Annual Women in music event to be televised by lifetime and Billboard

Lady Gaga is set to be Billboard’s 2015 Woman of the Year, succeeding Taylor Swift, who appeared at last year’s intimate event that also celebrated Aretha Franklin, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, Jessie J, Charli XCX and Idina Menzel. More honorees for the event are to be revealed in coming days.

Lifetime-the female-focused cable network-has inked a three-year deal with Billboard to televise the music brand’s Women in Music event for the first time in its 10-year history.

“We’re delighted to partner with Billboard on this special event, bringing it to a mass audience for the first time ever,” says Liz Gateley, executive vice president and head of programming at Lifetime. “Lady Gaga is an extraordinary artist, emblematic of the strength, courage and fortitude that Lifetime celebrates, and we are thrilled to offer our platform to recognize her in every way she deserves.”

Gaga has a lot going on these days. In addition to a Fox spot, the six-time Grammy-winning pop star and actress recently hit No. 1 on the real time Billboard + Twitter Trending 140 chart with her video “Till It Happens to You”. The track was written for the college sexual assault documentary The Hunting Ground, which premiered at Sundance in January and will air on CNN later this year. Gaga has also done a solo album and has been on a recent project with Tony Bennett.

“Billboard’s Woman of the Year has always represented the finest in music, and the anointing of a key influential figure who drove the conversation for that year. No one embodies that more than Lady Gaga in 2015,” says Janice Min, co-president and chief creative officer of Guggenheim Media’s entertainment group. “From her show-stopping performance at the Oscars, to her co-headlining tour, to her philanthropic outreach and foundation promoting youth wellbeing and empowerment, to her new role as TV star, there is no woman dominating popular culture tastes and its evolution as much as she is today. What a force.”