Phoebe Bridgers Dedicates Her Trailblazer Award to Her Mom at 2022 Billboard Women In Music

[Billboard]

The indie icon was presented the award by her mother just after performing her single “Kyoto.”

By Stephen Daw

Just before accepting her award at the 2022 Billboard Women in Music ceremony on Wednesday evening (March 2), Phoebe Bridgers decided to bring the house to tears with a performance of her song “Kyoto.”

Phoebe was introduced by her mother, Jamie Bridgers, who spoke about her daughter’s newfound status in the music industry, and how proud she was of her child. “I’m so grateful that she’s found a way to use her voice to highlight people and causes she cares about,” she said through tears. “Sometimes I wish that there was a Phoebe Bridgers when I was a teenager — but that would be weird … as her mother, I’m beaming with pride to be here. As a fan, I’m just excited for the show.”

The artist then emerged, not in her standard skeleton onesie, but an all-white tuxedo pantsuit complete with ruffle collar for her performance. Equipped with only her guitar and a microphone, Bridgers let her voice do the work, giving the song an acoustic take. “I wanted to see the world through your eyes until it happened/ Then I changed my mind,” she sang.

Shortly after finishing up her performance, Bridgers accepted the Trailblazer Award, given each year to a female artist helping innovate in the industry to create space for future generations of women in music. Accepting the award with a hug, Bridgers laughed at her mom’s speech, saying, “I knew I was going to get roasted in some way by you.”

Thanking her managers, her publicists, and her label for all of their work in helping her get to where she is today, Bridgers took the majority of her speech to thank her mother, both for helping her find her way in the industry, and for the love and support she received growing up. “She waited outside venues for hours, in the smell of downtown L.A., to make sure I got home safe,” the singer said. “She made me feel like the second coming of Bob Dylan even when my lyrics were really, really bad.”

Continuing, Phoebe recalled how she asked her mom about her plans to talk about domestic violence in her speech, when she got a poignant response. “I told her, ‘I’m gonna say something like, ‘Thank you to my mom for surviving unimaginable abuse and violence,’ but she told me, ‘It is imaginable. So many people can imagine it.’ So thank you, Mom, for teaching me how to survive.”

Bridgers was just one of the many honorees in attendance at Wednesday evening’s show, which honored artists including Bonnie RaittDoja CatGabby BarrettH.E.R.Karol GSaweetieSummer Walker, and Billboard‘s Woman of the Year Olivia Rodrigo.