In a year unlike any other, Billboard’s annual “Women in Music” event went down virtual on December 10, 2020. The 15th annual music event was hosted by R&B singer Teyana Taylor and celebrated women in the industry such as Cardi B, Jennifer Lopez, Dua Lipa, Jessie Reyez, and Chloe x Halle.

To kick things off, Dua Lipa took to the virtual stage as she performed her hit song, “Boys Will Be Boys.” The British singer sang a stripped-down version of the song and was awarded the Powerhouse Award. In her speech, the singer explained how we should “keep celebrating the women, and let’s keep encouraging all the young girls out there to be the powerhouses of the future.”

Jennifer Lopez was honored with the ICON Award. The Latina multi-talented entertainer was praised for all her success throughout her career. The superstar took a moment to thank all those who have helped her get to where she’s at, including her mother, Guadalupe, fiancé Alex Rodriguez, and their “four beautiful kids.”

Lopez expressed, “Music has always, always been my passion… My mom used to put me on the kitchen table and would show me how to do the booty shake, or we’d sing the oldies, whatever was at the top of the Billboard charts at the time,” she recalled. “Those are my first performances. It’s what inspired me to do what I’ve had the privilege to do for all of you all these years. Being able to make music and continue to make music all these years has been one of my biggest blessings.”

Jessie Reyez pulled no punches while accepting the Impact Award at Billboard’s “Women in Music” event. During her inspiring speech, the Colombian-Canadian singer praised women for their strength to push through adversity while stepping into their power. “I’ve always said that being born a woman on this Earth is very much like being born walking uphill,” she said. “There are so many burdens and baggage that we carry, yet manage to do so with grace.”

The “Figures” singer-songwriter went on to call out gender inequalities, saying women often feel apprehensive about celebrating their accomplishments in fear of being cocky. Meanwhile, male counterparts who boast about their achievements are deemed leaders. “Today, I’m grateful and f**king proud,” she added. Reyez went on to share some of the obstacles she overcame in the industry before thanking her loved ones for allowing her to step into her light. “Today, I sit boldly in my purpose,” she said.

Beyoncé also made a very special appearance as she presented R&B duo Chloe x Halle the Rising Star Award. In the presentation video, Queen Bey gushed over how proud she was of “her girls.” Bey shared, “Ladies, I am so, so proud of you. You’ve done this with authenticity, with grace, with raw talent, and you manage to shine in every room you enter, and I’ll always love you.”

Towards the end of the night, Cardi B received the night’s biggest honor, the Woman of the Year Award. Breonna Taylor’s mother, Tamika L. Palmer presented the award to the Bronx Puerto Rican hitmaker. “One of Breonna’s most outspoken advocates over the last nine months has been Cardi B,” Palmer said while introducing the award. “From the start, Cardi has used her platform to spread the truth about what happened to Breonna and to reaffirm that Black women’s lives matter. Cardi B’s impact reaches far beyond music.”

Cardi began her speech by expressing her surprise that “WAP,” the collaboration with Hip-Hop rapper Megan Thee Stallion made a lot of Republicans mad. “Not only was it an amazing song that broke so many records, but it was just a conversation that I never thought was going to be so big,” she shared.

She had an encouraging message for young girls saying how they can make their dreams come true with ambition and hard work. “I want to say thank you, everybody, and I want to say to all the girls out there that are just like me or just regular girls when I came into the music industry, I didn’t know if these people were going to accept me,” she said.

The evening also had appearances by Miley Cyrus, Maluma, Bernie Sanders, Lilly Singh, and Beyonce. Relive Billboard’s “Women In Music” 2020 in the video below.