Katy Perry Is Billboard’s Woman of the Year

Billboard has named Katy Perry its Woman of the Year. The prolific hit-maker follows in the footsteps of  past winners Beyonce, Fergie and Taylor Swift.

According to Billboard, “the award honors the achievements of a trailblazing female recording artist over the past 12 months, and acknowledges her overall success in the music business and her leadership in embracing the changing industry.”

Perry has been a fixture on the Billboard charts since her breakthrough smash “I Kissed A Girl” debuted in May 2008. She holds the record for the most consecutive weeks (69) with at least one song in the top 10 on the Hot 100.

In August 2011, she tied Michael Jackson’s record for the most #1 singles from one album. In March 2012, she entered the Hot 100 at #1 for the first time in her career with “Part Of Me.” It was her seventh #1 hit.

Perry has sold 48 million digital tracks in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.  She has four of 30 best-selling digital hits of all time, which is more than any other artist. “Firework” is her biggest hit, with U.S. sales of 5,869,000 copies. It is followed by “California Gurls” featuring Snoop Dogg, which sold 5,374,000 copies, “E.T.” featuring Kanye West, which sold 5,361,000 copies,  and “Hot N Cold” which sold 5,281,000 copies.

The award will be presented at the Billboard Women in Music event set for Nov. 30 at Capitale in New York City.