Selena Gomez is Billboard’s Woman of the Year and some people are unsure about her designation to the title. Some followers have expressed their desire to have seen a different star take the title and they’re already taking to social media to let the music media giant know. Here’s a rundown of why Billboard decided to honor Gomez and what fans truly think of Gomez’s new title.
Billboard points to Gomez’s feature across the cover of Vogue as part of the reason why she was appointed to the title.
The March issue features Gomez just months after her sudden break from music to manage her lupus symptoms. It was a big feat for the singer considering the health issues she was tackling at the time. In the feature story, the singer also opened up about the dark feelings she experienced during her Revival tour and how they pushed her to check herself into treatment.
Another high point of Gomez in 2017, as noted by Billboard, was the release of her show “13 Reasons Why” on Netflix.
The show had a rocky start and some people accused Netflix and Gomez, who produced the show, of putting forth a show that glorified suicide. Despite the initial pushback, “13 Reasons Why” became a successful show for the streaming platform and started a discussion about the impact of suicide and the importance of mental health.
Billboard also pointed out the awareness she brought to the importance of organ donation and lupus.
For the most part, the autoimmune disease is largely misunderstood by those in and outside of the medical community. Gomez brought awareness of the complexities to international headlines this September when she opened up to the public about a kidney transplant as a result of complications with the disease.
Still, despite her accomplishments some Twitter users argue that artists like Ariana Grande deserve the title of Woman of the Year over Gomez.
Selena get surgery and becomes woman of the year but Arianas concert gets blown up and she holds a special concert for fans that pass gets 0 pic.twitter.com/7sdumkqn2c
— E (@Erica2990) November 30, 2017
i love Sel buuuuut i honestly think Billboard shouldve given Ariana or Rihanna or someone else Woman of the Year
— de ? (@deeeandraxo) December 1, 2017
The heartbreaking disaster that took place in Manchester at Grande’s concert was a major moment in 2017. The world came together in grief and hope to help the victims and the families of those killed and many were impressed by Grande’s efforts to unite fans with a benefit concert devoted to the victims of the attack.
But the moments listed by Billboard aren’t the only accomplishments of Gomez’s from this year. She also dove into the political conversation about DACA.
On Sept. 5, the Trump administration announced that they would begin the process of dismantling Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which would take nearly 800,000 immigrants out of the workforce and school. The decision could potentially put these people who have been in the country, many since childhood, at risk of deportation to a completely foreign country. Gomez used her platform to address the impact of reversing DACA various times on social media and highlighted how its overturn would impact hundreds of thousands of people.
What’s more, she lent her voice and presence to raise money for victims of many of this year’s natural disasters.
After natural disasters such as the one currently plaguing Puerto Rico, Gomez stepped up to join “One Voice: Somos Live! A Concert for Disaster Relief” this past October. The singer took calls from fans and worked to raise donations for those impacted by the disasters. Her efforts, alongside ones from numerous of others, helped raise millions of dollars for those affected.
And she also gave a well-received performance at the American Music Awards, just months after her kidney transplant.
And there are plenty of fans celebrating Selena for those and many other reasons.
Congratulations to the Billboard Women of the Year @selenagomez <3 You definitely deserve it. I'm glad I have seen you grown into a woman from acting to making great music and sharing your life with the world. #WomenInMusic
— Jake May (@jakemayhj) December 1, 2017
Way to go, Selena. You should be proud of all the things you have done this year.
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