LONDON (CelebrityAccess) – Organizers for the Brit Awards announced the return of the popular British stand-up comedian Mo Gilligan as the award show’s host for 2023. In addition, the complete list of nominees and some A-list performers have been revealed – along with some controversy.
The Brits Voting Academy, which comprises about 1200 music industry experts drawn from media, artists, labels, publishers, promoters and more, decides the winners in most categories. However, the winners of the four genre categories – rock/alternative, hip hop/grime/rap, dance, pop/R&B – will be determined by a public vote via TikTok, which will open Thursday (January 19).
Harry Styles and the British indie duo Wet Leg lead the nominations for four nods each. Earning three nods are chart-topping rapper Stormzy, dance producer Fred Again.. and rock groups The 1975 and Arctic Monkeys.
Singer-songwriter Cat Burns has received two, in addition to her previous nomination for the Rising Star title.
British girl group Flo has made Brits history as the first band ever to win the Rising Star prize, previously known as the Critics’ Choice award.
Previous recipients have included Adele, Florence + The Machine, and Sam Smith, while pop singers Griff and Holly Humberstone took home the award at the most recent two Brit Awards.
After the nominees were unveiled, it was revealed that leading group Wet Leg would be performing at the show, while Sam Smith and Kim Petras were set to perform their number one hit “Unholy.” In addition, Flo will take the stage as part of their Rising Star Award win, and it was just announced that Styles will also take the stage for a live performance.
The upcoming awards show hasn’t been without some controversy leading up to the broadcast.
In 2022, the progressive Brit Award organizers did remove gender from their award categories. However, many fans are taking issue with the fact that no women were nominated in the Best Artist category and that no R&B artists had been nominated in the Best Pop/R&B category for 2023.
A Brits spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “This year’s Brits promise to again showcase the very best of music talent from the UK and around the globe – with the nominations reflecting artists of all backgrounds and a wide breadth of music genres.
“Last year’s introduction of new categories aimed at making the awards even more inclusive, recognising exceptional work rather than how artists identify. It saw women artists thrive, winning 10 of the 15 awards on the night and Adele being crowned inaugural Artist of the Year.
“We are pleased to see Wet Leg leading the nominations with four nods and Flo winning the Rising Star, and artists such as Nova Twins also included in this year’s shortlists, and while it’s disappointing there are no nominations in the Artist of the Year category, we also have to recognize that 2022 saw fewer high profile women artists in cycle with major releases as was the case in 2021.
“These trends based around the release schedule are a feature of the music industry, but if, over time, a pattern emerges, then this puts the onus on the industry to deal with this important issue – and the BPI is already carrying out a major study to identify barriers that may inhibit more women becoming successful in music so that there can be solutions that result in meaningful change.”
The BRIT Awards 2023, sponsored by Mastercard, will take place at the O2 Arena on February 11th, the first time in the awards show’s history that it will take place on a Saturday. It will be broadcast on ITV and ITVX. All of the nominees are listed below.
Album of the Year
The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language
Fred Again – Actual Life 3 (Jan 1 – September 9, 2022)
Harry Styles – Harry’s House
Stormzy – This Is What I Mean
Wet Leg – Wet Leg
Artist of the Year
Central Cee
Fred Again
George Ezra
Harry Styles
Stormzy
Best Group
The 1975
Arctic Monkeys
Bad Boy Chiller Crew
Nova Twins
Wet Leg
Song of the Year
Aitch and Ashanti – Baby
Cat Burns – Go
Dave – Starlight
Ed Sheeran and Elton John – Merry Christmas
Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal – B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)
George Ezra – Green Green Grass
Harry Styles – As It Was
Lewis Capaldi – Forget Me
LF System – Afraid to Feel
Sam Smith & Kim Petras – Unholy
Best international artist
Beyoncé
Burna Boy
Kendrick Lamar
Lizzo
Taylor Swift
Best international group
Blackpink
Drake & 21 Savage
First Aid Kit
Fontaines DC
Gabriels
International song of the Year
Beyoncé – Break My Soul
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – I’m Good (Blue)
Fireboy DML & Ed Sheeran – Peru
Encanto cast – We Don’t Talk About Bruno
Gayle – ABCDEFU
Jack Harlow – First Class
Lizzo – About Damn Time
Lost Frequencies & Calum Scott – Where Are You Now?
OneRepublic – I Ain’t Worried
Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero
Best new artist
Kojey Radical
Rina Sawayama
Sam Ryder
Mimi Webb
Wet Leg
Rising Star
Flo – winners
Cat Burns
Nia Archives
Best alternative/rock
The 1975
Arctic Monkeys
Nova Twins
Tom Grennan
Wet Leg
Best dance
Becky Hill
Bonobo
Calvin Harris
Eliza Rose
Fred Again
Best hip-hop/rap/grime
Aitch
Central Cee
Dave
Loyle Carner
Stormzy
Pop / R&B
Cat Burns
Charli XCX
Dua Lipa
Harry Styles
Sam Smith
