Today, global music authority Billboard announced that Doechii will receive the prestigious 2025 Woman of the Year Award at the Women in Music event taking place on Saturday, March 29 at YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, CA. Hosted by Emmy® nominee, Laverne Cox, the star-studded evening will air LIVE on VIZIO WatchFree+ at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET and honor the most influential women in music spanning artists and industry leaders with inspiring performances, awards, and tributes. 

The Tampa-born, L.A.-based rapper/singer/etc. is one of the most dynamic of her generation, as compelling delivering blunt bars over boom bap as she is cooing affirmations over astral jazz, barking orders over blistering house, or seducing over a radio-conquering R&B jam. In many ways — commercially, critically, personally — Bites is the culmination of the Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records innovator’s wild rise. In 2023 alone: Doechii scored her first RIAA Platinum® plaque and Billboard Hot 100 hit with the viral, “No Scrubs”-sampling “What It Is (Block Boy).” She turned heads again with Eurodance/rap hybrid “Alter Ego,” featuring JT. Next, she played Coachella’s main stage, popped in to perform on Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour, and hit the road with Doja Cat. Before the year was out, she was named a RISING STAR among Women in Music by Billboard (joining Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, et al.), and showed off her acting chops in A24 film Earth Mama. But that was then. More recently, Kendrick Lamar co-signed Doechii as “the hardest out,” Killer Mike said she’s “going to change music forever,” Tyler, the Creator tapped her for Chromakopia, Variety’s Hitmakers gave her the Hip-Hop Disrupter award, and countless critical institutions put Bites on their best-of-2024 lists. She also revealed herself to be a performer par excellence, not only selling out a headlining US/UK/EU tour, but also bringing complex choreo to Colbert, a 10-piece band to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, and a truly jaw-dropping production to the 2025 GRAMMY Awards (where she was also nominated for Best Rap Performance and Best New Artist). Ultimately, though, what’s most impressive about Doechii isn’t simply that she excels at literally every form she explores. It’s that she is at home in her artistry, wherever it takes her.

"After receiving the Billboard Women in Music Rising Star Award in 2023,  Doechii is taking pop culture by storm, this year becoming the third woman in history to win a Grammy best rap album, and dazzling fans of every musical genre with her breathtaking performances, ultra-candid lyrics and utterly unique sound, style and spirit,” said Hannah Karp, Editor-in-Chief of Billboard. "We are thrilled to celebrate Doechii and cheer on her continued success." 

Billboard’s Woman of the Year Award has become one of the music industry’s highest honors. Past recipients include Karol G, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. Doechii won the Rising Star award at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music event. She is just the third woman to progress from the Rising Star award to Woman of the Year, following Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande.

Doechii joins previously announced lineup of powerhouse women shaping the music landscape.  aespa will receive the Group of the Year Award; Ángela Aguilar will receive the Breakthrough Award; Erykah Badu will receive the Icon Award; GloRilla will receive the Powerhouse Award; Gracie Abrams will receive the Songwriter of the Year Award; JENNIE will receive the Global Force Award; Megan Moroney will receive the Rulebreaker Award presented by Crown Royal Whisky; Meghan Trainor will receive the Hitmaker Award; Muni Long will receive the Rising Star Award presented by Honda Stage; and Tyla will receive the Impact Award presented by Bose. 

Newly announced presenters Becky G and Suki Waterhouse will join previously announced presenters Julia Michaels, Kali Uchis, Madison Beer, Mickey Guyton, Summer Walker, Tanner Adell, and Zara Larsson. Previously announced performers include Ángela Aguilar, aespa, GloRilla, Gracie Abrams, Megan Moroney, Muni Long and Tyla, with additional performers and presenters to be announced in the coming weeks. 

In addition, as Billboard’s global partners have expanded Women in Music with new events launched around the world, ANNA, named Billboard Italy Woman of the Year at its inaugural ceremony, and Charlotte Cardin, honored as the latest Billboard Canada Woman of the Year by Billboard Canada, will be celebrated as Global Women of the Year.

