It’ll be hard for Taylor Swift to top this as a birthday gift: A birthday serenade from none other than the Queen of Soul.
Aretha Franklin arguably had the best performance of the afternoon as the legend gave an impromptu performance of Happy Birthday to Taylor Swift, Billboard’s new Woman of the Year, at their annual Women in Music event on Friday. Swift swooned as Franklin sang and the pair embraced afterward and she was given a birthday cake.
Swift, who turned 25 on Saturday, was one of several women celebrated at the event, which featured some of the biggest names in music, including a surprise appearance by Beyonce.
Billboard’s Women in Music awards honours the top women in the industry, from executives to artists like Franklin, who received the appropriately named Icon award.
Swift was named the top woman in music after her record-breaking year, in which her 1989 album debuted at No 1 and sold more than 1 million copies — her third straight album to accomplish such a feat, setting a record. She also had chart-toppers with Shake It Off and Blank Space and recently saw the former song get nominated for record of the year at the Grammys.
Swift used her acceptance speech to underscore her decision this fall to remove all her music from the streaming site Spotify on the grounds that it doesn’t equitably reimburse artists for the use of its material.
“I really believe we in the music industry can work together to find a way to bond technology with integrity and just really hope we can teach the younger generation the value of investment in music rather than the ephemeral consumption of it,” Swift said.
Most of the other honorees spoke about the honour in a more personal nature. Idina Menzel, whose voice powered the Frozen soundtrack into the top-selling album of the year, spoke about reaching the apex of her career after some lean years, despite early success on Broadway.
“I’m 43 and I’m a breakthrough artist,” she said of getting the Breakthrough Artist of the Year award.
Ariana Grande’s brother, Big Brother contestant Frankie, gave his sister the Rising Star award in an emotional tribute.
“This is completely crazy and I’m going to try not to cry,” she said as she accepted it.
Iggy Azalea did choke up when she received the Chart Topper award — the Fancy rapper thanked the women executives who pushed her career forward when she thought it was dead.
Charli XCX received the Hitmaker award; Jessie J was named Powerhouse; and Hayley Williams of Paramore was crowned Trailblazer.
The event was star-studded; Beyonce sat in the audience to honour her general manager, one of 50 industry executives also honoured; Sharon Osbourne gave a typically profane speech to honour Universal exec Michele Anthony; and Civil Wars singer Joy Williams, Colbie Caillat and Ingrid Michaelson were among those who performed.
Matt Lauer presided over a panel discussion at the end featuring all eight honorees, but by then, the event had approached three hours and more than half the audience had bolted.
But those who stayed got a treat with the Franklin performance — perhaps the highlight of the event.
