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Ariana Grande has been named Billboard Woman of the Year.
The 25-year-old star was announced as the winner of the annual honour overnight, and will accept the award at the Women in Music dinner and gala in December.
In a statement, Ross Scarano, Billboard’s Vice President of Content, praised the God Is A Woman singer as original, prolific and gutsy.
“Ariana Grande is a star on her own terms, never bending to any particular musical trend or path in the industry. Certain in her convictions, she consistently stands up for herself and her decisions in a world that often isn’t hospitable to that sort of strength in young women. She’s got guts, she’s making some of the best music of her career, and she’s absolutely deserving of Woman of the Year.”
Grande responded on Twitter, writing “thank u for this honour @billboard.”
In the space of 18 months, Ariana has undoubtedly experienced her lowest of lows.
A suicide bomber attacked her Manchester concert in May 2017, killing 22 other people. In September, her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller died of an accidental drug overdose a few months after they broke up. And her whirlwind engagement to Pete Davidson ended in heartbreak.
But the highs keep on coming, too. This week Apple Music confirmed Grande’s latest release, Thank u, next, was the first pop song to reach No.1 on its Top 100 Global Chart as well on the Top 100 U.S. Chart, with nine million streams in one day.
Fittingly, she also broke a Spotify record for the most streams in one day for a female artist, clocking up 8.19 million plays.
Woman of the year indeed.
Grande is embarking on her Sweetener World Tour in March 2019.
