FEATURE:
Categorially Wrong
IN THIS PHOTO: The hugely successful Becky Hill is a notable omission from the BRIT Awards list this year/PHOTO CREDIT: Bartek Szmigulski for Wonderland.
Why Have the BRITs Largely Overlooked Women and Non-Binary Artists?
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NOT that award shows are everything…
IN THIS PHOTO: Wet Leg are one of very few British females/female acts nominated this year/PHOTO CREDIT: Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times
but it is a chance to recognise artists and their achievements. I posted a feature yesterday that reacted to the news that the nominees for this year’s BRIT Awards has been revealed. The ceremony takes place next month and, whilst I have stated the field is very strong and there is a lot of musical diversity, there are some talking points that need expanding on. Even though categories like Best New Artist has diversity when it comes to gender, other categories do not. One of the biggest reactions to the nominees yesterday was the fact it was male-heavy. At a time when women are dominating music and, in my view, posting some of the best sounds we will hear for years, they are not being recognised. Sure, Best New Artist is female-heavy and has a good field, I think it is the only category that sort of got the tone right. Look at the Album category and only one is by a woman/female act! That is Wet Leg’s eponymous debut. Considering Rina Sawayama’s Rina Sawayama Hold the Girl and Nova Twins’ Supernova should have been included, it does seem baffling that women are not being recognised. Sawayama herself has had to fight to be included in the BRITs, as she was seen as ineligible in the past because she was not born in this country (in spite of the fact she has been here since she was a toddler). There are so many established and rising female artists who have been snubbed!
IN THIS PHOTO: Little Simz/PHOTO CREDIT: Kosmas Pavlos for Rolling Stone
It seems such a shame that the same debates need to be raised every year. Award ceremonies always struggle to effect equality and parity, but I think the BRITs is especially culpable and hesitant. Whilst this year’s shortlists are strong and recognise some brilliant artists, where are women and non-binary artists. Aside from Sam Smith, there is a shocking lack of representation for non-binary artists! I would have thought Kae Tempest would have been a shoo-in for their album, The Line Is a Curve. In terms of women and recognition this year, here is what The Guardian observed:
“Women-led acts made up 33% of the overall nominations. Following Wet Leg, the only other female artists to receive multiple nods are producer Eliza Rose, whose collaboration with Interplanetary Criminal, Baddest of Them All, was a smash hit in summer 2022, and saw her nominated for song of the year and best dance act; and rock duo Nova Twins, nominated for group of the year and best alternative/rock act.
Last year, Little Simz won the best new artist prize, despite having released her debut album six years prior; however, she only became eligible for the award after her 2021 album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert became her first to place in the UK albums chart, reaching No 4. This year, the rapper Kojey Radical appears in a similar position: he has been active since 2014, but his 2022 album Reasons to Smile was his first chart placing, reaching No 11.
The best new artist category is also notable for the inclusion of British-Japanese pop star Rina Sawayama. In 2020, she highlighted that she would be ineligible for the Brit awards and the Mercury prize, both run by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI): born in Japan and raised in the UK since the age of four, she does not hold a British passport but has indefinite leave to remain. In February 2021, the BPI changed the rules to stipulate that artists who have been permanently resident in the UK for five years will qualify for British categories. Sawayama was previously nominated for the 2021 Rising Star award”.
IMAGE CREDIT: The BRITs
The biggest blowback against the BRITs comes with regards the Artist of the Year category. I am not going to argue against the fact there are some great names there. Why is Central Cee and Fred Again… in contention!? I don’t think they are artists who have realistically achieved a great deal. Alongside Stormzy, Harry Styles and George Ezra could have come some women or non-binary artists. Sam Smith deserved to be there for their incredible work and impact. What about women like Self Esteem, Little Simz, Becky Hill, PinkPanthress, Charli XCX or countless others? It is glaring that women are missing from the Album category and there is ample choice for some terrific albums by female artists. I also think that an all-male category sends out a bad message. In the past, there were separate categories for female and male artists. That has been merged, and that has come at the expense of women. Think about representation too. Non-binary artists are not recognised. I have heard suggestions Smith should be included, also artists like RAYE. She is someone who has earned a nomination. What about Becky Hill? One could easily reel off a few dozen names that are more worthy than some who have been nominated. Look right across the BRITs award list, and there are very few categories where women are properly acknowledged. Just a little tangent, but another argument came from the Best Pop/R&B Act. In terms of representation and equality, this should have transplanted the Artist of the Year.
IN THIS PHOTO: Sam Smith
Sam Smith, Cat Burns, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX and Harry Styles are in there. That would have been a fair Artist of the Year category! It represents women, and a prominent non-binary artist is in there too. The trouble is that the tact-on ‘R&B’ seems cheap! The artists nominated, maybe aside from Cat Burns, are Pop. There is no R&B in there! It takes away from R&B acts who are not included and recognised. Seemingly realised that R&B needs to get in somewhere, it has been merged into a category but not actually represented! It is another misfire from the BRITs! Coming back to inclusion, and what has been revealed once more is award shows being tone-deaf to change and what is front of them. It is bad enough with festivals. I feel this year will see imbalanced line-ups and few committing to a 50-50 gender split. Award ceremonies are not everything but, as I say, they do champion great work from the year. By leaving out non-binary artists and women, it is saying they are not worthy or have been struggling to produce quality. That couldn’t be further from the truth! Women are right at the forefront, and we could easily have had a 60/70-40/30 split where women were leading the charge. For every Mercury Prize – where the gender balance is good -, there is a BRITs! It is a prestigious ceremony that should be setting an example. Maybe the international categories have done a better job including women, but that is saying British female talent is falling behind. With very few non-binary talent in the pack, women are also struggling to get heard and seen after producing truly remarkable music last year. Let us hope that the reaction to a lack of women and non-binary artists in the running this year shows there is a continuing problem that needs to be addressed. The BRITs (and all other award shows) need to commit to evolution and change. Recognising how insanely discriminatory and short-sighted their nominations are. This is a change that…
IN THIS PHOTO: RAYE/PHOTO CREDIT: Hanifah Mohammad for BRICKS
HAS to happen right now.