It was quite a memorable, history-making night for Jennifer Lopez as she became the first woman to receive the Icon Award at this year's Billboard Music Awards.

There is no doubt that the Sunday evening belonged to the Puerto Rican singer. She first opened the three-hour special event in Las Vegas by performing exciting FIFA World Cup anthem "We Are One" with Pitbull and Claudia Leitte.

At the end of the award ceremony, the American Idol judge was honored with the prestigious Icon Award. Iggy Azalea and Ricky Martin introduced Lopez, listing many of her accomplishments -- having completed 10 albums, selling more than 75 million records worldwide, as well as earning over $1.4 billion at the box office with films. She is now the fourth artist to ever win the lifetime achievement for contribution to popular music, joining Neil Diamond, Prince and Stevie Wonder.

The 44-year-old Latin mogul then took the stage to perform her brand new single "First Love." Afterwards, J.Lo accepted her award saying, "Music has always been my first love." She thanked her family, friends and collaborators, and gave a special message to her young Latin fans in both English and Spanish at the end of her tearful, emotional speech. "All you little ones sitting on the living room floor watching the TV right now, just like I used to do when I was back in the Bronx," she said, "have faith, dream big, think big. And know that anything is possible, you never know where you might end up."

"Jennifer Lopez is one of the most iconic performers of her generation," said Larry Klein, producer of the Billboard Music Awards. "We are thrilled to honor her historic career with the 2014 Icon Award and will be on the edge of our seats like everyone else when she takes the stage.'

Meanwhile, Lopez's ex-husband Marc Anthony took home several awards for best Latin star, best Latin album and best Latin song for "Vivir Mi Vida."