VIZIO WatchFree+ will be the exclusive home to the Billboard Women in Music 2025 live channel and on-demand collection from March 17 – April 5, with the LIVE show airing free on March 29 at 10pm ET / 7pm PT on VIZIO TVs and in the VIZIO mobile app. The channel and on demand collection will give viewers an inside look at the inspiring women artists shaping the music industry, featuring in-depth interviews, in-studio sessions with artists, episodic series, and more. 

VIZIO TV owners can watch Billboard Women in Music 2025 and the LIVE event by opening the WatchFree+ app on their TV.  For those who do not have a VIZIO TV, anyone can download the free VIZIO mobile app to their mobile device, click on the WatchFree+ button in the bottom row menu, and tune into the Billboard Women in Music 2025 channel.

Tickets are on-sale now at Ticketmaster.com. Prices will start at $89.00. Tables are also available to purchase, please contact joe.maimone@billboard.com for additional information.

Sponsors for the 2025 Billboard Women in Music event include Official Whisky Partner Crown Royal, HarbourView Equity Partners, Bose presenter of the Impact Award, Sol De Janeiro, and Honda Stage presenter of the Rising Star Award. 

For sponsorship opportunities please contact estepankovsky@billboard.com and psturchio@billboard.com. 

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• X: @billboard 
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MEDIA CREDENTIAL APPLICATION & ASSETS

2025 Billboard Women in Music Awards Media Credential Application: HERE

Press Kit (Sizzle Reel, Logos, Talent Graphics): HERE

This event is not affiliated with Women in Music, a non-profit organization committed to advancing equality, visibility and opportunities for women in the musical arts through education, support, empowerment and recognition. To support the work of Women in Music please visit https://www.womeninmusic.org/. 

ABOUT BILLBOARD 

Billboard is the ultimate barometer of success in music. Through its iconic charts, breaking news, thought leadership, multi-platform storytelling and world class events, Billboard tracks the world’s top musicians and the business that powers them. Since its origin in 1894, music leaders and fans across the world look to Billboard as the most trusted source for music information, spanning more than a dozen countries and published in 10 languages. The prestigious Billboard Music Awards are the only premium awards ceremony that recognize musicians for their undeniable achievements on the Billboard charts, using pure data to determine the winners, rather than relying on opaque committees or undisclosed voters to select the honorees giving fans maximum impact at each year's ceremony, as Billboard's chart data measures fans' engagement with their favorite music. Billboard’s other premium experiences range from the Billboard Power 100 to Billboard Women in Music, BillboardLatin Music Week, and Billboard Live, which connects the most impactful artists and industry leaders with fans from all cultures and corners of the globe.

‍ABOUT VIZIO 

Founded and headquartered in Orange County, California, our mission at VIZIO is to deliver immersive entertainment and compelling lifestyle enhancements that make our products the center of the connected home. We are driving the future of televisions through our integrated platform of cutting-edge Smart TVs and powerful operating system. We also offer a portfolio of innovative sound bars that deliver consumers an elevated audio experience. Our platform gives content providers more ways to distribute their content and advertisers more tools to connect with the right audience. 

‍ABOUT YOUTUBE THEATER

YouTube Theater is a 6,000-seat performance venue located at Hollywood Park, a near 300-acre sports and entertainment destination in Inglewood Calif., being developed by Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke. The state-of-the-art theater is a 227,000 square foot, three-story indoor venue situated under the same roof canopy as SoFi Stadium and American Airlines Plaza. The venue can be configured to house three different crowd capacities, including intimate settings with minimum capacities of 3,400 and 4,400. Equipped with premium finishes throughout, the venue ranked among the Top 10 venues in the world for top-grossing concert and live event ticket sales in 2024, and was named 2025 West Coast Theater or Club of the Year by Billboard.  Opened in August 2021, YouTube Theater is equipped to host a variety of events, including concerts, awards shows, boxing, esports competitions, community gatherings, conferences and more.

