Chappell Roan’s year just keeps getting better. At the MTV VMAs tonight, she won the award for Best New Artist and took a moment to honor the LGBTQ+ community in her speech. The singer told the crowd, “I dedicate this to all the drag artists who inspire me, who inspire me, and I dedicate this to queer and trans people that fuel pop.” She also gave a shout-out to queer kids in the Midwest, saying, “I see you, I understand you, because I’m one of you.”

Read her full speech below:

Can you believe it? We’re at the VMAs! I’m gonna read from—I wrote a speech—from my diary. Thank you, MTV and Island Records and my team and my family and friends. I dedicate this to all the drag artists who inspire me, who inspire me, and I dedicate this to queer and trans people that fuel pop, to the gays who dedicate my songs to someone they love or hate. And thank you to the people who are fans, who listen to me, who hear me when I share my joy and my fears. Thank you for listening. And for all the queer kids in the Midwest watching right now, I see you, I understand you, because I’m one of you, and don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t be exactly who you wanna be, bitch.

During the pre-show, Roan also teased one person she would thank if she won Best New Artist: “My ex, my ex. You got me here.”

Roan is up for three other awards tonight: Best Trending Video (“HOT TO GO!”), Song of the Summer (“Good Luck, Babe!”), and MTV Push Performance of the Year (“Red Wine Supernova”).

While Roan shot to mainstream fame earlier this year, her extraordinary rise was a decade in the making. Roan released her first EP in 2014 at the age of 16. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, she said, “What’s so infuriating is how people are just now taking me seriously. Like, ‘You know what, bitch? I’ve been doing this shit and you’re just now catching up.’”

Without a doubt, Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” is her most popular song, and she spoke to Rolling Stone about the challenges of trying to write yet another hit single as she pulls together her next album.“[The next single] needs to have more grit, whether that means more pop grit or rock grit or just bite to the lyrics. Anything that I listen to—Joan Jett, Heart, Gaga—I want to feel like them. So I’ll just be inspired by that feeling and how I can capture it.”

Roan has also been outspoken about her support for LGBTQ+ rights and emphasized the importance of voting in the presidential election this November. “Right now, it’s more important than ever to use your vote, and I will do whatever it takes to protect people’s civil rights, especially the LGBTQ+ community,” she said. “My ethics and values will always align with that, and that hasn’t changed with a different nominee. I feel lucky to be alive during an incredibly historical time period when a woman of color is a presidential nominee.”