With comedian Jack Whitehall at the helm for the third year running, the fortieth anniversary of the Brit Awards was decidedly superior to the fairly drab ceremony of yesteryear, despite the controversially male-dominated nominees list.
With the list of gongs handed out reduced from thirteen to nine (omitting major awards like Best British Video and Outstanding Contribution to Music), popular talents like Lewis Capaldi and Stormzy dominated the night with their repeated nominations; meanwhile, eclectic personalities such as the unexpected impromptu pairing of Lizzo and Harry Styles ruled in comedic interactions with Whitehall between performances. It was also good to see new-fangled stars like Celeste, Mabel and Sam Fender receiving recognition and praise on the national stage.
Lizzo, Billie Eilish and Styles were a few of the guests to rock the red carpet, with Styles wearing a black ribbon on his lapel to show respect for his ex-girlfriend Caroline Flack, who committed suicide on 15th February. Whitehall also delivered a tribute to the late TV presenter at the beginning of the ceremony.
While the majority of award wins were predictable by Brits standards of catering for the masses and well-known artists – Foals’ British Group win was the only real outlier – it is undeniable that the winners were deserving, from Tyler, the Creator’s International Male win to the modern masterpiece that is Dave’s Psychodrama grabbing British Album of the Year. While the reduced category total meant artists like FKA Twigs and Michael Kiwanuka were left unrecognised by the British Phonographic Industry, the ceremony felt more concise as a result. In the end, only Capaldi (whose first acceptance speech was censored by ITV) laid claim to two trophies for the rechristened Best New Artist and Song of the Year awards, formerly British Breakthrough Act and British Single of the Year respectively.
Amongst the nine performances throughout the night, taking the stage were British living legends like Rod Stewart and Johnny Marr, and current pop icons from across the pond including Lizzo and Billie Eilish; my personal favourite rendition was Dave’s politicised and accusatory version of his hit “Black”, which featured excellent piano-playing skills and vocal delivery in spades from the twenty-one-year-old rapper, and ended with a call-out to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his historical racism.
Other highlights included the epic collaboration dubbed the “Brits Avengers” by host Whitehall, consisting of Billie Eilish, brother Finneas, legendary composer Hans Zimmer and the Smiths’ Johnny Marr performing Eilish’s recently-released Bond theme “No Time to Die” to great effect; in addition, Lizzo’s energetic hits medley of “Cuz I Love You”, “Truth Hurts”, “Good as Hell” and “Juice” was an instant crowd-pleaser and solidified her place atop a pedestal in all our hearts (bolstered by her giggling over not knowing where English county Somerset is later on in the night) – I only wish she had incorporated her flute-playing in more than her interactions with Whitehall during the show’s introductory segment; Harry Styles’ vocally stunning performance of “Falling” undoubtedly featured some of the most beautiful staging of the night, while Styles himself was kitted out in an elegant white lace ensemble.
Finally, I would like to mention Rising Star award winner Celeste, who celebrated her triumph with a show-stopping performance of her hit single “Strange”, with her intoxicating vocal runs and the simplicity of the piano instrumental endearing her performance to the audience and proving her to be absolutely deserving of the honour she received.
In short, this year the Brit Awards pulled no punches in terms of enigmatic performances and dealing out awards to deserving local and international musicians, though the next step for the BPI would be to give more female artists the recognition they deserve (where was the nomination for FKA Twigs’ Magdalene in British Album of the Year?) and to in the future phase out the gender-specific awards to symbolise acceptance of artistry in all its forms, however the musician chooses to identify themselves.
About Author
