As 2023 wraps up its first quarter, Black women are on a roll, setting record after record this year. Black women were "given their flowers" all throughout Black History Month and Women’s History Month, with record-breaking accomplishments.
Grammy-nominated singer SZA released her sophomore album in December 2022. By January 2023, her album had gained impressive momentum and was being streamed globally. Just nine weeks after “SOS” had been released it had broken the seven year Billboard record when it consecutively ranked first on the charts throughout the top of the year. In the R&B genre, SZA’s album had broken Janet Jackson’s 1993 record. SZA’s “SOS” was the first R&B album in nearly 30 years to spend four weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard charts.
Following SZA’s impressive run was Beyonce’s ground breaking record. In February 2023, Beyonce set an incredible record of winning the most Grammy awards ever won by a single person. At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, she was the most nominated artist, with a total of nine nominations for the night. She took home four of those Grammy’s. Beyonce now has a total of 88 nominations, making her tied for most Grammy nominations with her husband Jay-Z.
Then came Rihanna with her iconic, headlining Super Bowl performance. The singer took a hiatus from her music career to focus on her other interests, like make up and fashion, but in February 2023 she decided to reemerge herself onto the music scene with a noteworthy performance. This was Rihanna’s first public performance in five years. She played many of her most popular no. 1 songs over the past 18 years.
Although Rihanna did not invite any other performers to share the stage with her, she did have a crew of talented back up dancers and a baby bump that stole the show. Rihanna used her Superbowl performance to announce she was expecting her second child with rapper ASAP Rocky. This exciting news made Rihanna’s halftime performance the most viewed halftime performance ever.
Finally, throughout Women's History Month, also known as March Madness in the basketball world, Louisiana State University Women’s basketball team dominated the court. This landed the team as finalists in the National College Athletic Association National Championship. The final game took place on April 2, and LSU’s starting lineup consisted of all Black female student athletes.
Angel Reese, starting forward of LSU, was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four this year. Reese scored 15 points and 10 rebounds during the championship game. The LSU Tigers beat Iowa, 102-85. This was LSU’s first national championship win.
So far, 2023 is off to a great start with record after record being topped by Black women. This year hasn’t even reached its halfway mark, which means there’s a lot more time for Black women to amaze us as they achieve their 2023 New Year Resolutions.
