cameron. “Let’s talk about my friend Becky G,” the Vengeance actress said while introducing her pal. “Her music is incredible, spans multiple languages and keeps racking up the hits.”
From there, Cameron ran through Becky’s litany of recent accomplishments, including five career top 10s on the Hot Latin Songs chart, her first No. 1 on the Latin Pop Albums chart (thanks to her 2022 sophomore full-length Esquemas) and more than two billion U.S. streams (per Luminate), before touting the reasons Becky G is this year’s Impact honoree.
“A second-generation Mexican-American, Becky G has made it a point to represent her community and celebrate Latinidad culture and 200 percenters through her music, her beauty brand and her new production company, which will focus on storytelling [in] underrepresented communities,” Cameron explained.
“She has donated funds from merchandise to help underprivileged students from Los Angeles access digital technology to attend online classes, used her platform to support Black Lives Matter and Dreamers and was a co-chair of Michelle Obama’s voter registration nonprofit When We All Vote,” she continued. “The word ‘impact’ can mean so much to so many and there is no one who is more deserving than this tonight.”
TWICE Shines in ‘Moonlight Sunrise’ Performance at Billboard’s 2023 Women in Music
TWICE basked in the spotlight for its performance of “Moonlight Sunrise” at Billboard’s 2023 Women in Music event held at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday (March 1).
As the performance kicked off, images of each of the members flashed on giant screens amid shots of gorgeous sunrises. As the screens lifted to reveal the K-pop group in matching black outfits, TWICE dazzled the audience — which was packed with screaming ONCE — with spot-on choreography throughout the sweet set.
The song — off upcoming mini album Ready to Be — is the K-pop group’s second English-language single; the first was “The Feels,” which arrived in October 2021. “Moonlight Sunrise,” released in January, debuted and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 84 on the Feb. 4-dated chart. Predecessor “The Feels” arrived and topped out one spot better – at No. 83 on the Oct. 16, 2021-dated tally — it was also the group’s first song to crack the Hot 100.
Earlier in the evening, TWICE – comprised of Chaeyoung, Nayeon, Tzuyu, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun and Jeongyeon – were honored with the Billboard 2023 Women in Music Breakthrough Award, which Sabrina Carpenter presented to the K-pop stars.
“I was especially thrilled they were being recognized because I’m a really big stan,” the “Nonsense” singer admitted to the audience. “They’re so talented, and now I consider myself a ONCE, which is what half this room is! I really hope this award will expose them to a wider U.S. audience.”
After the group took the stage to accept the honor, Chaeyoung held the award and was first to speak. “Receiving Breakthrough Artist at Billboard Women in Music is the most magical way to start our year,” she began. “Ever since we became TWICE, we believed in each other to always be together when taking a step toward our future. This moment is especially meaningful because all nine of us are standing here together in front of our fans who made our dreams come true. This title Breakthrough Artist proves that if you confidently push for your dream, people who support you will always be your team, you will break through.”
Added Tzuyu: “This accomplishment will forever motivate us to challenge ourselves to break more barriers.”
In an interview with Billboard ahead of the event, TWICE shared their thoughts on their rising global success despite language differences. “I think it’s the songs of ours that carry TWICE’s color rather than the language in which the song is sung,” Jihyo said at the time. “I don’t think the language is that relevant in carrying out TWICE’s [identity].”
Chaeyoung added that their songwriters know each of women’s personalities and strengths well, so are able to better craft tunes for the group. “They really express our personalities well, so I think that really establishes our style,” she shared. “That’s why it carries over different languages.”
And while they’ve now been named Billboard’s Breakthrough artist and have started making their way onto the Hot 100, TWICE is aiming high for the future. Said Chaeyoung to Billboard earlier: ““My personal goal going forward is to top the [Hot 100].”
Lana Del Rey Accepts 2023 Billboard Women in Music Visionary Award: ‘Being Happy is the Ultimate Goal’
After a night spent honoring some of this year’s most impactful female musicians, Lana Del Rey closed out the 2023 Billboard Women in Music list of awards recipients Wednesday (March 1) by accepting the night’s Visionary Award, well-earned after 14 years and nine genre-defining studio albums.
Last year’s Woman of the Year Olivia Rodrigo was on hand to present the 37-year-old singer-songwriter with the Visionary Award, with Lana mouthing “I love you so much” to the “Deja Vu” singer from her seat in the audience before taking the stage to deliver her acceptance speech.
“I can’t tell you how much it means that someone who wrote ‘Drivers License’ is standing next to me,” Lana said after Rodrigo handed her the award, before shouting out this year’s Woman of the Year: “SZA, from the minute I heard you, I knew I wanted to know you.”
“I don’t exactly have a long-term vision at all, but if you were curious, I am very, very happy,” Lana continued during the speech. “When I released my first album 14 years ago, the waters were not quite as warm. I’m really happy for everyone who feels like it’s a wonderful time in the culture to be themselves and express themselves. It didn’t feel that way in 2008.”
“I feel like being happy is the ultimate goal, so I did it,” she concluded. “Thank you, Billboard!”
