Ariana Grande is Billboard's 2018 Woman of the Year

0 0 November 7, 2018 Edit this post

Ariana Grande has been named Billboard's Woman of the Year for 2018. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

By Wade Sheridan, UPI

Ariana Grande has been named the 2018 Woman of the Year by Billboard.

Grande will be presented with a Woman of the Year award at the 13th annual Women in Music dinner and awards gala in New York on Dec. 6.

The singer has had an eventful year, releasing her fourth studio album Sweetener in August. The release reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and earned the largest streaming week ever for a pop album by a female artist upon its release.

"Ariana Grande is a star on her own terms, never bending to any particular musical trend or path in the industry," Billboard's vp of content Ross Scarano said in a statement.

"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," he continued.

Grande joins a list of past winners that include Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Pink, Fergie, Madonna and last year's winner Selena Gomez.

"Thank u for this honor @billboard," Grande said on Twitter Tuesday.

The pop star also released a lyric video for her latest song "thank u, next." The track features Grande singing about her past relationships with Ricky Alvarez, Big Sean, Mac Miller and Pete Davidson.