Katy Perry Named The 2012 Billboard Woman of the Year

Billboard announced today that Katy Perry will accept its coveted Woman of the Year Award at the 2012 Billboard Women in Music event taking place on Friday, November 30, 2012 at Capitale in New York City.  This 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.

Since the release of her first mainstream album, "One of the Boys," in 2008, Katy Perry has continued to top the Billboard charts, setting a number of records along the way.  She is the only woman to score five Hot 100 No. 1s from one album ("Teenage Dream") in the chart's 54-year history. The album spent more than 100 weeks on the Billboard 200 and has sold 2.5 million copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.  Perry has also sold 48 million tracks in the U.S., with four of them -- "Firework," "California Gurls," "E.T." and "Hot N Cold" -- among the top 30 selling downloads of all time, and holds the record for the most consecutive weeks (69) with at least one title in the Hot 100's top 10.

In addition to her chart success, Katy Perry embarked on the California Dreams Tour in 2011 in support of "Teenage Dream," and sold out 124 arenas around the globe. A portion of ticket sales was donated via Tickets-for-Charity to The Children's Health Fund, Generosity Water and The Humane Society, and a portion of merchandise sales was donated to The Red Cross to benefit local disaster relief efforts. The tour was also the subject of this year's 3D feature film, "Katy Perry: Part of Me," which is already the fourth biggest music documentary of all time.

"Katy Perry broke into the industry not even five years ago, and has already accomplished more than most artists can hope for in an entire career," said Bill Werde, Billboard's editorial director. "We are thrilled to celebrate these incredible achievements and her amazing past 12 months by honoring her with the Billboard Woman of the Year Award. With what seems like a never-ending supply of record-breaking, chart-topping hits, coupled with her unique and fresh style, Katy Perry is hands-down one of the most exciting and inspiring artists in the industry today."

The Billboard Women in Music event celebrates the most powerful and talented women in music, and past Woman of the Year honorees have included Beyonce, Fergie and Taylor Swift.

The event is also held in conjunction with the much-anticipated publication of Billboard's Women in Music Power Players list, which recognizes the top female music executives who are leading the industry with their artistic and business vision.