All About Billboard Women In Music’s Global Force Honorees

Here’s to another year of Billboard celebrating women worldwide through their annual Women in Music event!

Established to recognize “women in the music industry who have made significant contributions to the business and who, through their work and continued success, inspire generations of women to take on increasing responsibilities within the field”, the event celebrates trailblazing women in all fields of the music industry, from composers and songwriters, to music educators and all other musical professions. 

Tracee Ellis Ross hosted the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards, which was held last night (Wednesday, March 6), at YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, CA. 

The annual event featured more global artists than ever this year, with honorees from Australia (Kylie Minogue – Icon Award) and England (Charli XCX – Powerhouse Award, PinkPantheress – Producer of the Year Award), but also South Korea (NewJeans – Group of the year Award), Nigeria (Tems – Breakthrough Award), Puerto Rico (Young Miko – Impact Award) and Colombia (Karol G – Woman Of The Year Award).

To further celebrate women worldwide, Billboard launched a brand new award this year: the Global Force award. The Global Force award was given for the first time to Italian singer Annalisa, Brazilian singer-songwriter Luísa Sonza and Filipino singer and actress Sarah Geronimo.

Get to know the first recipients below!

BILLBOARD WOMEN IN MUSIC GLOBAL FORCE HONOREE – ANNALISA

Hailing from Carcare, Italy, Annalisa is a singer, songwriter, and record producer. After being part of two bands, Elaphe Guttata and leNoire (formerly Malvasia), she gained fame while participating in the tenth edition of the talent show, Amici di Maria De Filippi, in 2010–2011. Soon after the show, the singer released her debut album, Nali. In the ten years that followed, Annalisa released an additional 7 full length studio albums, selling over 3.1 million copies in Italy alone. A real force in the Italian pop music industry, Annalisa was additionally selected to participate in the annual national song contest, Sanremo Music Festival, a total of six times, the most recent being at this year’s edition, where she finished third.

The Italian female artist with the most copies sold also became the first female soloist in over three years to top the Italian singles chart with her hit “Mon Amour,” and the first Italian woman ever to enter the Top 100 of Billboard Global Top 200 with her Sanremo submission, “Sinceramente”. 

Starting next month, Annalisa will head on the 25-date Tutti Nel Vortice tour to promote her latest effort, E poi siamo finiti nel vortice.

BILLBOARD WOMEN IN MUSIC GLOBAL FORCE HONOREE – LUÍSA SONZA

Brazilian singer-songwriter Luísa Sonza started her musical journey at the age of 7, when she was hired as a child singer by music group Sol Maior and went on to  perform with them for 10 years. However, it was through the cover songs that she started posting on Youtube in 2014 that she really rose to fame. After signing with Universal Music Group in May 2017, she released her first self-titled EP, which was quickly followed by a studio album titled Pandora in 2019. Sonza released her second studio album in 2021, the same year she collaborated with Katy Perry on the remix of the song “Cry About It Later.” In August 2023, the singer-songwriter released her third studio album, Escândalo Íntimo, after switching labels to Sony Music Brazil. The album contains “Penhasco2”, a collaboration with American singer-songwriter Demi Lovato which hit No. 4 on the Billboard Brazil Hot 100 after its release.

“Penhasco2” is one of the seven songs Sonza has had on the global excluding US chart. Singles “Cachorrinhas” (2022,). “Modo Turbo” (2021), and “Chico” (2023) also charted on the Billboard Global 200.

BILLBOARD WOMEN IN MUSIC GLOBAL FORCE HONOREE – SARAH GERONIMO

Just like Annalisa, Filipino singer and actress Sarah Geronimo knows a thing or two about the industry, having been in it for over two decades now. Known in the Philippines as the “Popstar Royalty”, Geronimo performed in various singing competitions throughout her childhood. In 2002 at age 14, Geronimo competed and won the reality TV singing contest Star for a Night. After her win, she was signed to Viva Records and went on to release 13 studio albums, 4 video albums, one live album, one compilation album, and 4 soundtrack albums. Geronimo has been recognized for her musical versatility and performances several times. Her debut album, Popstar: A Dream Come True, released on Sept. 11, 2003, was certitifed 7× Platinum. In 2015, she made her debut on the Billboard charts with The Breakup Playlist: The Official Movie Soundtrack peaking at No. 9 on World Albums.

Last month, Geronimo, who the first Filipina artist to ever be honored at the Billboard’s global awards ceremony, and singer Billy Crawford released the music video for their single “My Mind”, which was released in May 2023.

Watch Annalisa, Luísa Sonza and Sarah Geronimo accept their Global Force awards on Billboard’s livestreaming event tonight, March 8, at 8PM ET / 5PM PT here.