By: Hana Shamarka
After a transformative year, Selena Gomez was honored as Billboard’s woman of the year at the 2017 Women in Music ceremony. The empowering event comes just over a week after the 25-year-old singer performed her song “Wolves” at the American Music Awards. In her emotional and reflective speech, Selena said, “I want people to know that I respect the platform that I have so deeply.” She went on to say, “I got to do a lot this year, even though I had a couple of other things to do.”
Selena tearfully accepted the women of the year award and gave a heartbreaking speech thanking her best friend Francia Rasia and earlier in the day, Billboard published its interview with Selena, during which she opened up about her recent kidney transplant, industry pressure, and her rekindled relationship with Justin Bieber. Selena didn’t go into too much detail about her relationship and personal life, but she did say, “I cherish people who have really impacted my life.”
