Rihanna was ethereal in an elegant flowing gown on Monday at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York as she was honored at Glamour magazine's Women of the Year Awards.

The singer spoke of how proud she was to receive the Glamour honor: "It means a lot, because I'm a woman and I represent a lot of things for women, and part of that is being strong and being confident and being comfortable with who you are. And, all the women on the list this year happen to have all those qualities, so it's an honor to be the Woman of the Year amongst all those great women."

She also commented on her revealing interview with Diane Sawyer about being the victim of domestic violence. She told ET, "It was like a weight lifted off my chest and now I don't have to talk about it anymore. I can talk about my music, things that I love."

Other strong women who walked the red carpet included Maya Angelou, Gayle King, Serena Williams, Maria Shriver, Laura Ling, Amy Poehler, and Iman. Bill Clinton was also on hand for the festivities.

Glamour's Women of the Year issue is on stands starting November 10.