On the eve of her 25th birthday,Taylor Swift took the stage at the Billboard Women in Music event, where she accepted the award for woman of the year.
"I turn 25 at midnight tonight, and I fully intend to celebrate like it's 1989," Swift said in her typically self-deprecating manner Friday afternoon, backtracking, "I knew it was a bad joke when I wrote it, and I just did it anyway."The pop star quickly got down to business, addressing her decision to pull her album catalog from Spotify (including the multimillion-selling 1989), and expressing her hope that the music industry "can work together to bond technology with integrity."
"I'm very well aware that the music industry is changing, and I'm open to that change. But I am not open to the financial model that is in place," Swift said, closing out her speech with a plea for the next generation of musicians. "Somewhere right now, your future woman of the year is probably sitting in a piano lesson or in a girls choir. Today, right now, we need to take care of her."
"I found Taylor because of her music," Gabrielle said, "but stayed with her because of her character."
Aretha Franklin, who picked up the event's first-ever Icon Award, also sang the praises of the twice-honored woman of the year (Swift last received the award in 2011).
"Taylor Swift? I love her," she told USA TODAY before the luncheon. "She's certainly deserving. She's got some great music out there (and) the kids love it."
The Queen of Soul later gifted Swift with a priceless memory, singing Happy Birthdayto her during a post-show Q&A with Matt Lauer and the afternoon's other honorees.
Swift was understandably blown away by the gesture, tweeting:
Other powerful ladies took the podium throughout the luncheon, including rapper Iggy Azalea for the Chart-Topper trophy and British newcomer Charli XCX, given the Hitmaker prize for her work writing and singing on smashes such as Icona Pop's I Love It and Azalea's Fancy, as well as her own Boom Clap."It's really cool to be at a music industry event where over half the people in the room have vaginas," she cracked. "I'm just honored to have met so many incredible women on this journey. ... It's been fabulous and (expletive) wild."
Performers included Colbie Caillat, who opened the two-and-a-half-hour event with self-love anthem Try, and Aussie pop singer Betty Who, who covered Ariana Grande'sLove Me Harder, before the pint-sized diva accepted the Rising Star award.
The afternoon's Powerhouse award winner, Jessie J, stopped the show with latest single Masterpiece, while Trailblazer honoree Hayley Williams of Paramore teamed with Joy Williams (no relation and formerly of The Civil Wars) on sweetly harmonized duet Hate to See Your Heartbreak.
"I wrote (my speech) down because I was worried I would make eye contact withBeyoncé and forget everything," Williams joked while accepting her award. (Beyoncé attended the luncheon, but did not present or perform.) "This is the greatest honor I could receive, because this is the legacy I want to leave. ... It's an amazing and powerful thing to be celebrated for who you are. There are a lot of girls who never feel that way, and I want to spend my life making them seen and heard."
"Introducing Idina Menzel — what could go wrong?" Today anchor Savannah Guthriequipped as she presented the Tony Award-winner with Breakthrough award, referencing John Travolta's now-infamous name flub at this year's Academy Awards. But before Menzel took the podium, she was surprised with a medley of Let It Go andDefying Gravity (from Wicked) by the girls choir of A BroaderWay, a musical theater summer camp she founded.
"I wasn't prepared for that," Menzel said, tearfully. Reflecting on her years in the business and being told that a Broadway singer can't cross over, "(Everyone asked), 'Who are you?' And the answer to that question is a resounding, 'I don't know,' " Menzel said.
Now 43, and presented with the empowering Let It Go at a crossroads in her life, "it's less about a breakthrough publicly. It's about a breakthrough personally."
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