‍ABOUT HARBOURVIEW EQUITY PARTNERS

HarbourView Equity Partners is an investment firm, founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, focused on opportunities to support premium content across the entertainment, sports, and media markets. The firm seeks businesses or assets powered by IP and investment opportunities that aim to build enduring value and returns. HarbourView has been extremely active since launching in 2021, amassing roughly $1.45 billion* in regulatory assets under management including over 70+ music catalogs to date and investments in two media production companies, MACRO and Mucho Mas Media, both with a mission to center premium storytelling. The firm's distinctly diverse music portfolio features thousands of titles spanning numerous genres, eras, and artists, amounting to a diversified catalog of ~31,000+ songs across both master recordings and publishing income streams. The company is headquartered in Newark, NJ.

*Regulatory AUM is as of 12/31/23; RAUM for private funds is calculated regardless of the nature of the gross assets under management. This includes any uncalled committed capital pursuant to an obligation to make a capital contribution to the fund.

‍ABOUT HONDA STAGE

Honda Stage is a music platform that builds on the brand’s deep foundation of celebrating determined artists and their journeys while bringing unique music experiences to fans. Honda Stage offers exclusive, behind-the-scenes music content and inspirational stories from on-the-rise and fan-favorite artists, giving music fans access to the moments they love while celebrating the creativity and drive it takes to make it big.

‍ABOUT BOSE CORPORATION

Bose is world renowned for its premium audio solutions for the home, on the go, and in the car. Since its founding in 1964 by Dr. Amar Bose, the company has been dedicated to delivering amazing sound experiences through innovation. And its passionate employees — engineers, researchers, music fanatics, and dreamers — have remained committed to the belief that sound is the most powerful force on earth; its ability to transform, transport, and make us feel alive. For 60 years, this belief has driven us to create products that have become iconic, changing the way people listen to music.

ABOUT CROWN ROYAL
Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is the number-one selling Canadian whisky brand in the world and has a tradition as long and distinctive as its taste. Specially blended to commemorate a grand tour of Canada made by the King and Queen of Great Britain in 1939, Crown Royal's smooth and elegant flavor was an exceptionally generous gift fit for royalty. Its gift-worthy presentation reflects its regal origins – it is considered the epitome of Canadian whisky. For more information, visit crownroyal.com. Crown Royal encourages all consumers to please enjoy responsibly.

ABOUT DIAGEO NORTH AMERICA
Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Casamigos, DeLeon and Don Juliotequilas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness. Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: DGE) and their products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information about Diageo, their people, brands, and performance, visit www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice. Follow on Twitter and Instagram for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA.

ABOUT SOL DE JANEIRO 

Launched in 2015, SOL DE JANEIRO is a globally recognized, award-winning beauty brand, drawing inspiration from Brazil’s beauty rituals, warmth, and spirit. SOL DE JANEIRO delivers a sensory experience beloved by multi-generational consumers worldwide, with clinically proven results, transformative textures, and transportive fragrances. The brand has earned high-profile honors, including being named one of TIME100’s 2024 Most Influential Companies, Fast Company’s 2024 World's Most Innovative Companies, and WWD Beauty Inc’s Power Brands of 2024, underscoring its leadership in the beauty industry and outstanding workplace. Available at premium international retailers like Sephora and online at soldejaneiro.com, SOL DE JANEIRO is rooted in the belief that beauty is an attitude, not a standard. 

MEDIA CONTACTS

Penske Media Corporation

Lydia Baskharoon, lbaskharoon@pmc.com 

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Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis

Abi O’Donnell, Pipere Boggio, Bridget Cirone, Tammy Nguyen 

billboardWIMpr@ssmandl.com

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