Shakira will be honored with the 2023 Woman of the Year award at the first-ever Latin Women in Music event next month, Billboard and Telemundo announced Monday.
He Colombian pop superstar is receiving the honor for her contributions to the music industry, providing recognition and opportunities for Latina women through her career and philanthropic efforts.
“Shakira is the definitive woman in music. Thanks to her, Latina women around the world have been empowered to write and perform deeply personal music. She created a movement on her own and remains more relevant than ever today, with grace, a deep tradition of giving back, and tremendous talent,” said Leila Cobo, Billboard’s director of content for Latin/Spanish, in a release. .
Airing May 7 at 9 pm on Telemundo and Universo, the two-hour musical special will celebrate Latina women artists, executives and creatives, featuring honorees and performances by Ana Gabriel, Emilia, Evaluna, Goyo and Thalia.
Shakira’s decades of career has opened the doors for Latino artists to cross paths with international artists. The singer has sold more than 95 million records worldwide, according to Billboard and Telemundo, making her the best-selling Latin artist of all time.
She has been named Billboard’s Best Female Latin Artist of the Decade twice, in 2000 and 2010, and has received three Grammy Awards, 12 Latin Grammy Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, and 39 Billboard Latin Music Awards, according to Billboard and Telemundo.
“Shakira has been instrumental in shaping the vibrant and diverse landscape of Latin music and music in general throughout her career,” Ronald Day, Telemundo’s president of content and entertainment strategy, said in a statement. “Her passion, her talent and her creativity have broken barriers and empowered generations to embrace our identity through music, and we are incredibly proud to recognize her as Industry Woman of the Year.”
His 2022 single “Monotonia” it was one of the biggest Spanish songs of the year and became the most streamed Latin song in 24 hours on Spotify. The song debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Shakira the first female solo artist to reach the Top 10 with a song recorded in Spanish.
Shakira also headlined the Super Bowl halftime show with Jennifer Lopez in 2020 and served as a coach on «The Voice» in 2013 and 2014.
Outside of music, at the age of 18 Shakira started the Pies Descalzos Foundation, which has built and adapted nine public schools in four cities in Colombia, with six more under construction. The foundation has raised more than $40 million since it was founded, according to Billboard and Telemundo.
The Latin Women in Music event will take place on May 6 at the Watsco Center in Miami and will air on May 7. The event will also be available to stream on the Telemundo and Peacock app.
Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and TODAY share the same parent company, NBCUniversal.