Olivia Rodrigo's Billboard Award Acceptance Speech Praised Female Artists

Olivia Rodrigo became a household name last year. The former Disney star went into music in 2021 and had the most incredible reception. Most of her songs are themed after topics young people are most familiar with; heartbreak, jealousy, and insecurity. So it's no surprise that she became a crowd favorite so quickly.

Her debut album "Sour" was released in May 2021 and nagged a lot of awards and nominations. Rodrigo received seven Grammy nominations for some of her more popular songs like "Good 4 U," "Driver's License," and "Déjà vu." All the tracks in the album also got into the Billboard Hot 100 chart, breaking, yet again, another record.

Her most recent award is the Woman of the Year award for Billboard. In her acceptance speech for this prestigious award, Rodrigo praised the efforts of women in "breaking down barriers" for other women and mentioned that she was lucky in her career.

Rodrigo was recently awarded Billboard's 2022 Woman of the Year. On Wednesday night, she was given the award in YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California. It was presented to her by Sheryl Crow. After thanking Crow, the "Sour" artist said she was lucky in her career and praised female artists and songwriters for working together to break down barriers.

She said, "Every woman here today is working to break down those barriers and change the narrative and support each other." The artist also added that she was "constantly moved" by young female songwriters' vulnerability.

"I'm constantly moved by your vulnerability and your creativity and bravery, and I promise everyone here today is working to make this world and industry a better place for you," she continued. Rodrigo opened the show with a performance of her hit single, "Déjà vu."

Rodrigo came into the music scene in 2021 and was easily one of the year's biggest stars. Last year, she released her professional debut album, bagged several awards and nominations, and broke several streaming records.

The songwriting in the album was mainly focused on the artist's exploration of heartache, insecurity, and jealousy, very popular topics among young people. Rodrigo is currently the first female artist to have all the 11 tracks of her album reach the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

When talking about songwriting in the award show, she said, "What I love about songwriting is its ability to perfectly capture how I feel better than anything I could have said in a conversation. Songwriting has always been everything to me, so for people to connect with my music is beyond a dream come true."

10-time Grammy winner Bonnie Raitt was also in attendance in the show. The activist was given the Icon award and took some time on the Women in Music Stage to talk about the current happenings in Ukraine. The artist performed "Angel From Montgomery" with Jackson Browne and dedicated the performance to the "women of Ukraine."

Raitt also addressed the crisis in her acceptance speech after her award. The activist said her heart was heavy for Ukrainians, and she was praying for people striving towards peace. She talked about more equity and opportunity for women all over the world.

Raitt said, "I know the Russian people are not in agreement—so many of them—with what's being done. I pray for all the people who are working hard for peace, including the man who started the war. May he have a transformation."

The event recognized some other popular female artists. H.E.R, Saweetie, Doja Car, Karol G, Phoebe Bridgers, and Summer Walker were all awarded for their impact in the music industry. Gabby Barrett and Golnar Khosrowshahi weren't left out in the live stream show.

Saweetie brought her mother to the event and had her present the award to the artist. Her mother said Saweetie was a "force to be reckoned with" while presenting the award. Bringers also brought her mother to the show. Her mother said she was glad her daughter discovered how to use her voice to "highlight people and causes she cares about."

Doja Cat went home with the Powerhouse award, H.E.R bagged the Impact award, Karol G got the Rulebreaker award, Bridgers received the Home trailblazer award, Walker accepted the Chart breaker award, and Saweetie was given the Gamechanger award.