12 November 2016
Newsdesk
Billboard announced today that Meghan Trainor will be named this year’s Women in Music “Chart Topper,” recognizing an artist who made milestones on Billboard’s music charts, and that Maren Morris will be named this year’s “Breakthrough Artist,” celebrating an artist who’s solidified her voice in the past year with career-defining work.
Meghan Trainor and Maren Morris will receive the awards at the Women in Music gala, which takes place December 9 in New York City and airs December 12 on Lifetime. Both Meghan Trainor and Maren Morris will perform live at the gala.
Billboard previously announced that Madonna will be awarded the 2016 “Woman of the Year” award at the event and country music superstar Shania Twain will be named the 2016 Women in Music “Icon.” Singer-songwriter Halsey will receive the “Rising Star” award, and retro-soul singer Andra Day will receive the “Powerhouse” award, among other to-be-announced awards.
“From ‘All About that Bass’ to ‘No,’ Trainor’s one-of-a-kind voice has helped make her the consummate ‘Chart Topper,’” said Janice Min, president and chief creative officer of The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group. “She’s an unstoppable force with a positive message that inspires women and girls around the world.”
“Maren Morris has dominated this year, easily becoming one of the most talked-about women in country music today,” Min added. “With a breakthrough nothing short incredible, Maren has a stellar career ahead of her that will be marked by enormous commercial and critical success.”
Trainor broke onto the scene with her smash hit, "All About That Bass," from her first full-length album Title, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The single spent eight weeks leading the Billboard Hot 100 and sold 5.6 million downloads in the U.S. to date, according to Nielsen Music.
Meghan Trainor released her second album, Thank You, this year, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with "No," the album’s lead single, becoming her fourth Billboard Hot 100 top 10 (reaching No. 3).
Trainor, who writes or co-writes her own songs, notched two other Hot 100 top 10 hits singles —"Lips Are Movin" and "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" with John Legend—in the two years between her albums. She won the 2016 Grammy for best new artist and two Billboard Music Awards, and covered Billboard Magazine in July. Trainor’s material has pulled more than 2 billion on-demand streams in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music.
Maren Morris skyrocketed to fame this year, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart with her first major-label, full-length album, Hero—the first chart-topping debut for a new female artist in nearly two years—and winning a Country Music Association (CMA) Award for Best New Artist.
Maren Morris, who performed at the CMA Awards backed by band members from Preservation Hall and the The McCrary Sisters’s vocal ensemble, earning raves for her powerful voice and stunning stage presence, charted three top 40 cuts on Hot Country Songs—“My Church,” which hit No. 1 on Country Digital Song Sales for two weeks, “I’ll Be The Moon” (with Dierks Bentley) and “80s Mercedes.”
Morris’ songs have sold more than 1 million digital downloads to date and have garnered more than 116 million on-demand streams, according to Nielsen Music. Morris also appeared on the cover of Billboard’s Grammy Preview Issue alongside Chance the Rapper and Alessia Cara.
Additional Billboard 2016 Women in Music honorees will be announced in the coming weeks.
