Since 1999, Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards have honored inspirational women across many fields. This year, in partnership with motorola razr, the event highlighted another class of game-changers, including musical icon Mary J. Blige, at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center. With the glimmering Manhattan skyline as a backdrop, the event celebrated innovators in fashion, entertainment, and music.
Glamour treated guests to true red carpet moments, capturing photos and videos on motorola razrs. Then, at a celebratory cocktail hour, complete with signature drinks, appetizers, and smooth sounds from the house DJ, guests and honorees enjoyed the motorola razr “Flip for a Cause” selfie booth, where they could snap group or solo shots. motorola razr further supported game-changing young women by pledging $10,000 to Girls on the Run, a nonprofit organization that encourages girls and young women to continue their pursuit of sports.
After hors d’oeuvres, the awards ceremony kicked off with an acoustic performance from Maggie Rogers. Later, Glamour and motorola razr presented custom varsity jackets to six student-athletes to honor their achievements in athletics as the Glamour College Women of the Year.
Mary J. Blige, clad in a sequined turquoise halter dress and gold hoops, was the last honoree to accept her Woman of the Year Award. Longtime friend and colleague Taraji P. Henson gave Blige’s introduction speech, noting the important representation Blige offered Henson and countless others like her. “When I was dreaming as a kid, I never saw anyone that really looked like me, spoke like me,” Henson recalled. “The first time I heard Mary J. Blige sing, I said, ‘That’s me! That girl is like me! She sounds like me, she is speaking the way my heart speaks.’ I felt seen…. I know all superheroes don’t wear capes, but, sis, I see yours. Your entire catalog is the soundtrack to my life, and I know I’m not the only one or woman here that feels that way.”
Topping it all off, Henson welcomed the Sing Harlem youth choir to the stage to sing an impassioned medley of Blige classics. Blige, moved to tears by the performance, admitted she felt “speechless tonight” when she took the stage to accept her award. “To all you women out there, just keep loving on you— that’s it,” she shared.
Once each honoree had received their flowers, the venue emptied as attendees collected complimentary gift baskets on their way out, with some revelers gathering downtown to continue the celebration.
This article is sponsored by motorola razr.
