Dua Lipa helped kick off the 2020 Billboard Women in Music event on Thursday (December 10) with an appropriately fitting performance of her Future Nostalgia track, "Boys Will Be Boys."
In a black gown, the British pop star opened up the virtual event with a stripped-down version of the album cut as a number of string players appeared around her. With a simple set, Lipa let the lyrics to the track do the talking and the messaging was crystal clear. "If you're offended by this song/ You're clearly doing something wrong/ If you're offended by this song/ Then you're probably saying/ Boys will be, boys will be Boys will be, boys will be boys/ But girls will be women," she crooned during the poignant bridge of the track.
Elsewhere during the broadcast, Lipa was presented with the Powerhouse Award by Senator Bernie Sanders, who acknowledged the star for "fighting for young people, women, refugees, the LGBT community [and] she is using her platform to bring people into the democratic process."
After calling Sanders her "personal hero," Lipa emphasized why this honor meant so much to her as it repped female empowerment. "We've still got so far to go for real equality," she said during her speech. "Let's keep celebrating the women, and keep encouraging all the young girls out there to be the powerhouses of the future."
Among the other honorees at the ceremony included Cardi B (Woman of the Year), Dolly Parton (Hitmaker Award), Chloe x Halle (Rising Star Award), Jennifer Lopez (Icon Award) and Jessie Reyez (Impact Award), as well as Executives of the Year Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, the executives behind this year's #TheShowMustBePaused social justice initiative.
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