Shakira to be honored as Billboard’s first ‘Latin Woman of the Year’

Global superstar Shakira is set to be honored with the Billboard ‘Latin Women In Music’ award at the first-ever gala of Mujeres Latinas en la Música, or in English, Latin Women in Music.

The show will be broadcast from the Watsco Center in Miami on May 7 at 9 pm EST, on Spanish language channel Telemundo.

Shakira, who has sold upwards of 95 million records worldwide, will receive the award at the two-hour music gala, which will be hosted by Ivy Queen and Jacqueline Bracamontes. The first annual music special is a celebration of Latin women in music.

Other stars set to receive awards are Ana Gabriel, Emilia, Evaluna, Goyo, and Thalia.

The event’s sponsored honor Shakira

Leila Cobo, Billboard’s chief content officer for Latin/Español, explained Shakira’s impact on the music industry.

“Shakira is the ultimate Woman in Music. Thanks to her, Latin women all over the world have been empowered to write and perform deeply personal music,” the chief content officer said. “She created a movement all on her own, and continues to be more relevant than ever today, with grace, a deep tradition of giving back, and enormous talent.

“She is the definition of a Woman in Music.”

The music special event’s other sponsor, Teolmudo, also commented on Shakira as the winner of the award.

“Shakira has been pivotal in shaping the vibrant and diverse landscape of Latin music and music in general throughout her career,” said Ronald Day, president of entertainment and content strategy for Telemundo. “Her passion, talent and creativity have broken barriers and empowered generations to embrace our identity through music, and we are incredibly proud to recognize her as Woman of the Year in the industry.”

Shakira breaking records in the music industry

‘Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions #53′ scored the ninth spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, making Shakira the first woman to land on the top 10 with a Spanish-language track.

The album also broke Spotify records as the most-streamed Latin track with a 24 hour period, on YouTube for the most-viewed Latin track on YouTube within 24 hours having surpassed 63 million views, and also broke 14 Guinness World Records, as per Billboard.