On March 2, the Youtube Theater in Inglewood California held the 2022 Billboard Women in Music Awards. Honoring many women who made great strides in the music industry this year. Among the night’s performers, Olivia Rodrigo, Gabby Barrett, Phoebe Bridgers and Doja Cat were present, along with many other notable figures in the audience.

The coveted ‘Woman of The Year’ honor was given to Olivia Rodrigo, making history as the first Asian-American woman to be given the title. After her performance, she accepted her award in stride as the youngest honoree of the night. 

The awards showcased many stunning performances from the honorees. Olivia Rodrigo opened the night with her hit ‘deja vu’ before accepting ‘Woman Of The Year.’ However, Olivia was not the only notable performance. Some other highlights of the night were Doja Cat’s performance of ‘Alone’ and Saweetie’s ‘Closer’ and Phoebe Bridgers’s acoustic rendition of ‘Kyoto.’ But the night was not all about celebration with Bonnie Raitt’s cover of ‘Angel From Montgomery’ dedicated to the women affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

This year the event focused more on rising stars and breakout artists for consideration, as opposed to previous years. The Rising Star award was given to ‘I Hope’ singer Gabby Barrett. However, this did not mean that pop artists were not represented in the awards, with Doja Cat and H.E.R. being honored with the Powerhouse and Impact awards respectively. “We are once again thrilled to recognize a diverse group of incredibly powerful women driving the music business and shaping pop culture,” stated Billboard executive, Hannah Karp.

This year’s awards also represented many genres of music and had a diverse set of performances. In addition, many titles were awarded to women who make music in typically male dominated genres such as Reggaeton singer Karol G’s ‘Rule Breaker’ and Grammy nominated Phoebe Bridgers’s ‘Trail Blazer.’ Perhaps the most accomplished artist was Bonnie Raitt, known for songs like “Something to Talk About” and “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” who was honored with the ‘Icon’ award.