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Polaroids from Billboard Women in Music 2026: Moments from the Hollywood Palladium
A photo-led look at the 2026 Billboard Women in Music at the Hollywood Palladium, featuring HUNTR/X, Tate McRae, Zara Larsson and more.
On April 29, 2026, the Hollywood Palladium became a ledger of achievement and shorthand for momentum: Billboard’s Women in Music doled out awards to a disparate group that together map the current shape of mainstream taste and industry power. The evening crowned HUNTR/X — the vocal trio EJAE, AUDREY NUNA and REI AMI — as this years Women of the Year, honored Teyana Taylor with the Visionary Award, gave Tate McRae the Hitmaker Award and recognized Ella Langley, currently topping the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, with the Powerhouse Award.
The ceremony read like a primer on whos consolidating influence across genres: Kehlani received the Impact Award, Laufey took home the Innovator Award, Mariah the Scientist was named Rising Star, Zara Larsson walked off with the Breakthrough Award and icon Thalia was feted with the Icon Award. Keke Palmer hosted and doubled as a performer, and the nights stage offered moments that underscored why these distinctions matter.
Larssons set was a theatrical hit: she tore through “Midnight Sun” while dancers held her aloft, a visual that pushed the performance beyond a simple pop delivery into the realm of spectacle. Mariah the Scientist staged a moodier turn of “Rainy Days” in front of a rain-soaked video wall before calling Kali Uchis onstage for their collaboration “Is It a Crime.” Tate McRae stripped down for a raw, unplugged take on “Nobodys Girl,” while Ella Langley and Laufey each opted for sparse, intimate versions of their breakthrough singles, “Choosin Texas” and “Silver Lining,” respectively.
Billboard also swapped red carpets for instant prints: the publication asked honorees, presenters and special guests to sign and pose for Polaroids, creating a parallel archive to the awards themselves. The resulting gallery, shot by Noah Reardon, is less about PR gloss and more about small, revealing gesturesa smirk, a silhouette, a candid starethat collectively suggest how women in music are styling their visibility right now.
Polaroids from the night
Below, select Polaroids from the Palladium, each an informal snapshot after an evening of formal recognition.
Victoria Monet
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Bella Poarch
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Rei Ami, EJAE, and Audrey Nuna (HUNTR/X)
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Tyla
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Lainey Wilson
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Thalia
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Tate McRae
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Ciara
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Coco Jones
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Slayyyter
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Ava Max
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Prelude
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Ella Mai
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Brandi Carlile
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Zara Larsson
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Eva Longoria
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Mariah The Scientist
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Laufey
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Keke Palmer
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Ella Langley
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Cara Delevingne
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
Victoria Justice
Image Credit: Noah Reardon
These Polaroids function as a kind of shorthand for a night that mixed spectacle and career-defining validation. For many of the women pictured, the awards and performances felt less like final destinations than chapters: tidy, photographed and then filed into whatever comes next in an unpredictable industry cycle.