After hitting a career high No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Snow On The Beach,” her Midnights collaboration with Taylor Swift, and donating a celestial original song to Euphoria’s Season 2 soundtrack, the indie pop auteur is now gearing up to release her next album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd — her fourth record in under four years — on March 24. The two singles to be released so far off the project, “A&W” and its title track, are peak Lana: ethereal, gloomy, jarring and, well, visionary.
“Eleven years ago I wanted it to be so good,” she told Billboard of the new album in her Women in Music interview. “Now, I just sing exactly what I’m thinking. I’m thinking a little less big and bombastic. Maybe at some point I can have fun creating a world again, but right now, I would say there’s no world building. This music is about thought processing. It’s very, very wordy. I’m definitely living from the neck up.”
King Stingray Wins 18th Annual Australian Music Prize
King Stingray wins the 18th annual Australian Music Prize, with the indie-rock outfit’s self-titled debut LP.
When their name was announced Wednesday (March 1) during a ceremony in Sydney, the Stingers, as they’re affectionately known in these parts, collected the $30,000 ($21,000) champion’s check, courtesy of major sponsor Soundmerch.
The AMP, which recognizes the outstanding creative Australian album of the past year, is the latest accolade for a band very much on the rise.
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Hailing from the Northern Territory, the Stingers are the reigning Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist winner at the 2022 ARIA Awards, and five tracks from the album impacted the triple j Hottest 100 countdown, making it one of the most successful Australian debuts in the poll’s history.
Also, the record led double j’s 50 best albums of 2022 list, and the group got a shout-out from prime minister Anthony Albanese, who chose album cut “Get Me Out” as his favorite song of the year.
Growing up in Yirrkala in north-east Arnhem Land, founding members Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu (frontman) and Roy Kellaway (guitar) formed King Stingray with friends Dimathaya Burarrwanga (rhythm guitar backing vocals and yidaki), Campbell Messer (bass) and Lewis Stiles (drums) in 2019. Last year, the group welcomed Yidaki-master Yimila Gurruwiwi into the fold.
King Stingray’s Kellaway and Burarrwanga accepted the AMP at the Oxford Art Factory in central Sydney.
“We’re so unbelievably stoked to have won the 18th AMP,” they said. “We had so much fun making this record and we just hope that listeners can hear the joy that we had making it, as well as feel the joy for themselves.”
The lads beat out a shortlist of albums by the likes of Sampa The Great, Julia Jacklin, and Tasman Keith.
“It really means the world to us to hear people enjoying the album,” the Stingers said, as they went on to thank their supporters and professional network.
A limited edition vinyl repress of King Stingray (via Cooking Vinyl/The Orchard) is due out March 24, and is sure to be a hot item.
The AMP is modeled on Britain’s Mercury Music Prize and Canada’s Polaris Prize, with a longlist of 490 eligible Australian albums individually reviewed this year by a panel of music experts.
Genesis Owusu’s lauded collection Smiling With No Teeth won the prize last time.
The shortlist of the 18th Soundmerch AMP:
1300 – Foreign Language
Body Type – Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising
Camp Cope – Running With The Hurricane
Julia Jacklin – Pre Pleasure
King Stingray – King Stingray –WINNER
Laura Jean – Amateurs
Party Dozen – The Real Work
Sampa The Great – As Above, So Below
Tasman Keith – A Colour Undone
Epic Records CEO & Chairwoman Sylvia Rhone Shouts Out SZA While Accepting Billboard Women in Music 2023 Executive of the Year Award
Sylvia Rhone, the CEO and chairwoman of Epic Records, was recognized as Billboard’s 2023 Women In Music Executive of the Year on Wednesday (March 1) at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.
She was presented the award by Fatima Robinson, who praised Rhone for using her position to fight for hip-hop and paving a way for women in the industry. “You are magic, a force, an alchemist a savant of creative artistry and an inspiration to all women,” Robinson said. “Thank you for all the glass ceilings you have conquered.”
Rhone — who was named Epic Records’ CEO and chairwoman in April 2019, making her the first Black industry executive and woman to hold the dual title at a major record label – gave a that expressed her passion for her career, and for some of her fellow honorees of the evening, including SZA (Woman of the Year) and Rosalia (inaugural Producer of the Year).
“It’s a true privilege to be honored with these women in music – special shoutout to SZA because you changed the game for R&B music, and R&B music is where I come from, and we’re back!” Rhone said excitedly. “And Rosalia particularly because that’s a historic win to be producer of the year.”
The executive also discussed her time in the music industry. “I’m still as excited about the business today as I was over 40 years ago because it’s simply, simply my passion,” she shared, also highlighting how proud she is to run a label where more than 50 percent of senior leadership is female and people of color.
As for her promotion to Epic’s CEO and chairwoman, Rhone previously told Billboard that she had to set aside any worries that she wouldn’t succeed in the role, and found the courage to forge ahead. “I concluded that this was my chance, my time,” she said. “And that’s the takeaway I would share with whoever has that doubt: Always believe in yourself and your worth.”
This year’s event was hosted by Emmy-winning writer and actress Quinta Brunson of Abbott Elementary. The 2023 Women In Music honorees include SZA, who was recognized as Billboard’s Woman of the Year; Chartbreaker Kim Petras; American Express’ Impact Award winner Becky G; Lana Del Rey, who received the Visionary Award; Producer of the Year Latto; and K-pop group Twice for the Breakthrough Award.
