The Brit Awards have been met with a backlash after failing to recognise a single woman in the Best British Artist category.
On Thursday afternoon, the nominees for the upcoming Brits – the second since organisers merged the Best British Male and Best British Female awards into a single Best British Artist prize – were announced.
However, music fans were quick to voice their disappointment when it emerged that no female musicians were in the running for the Best British Artist prize.
Instead, Central Cee, Fred Again.., George Ezra, Harry Styles and Stormzy are all in the running for the award, which was won by Adele last year, in its inaugural year.
Music fans have been speaking out on Twitter since the nominees were announced, with many highlighting the female artists who could have been honoured instead of the all-male shortlist…
Meanwhile the award’s international counterpart has recognised Beyoncé, Lizzo and Taylor Swift alongside Burna Boy and Kendrick Lamar.
As It Was singer Harry Styles and indie two-piece Wet Leg are this year’s top-nominated musicians, each receiving four nods including the coveted Album Of The Year prize.
Chart-topping rapper Stormzy, dance producer Fred Again.. and rock groups The 1975 and Arctic Monkeys are each on three. Singer-songwriter Cat Burns has also received two more nominations, in addition to being shortlisted for the Rising Star title.
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 recognise 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.”
This year’s Brit Awards will air live on ITV from London’s O2 Arena on Saturday 11 February.
Mo Gilligan will once again be on presenting duties, with the first two performers revealed as Wet Leg and Sam Smith, the latter of whom will perform their recent number one Unholy with fellow singer Kim Petras.