Between 1975 and 1980, Billboard Magazine hosted a series of eight International Disco Forums, weekend-long trade conferences for members of the music, radio and nightlife industries featuring equipment exhibitors, speakers and panel discussions. Disco Forum VII, held at the at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles 11-14 February 1980, was attended by over 800 registrants from 14 countries, and was the first edition of the Forum held outside of New York.
At Disco Forum VII's climactic banquet on the evening of 14 February, Summer was awarded four honors including her fifth consecutive win for overall Best Disco Artist, as well as the present award for her 1979 single, 'Bad Girls'. Summer's record label, Casablanca, shared the title of Top Disco Label in a tie with Epic Records. Summer's frequent collaborator, Giorgio Moroder, was awarded Top Disco Producer.
'Bad Girls', co-written by Donna Summer and Bruce Sudano, was Summer's third single to achieve the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it maintained the peak slot for the five weeks beginning 14 July 1979 as her previous #1 record, 'Hot Stuff', remained in the chart's Top Ten and its parent album, the LP Bad Girls, reached #1 on the Billboard 200. 'Bad Girls' was certified Gold by the RIAA on 19 June 1979 and Platinum on September 4, and ranked at #2 Billboard's 1979 Year-End chart. The single gained honors from the music industry in 1980, earning Summer an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Disco Recording.