Harry Styles wins big: Everything you may have missed from the Brit Awards
ADVERTISEMENTIt was a night of glitz, glamour, and accolades at the Brit Awards on Saturday night, which returned to London's O2 Arena.
Hosted by Mo Gilligan, the evening had some incredible performances from the likes of Stormzy, Lizzo, Lewis Capaldi, Wet Leg, Sam Smith and Kim Petras.
Harry Styles was the evening's big winner.
The former One Directioner won four major prizes, including the coveted album of the year, pop/R&B act, song of the year, and artist of the year.
Not bad for a guy who started off on a talent show.
In his acceptance speech, Styles thanked his mum for signing him up for 'X Factor', the show that catapulted him to fame with boyband One Direction.
The winners
But it wasn't just Styles who had a great night.
Female-led indie rock band Wet Leg took home trophies for group of the year and best new artist, while Beyoncé added two Brits to her already crowded shelf of awards. The international superstar won international artist of the year and international song of the year for "Break My Soul."
Ireland’s Fontaines DC was named international group of the year and David Guetta was declared producer of the year.
The 1975 picked up the prize for best rock/alternative act while Becky Hill won for best dance act.
Hill gave a special mention to the queer community in her acceptance speech, for the role its play in the genre's roots.
“I think Beyoncé actually said it best in her Grammys speech,” said Hill. “We all have the queer community to thank for the best genre on earth.”
Manchester-born rapper Aitch took home the award for best hip hop/grime/rap act, beating off competition from fellow nominees Stormzy, Loyle Carner, Central Cee and Dave.
The full list of winners can be found at the bottom of this article.
The snubs
The nominations for this year's Brit Awards sparked huge debate online after no women were nominated for the best artist category.
All five nominees for the prize were men: Stormzy, Central Cee, Fred Again, George Ezra and the category winner, Harry Styles.
This comes after the Brit Awards made a landmark move in 2021 to eliminate gendered categories in an effort to be more inclusive, following calls from artists such as Sam Smith and Will Young to make the award show gender-neutral.
Sam Smith, who came out as non-binary in 2019 and uses they/them pronouns, was automatically excluded from that year's best British male and female categories, despite being a highly successful artist who would typically be considered for such prizes.
ADVERTISEMENTWhile last year's gender-neutral best artist prize was won by Adele, many on social media have called this year's nominations a step back in progress and a snub to female artists like Charlie XCX, Florence + The Machine and Mabel, who were all eligible for a nomination and enjoyed high-profile releases in 2022.
Styles even gave shoutouts to Charli XCX, Rina Sawayama, Mabel, Florence + The Machine and Becky Hill as he collected his award for best artist. performers who failed to make the Brits' all-male artist of the year shortlist.
In an interview at the Brits, Charli XCX was asked why she wasn’t an artist tf the year nominee, despite being nominated in the gest pop/r&b category.
“Great question. I’ve heard a lot of chat about the fact there weren’t enough females in album cycle and that’s why no one was nominated,” said Charli. “But, I was in album cycle and I had a Number One album."
There was also controversy surrounding the best pop and R&B prize, for it's lack of R&B representation.
ADVERTISEMENTLeicester-born R&B singer Mahalia let her feelings be known on the red carpet, wearing a Burberry coat featuring artwork by Nigerian artist Olaolu Slawn which read, "Long live R&B".
"It's a genre I feel very passionate about and I don't think it's talked about enough," said Mahalia in an interview at the award show.
Brit tit gate
The Brit Awards is nothing without a light sprinkling of awkwardly scripted banter. But one particular incident involving singer-songwriters Tom Grennan and Ellie Goulding sparked strong backlash online.
While presenting award together, Grennan commented, “Don’t I look good next to Ellie Goulding?”.
“I love what you’re doing,” he said while gesturing to her outfit, which featured a black breast-plated top. “Are they your real boobs?” he then asked.
ADVERTISEMENTGoulding responded by saying that they were not hers and that hers were further apart. Grennan faced severe backlash for the conversation.
While Grennan immediately received criticism online, Goulding took to Twitter to defend the singer.
The most memorable Brit Awards look ever?
As usual there were some head-turning fashion looks on display.
But musician Sam Smith, who goes by they/them pronouns, wore the most buzzed about look of the night, with their eye-catching black latex outfit, designed by London fashion house Harri.
Smith’s look, which included black platform heeled boots and inflatable arms and legs, did have its fans, but also inspired some to take to social media to make jokes about UFOs and Billy Connolly’s “incontinence pants” come to life.
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Others wondered if it was an homage to one of David Bowie’s most memorable looks, the shiny, pinstripe jumpsuit with ballooning legs designed by Kansai Yamamoto that Bowie wore in 1973
Elsewhere, Lizzo turned heads in a stunning metallic Robert Wun gown, Salma Hayek and Kristen McMenamy wore striking Alexander McQueen outfits, Maya Jama stunned in a stylish Schiaparelli attire and Harry Styles opted for a Nina Ricci by Harris Reed-designed two-piece suit.
Here is the full list of winners and nominees:
Song Of The Year - Harry Styles - As It Was
Aitch/Ashanti - Baby
ADVERTISEMENTCat Burns - Go
Dave - Starlight
Ed Sheeran & Elton John - Merry Christmas
Eliza Rose/Interplanetary Criminal - B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)
George Ezra - Green Green Grass
ADVERTISEMENTLewis Capaldi - Forget Me
LF System - Afraid To Feel
Sam Smith & Kim Petras - Unholy
Best New Artist - Wet Leg
Kojey Radical
ADVERTISEMENTMimi Webb
Rina Sawayama
Sam Ryder
Artist Of The Year - Harry Styles
Central Cee
ADVERTISEMENTFred Again
George Ezra
Stormzy
Group Of The Year - Wet Leg
The 1975
ADVERTISEMENTArctic Monkeys
Bad Boy Chiller Crew
Nova Twins
International Group Of The Year - Fontaines DC
Blackpink
ADVERTISEMENTDrake & 21 Savage
First Aid Kit
Gabriels
Best Pop/R&B Act (public vote) - Harry Styles
Cat Burns
ADVERTISEMENTCharli XCX
Dua Lipa
Harry Styles
Sam Smith
Best Rock/Alternative Act (public vote) - The 1975
ADVERTISEMENTArctic Monkeys
Nova Twins
Tom Grennan
Wet Leg
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ADVERTISEMENTBest Dance Act - Becky Hill
Bonobo
Calvin Harris
Eliza Rose
Fred Again
ADVERTISEMENTBest Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act (public vote) - Aitch
Central Cee
Dave
Loyle Carner
Stormzy
ADVERTISEMENTInternational Artist Of The Year - Beyonce
Burna Boy
Kendrick Lamar
Lizzo
Taylor Swift
ADVERTISEMENTInternational Song Of The Year - Beyonce - Break My Soul
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha - I'm Good (Blue)
Fireboy DML & Ed Sheeran - Peru
Gaitan / Castillo / Adassa / Feliz We Don't Talk About Bruno
Gayle - ABCDEFU
ADVERTISEMENTJack Harlow - First Class
Lizzo - About Damn Time
Lost Frequencies/Calum Scott - Where Are You Now
OneRepublic - I Ain't Worried
Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero
ADVERTISEMENTAlbum Of The Year - Harry Styles, Harry's House
The 1975 - Being Funny In A Foreign Language
Wet Leg - Wet Leg
Stormzy - This Is What I Mean
Fred Again - Actual Life 3
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