Jora Frantzis/EW
Cardi B Among Entertainment Weekly's Entertainers of the Year
Cardi B caps off a breakthrough 2018 by landing the cover of Entertainment Weekly’s Entertainers of the Year issue.
The pop culture phenomenon, who became the first woman to have five top 10 singles simultaneously on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart, opens up about her stellar year and admits she was nervous leading up to the April release of her debut album Invasion of Privacy.
“The whole week passing I was going crazy,” she tells the magazine. “Just overthinking, like, ‘Am I going to sell? Am I going to do good? I hope I do good.'”
Privacy is now certified double platinum and has been ranked among the best albums of 2018 by many publications include EW and TIME.
But despite all her success, Cardi says her “best memory” of 2018 was giving birth to her daughter Kulture Kiari in July. She cites her performance of “I Like It” at October’s American Music Awards as a professional highlight.
“It was my first big performance on television after giving birth, and I just wanted people to see that I’m working my ass off,” says Cardi. “The rehearsals were long days and I had bruises on my body, but it came out so perfect. It was worth it.”
Cardi has set her sights on conquering 2019 and still can’t believe artists like Mariah Carey want to work with her.
“I’m looking forward to doing anything and everything that I could possibly take on,” she adds. “The only thing that’ll stop me right now is time.”
In addition to Cardi, EW‘s 2018 Entertainers of the Year include the women of Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians, as well as actor Darren Criss.