Cardi B Is Named Woman Of The Year By Billboard For “W.A.P.”
Cardi B only released one single this year — “W.A.P.” — but apparently it was enough for Billboard to name her “Woman of the Year.”
Billboard made the announcement November 18.
Cardi B defended her win against critics on Instagram, saying, “For you cry babies like, ‘What? She only got one song.’ Yeah, I got that song, b****. You know the one that sold the most, the one that streamed the most...I'm just that b****...Eat it up with a spoon.”
She also listed her activism and her monetary support for her preferred political candidates in the months leading up to the election as a reason for her win.
“W.A.P.” spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Outside of WAP — which co-stars Megan Thee Stallion —Cardi B appeared in three songs with other artists this year.
The award will be officially bestowed on Cardi B at the music brand's 15th Annual Women in Music event, which will livestream December 10 at 8 p.m. EDT. Other honorees include Jennifer Lopez, who will receive the Icon Award, and Dolly Parton, who will receive the Hitmaker Award.
Billboard giving this award to Cardi B for “W.A.P.” only adds to the controversy surrounding this song. When it was first released, many hailed it as an anthem of female empowerment and sexual freedom, while others judged it to be tasteless and degrading to women. By crowning Cardi B — basically just for this song — as the epitome of women in music in 2020, Billboard is affirming that they consider “W.A.P.” to represent the best of women and for women — and that’s a message that many just won’t accept.