At age 17, Billie Eilish is already Billboard Woman of the Year (2019). The award was presented to her by American singer Cyndi Lauper, who disclosed about Eilish, “When I first heard Billie sing, I kinda stopped breathing for a sec. It was so emotional and so deep. It stopped me.”
Eilish, after having an incredible 2019 described the honor done her as weird, taking into consideration her age and being able to be merit such accolade amidst artists she came to meet. “It’s really weird to be woman of the year at 17. Ariana Grande got the award that I’m getting right now a year ago, and two weeks ago I realized that’s the award I’m getting, and that really freaked me out,” Eilish said.
Taylor Swift was also present at the event to receive the first ever Billboard of the decade award, alongside Nicki Minaj, who also won the 2019 Game-Changer award. Minaj took to the podium diverting all attention from her achieved status to pay tribute to the late 21-year-old rapper Juice WRLD. “I know this is a Women in Music night, and I’m honored to be in the presence of all these women. But it doesn’t feel comfortable to talk about me when someone so important to our culture died,” Nicki said after describing late Juice as a ‘Kindred Spirit’.
The night featured performances from Megan Thee Stallion and Rosalia, who were both honored with the Billboard Powerhouse and Rising Star award respectively.
