The biggest night in British music is upon us, with stars and fans alike heading to the O2 Arena on February 11 to find out who is most proficient in pop. This year they’ve moved the BRIT Awards from midweek to Saturday night, so the atmosphere could be a bit wilder if no one has to be up for work the next day. As ever, the Brits are about sales success rather than subjective artistic merit, so it should be pretty obvious who the winners will be. Or is it? Let’s have a closer look.
British Group
Who will win? The 1975
Twice winners in this category in the past, the indie pop behemoths should make it a comfortable third against an off-the-boil Arctic Monkeys and three upstart newcomers. Their last album was a return to form as well as their fifth straight number one and they’ve just come off an arena tour packed with viral moments.
Who should win? Nova Twins
The Brits have been under a lot of pressure to be more inclusive in recent years, so what better way to show that this is a broad church than to give a major prize to two mixed heritage women who make cacophonous electro-metal? Supernova, the second album from Amy Love and Georgia South, is a blast.
Song of the Year
Who will win? Sam Smith & Kim Petras – Unholy
There are always 10 hit singles in this category rather than the usual five nominees, so it’s tough to rise above the rest, but this humid sex party theme tune is so ludicrous that it leaves the others sounding fairly ordinary. It was also just named Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammys, and was a US number one, and the Brits love a big seller.
Who should win? Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal – B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All)
House music was back in the mainstream this year, with Beyoncé and Drake both releasing albums heavily influenced by the club sound. This smooth, relaxed single led the way in the UK, rising up the charts to spend two weeks at number one in September.
Best Pop/R&B Act
Who will win? Harry Styles
One act generally ends up dominating Brits night. It was Adele last time, and with four nominations this year, Harry Styles will head home with his pockets bulging. In Harry’s House and As It Was, he had the UK’s biggest selling album and single of 2022, plus he’s just enjoyed a major triumph at the Grammys, pipping Beyoncé to the top gong of Best Album. This is definitely his night.
Who should win? Charli XCX
On the other hand, the trophy givers might just hand this one to a more leftfield choice and leave Harry with the bigger prizes. After a long career one step removed from mainstream pop, Charlotte Aitchison smoothed her edges and threw everything at Crash, scoring her first number one album.
Best Dance Act
Who will win? Eliza Rose
The genre categories were brought back last year after the Brits did away with gender specific prizes. All four awards can be voted for by TikTok users up to ten times a day in the run-up, which could mean victories for those whose songs work best on the fast-moving social media platform. Rose’s hit, in both standard and speeded up versions, is all over it.
Who should win? Fred Again..
The nominee who looks most like he has even bigger things ahead, however, is producer Fred Gibson. Moving from backroom work with Ed Sheeran and Stormzy to releasing three euphoric solo albums in the space of 18 months, he’s riding a wave that deserves some acknowledgement at the O2.
Best New Artist
Who will win? Sam Ryder
Ryder is the closest to household name status on this shortlist of newcomers, having enjoyed two huge TV moments in 2022 as the focus of the BBC’s New Year’s Eve coverage and also, of course, our most successful Eurovision entrant since 1998. Second in Turin, it’d be lovely for him to have a victory here.
Who should win? Wet Leg
The other quadruple nominees alongside Harry Styles, it’d be scandalous for Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers to head back to the Isle of Wight empty handed. Their self-titled debut album is fun, fizzy and highly quotable indie rock brilliance.
Best Rock/Alternative Act
Who will win? Wet Leg
Wet Leg probably don’t have four different acceptance speeches planned for the evening, but this category is surely the one that will get them onto the O2 stage (in addition to their performance on the night). Against bigger bands The 1975 and Arctic Monkeys they’re the underdogs many will want to see triumph.
Who should win? Arctic Monkeys
Unfortunately for the three-time winners of the British Group award, Brit Awards are more likely to be forthcoming when you’re at a sales peak. Their latest album, The Car, shows artistic bravery and fascinating musical sophistication but hasn’t stayed in the charts, making it more of a Mercury Prize contender.
Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act
Who will win? Stormzy
After must-see performances at the ceremony in 2018 and 2020, the king of grime will be rapping and possibly singing on stage again this evening. Seeing as he’s passing through, it makes sense to give this genre prize to the most recognisable name in the game, even if his latest album feels uncharacteristically low-key.
Who should win? Central Cee
However, in the past year more of the buzz in UK rap surrounds west Londoner Oakley Neil Caesar-Su. A blunt rapper who has an unwavering instinct for a sweet, TikTok-friendly vocal sample, he earned his first number one album last March and went on to headline Alexandra Palace in November.
International Artist of the Year
Who will win? Beyoncé
Traditionally the prize that is accepted on video by someone who didn’t think it worth flying over, it’s unlikely that Queen Bey will get off the sofa for this one, especially as she’s already buried beneath her record-breaking pile of Grammys. Her most dancefloor-friendly album, Renaissance, won the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album and she’s just announced UK stadium shows.
Who should win? Kendrick Lamar
Maybe Lizzo will win, given that she is actually going to be in the room to perform live, but no one made a bolder artistic statement last year than Kendrick Lamar. His album Mr Morale & The Big Steppers found him looking deep inside himself to tell some devastating stories.
International Group of the Year
Who will win? Blackpink
There’s never been a Brits winner from the world of K-pop, despite two nominations in this category for boy band giants BTS. Their female rivals Blackpink ought to change that after a year in which their vibrant second album, Born Pink, went to number one in both the UK and US.
Who should win? Gabriels
Easily the least familiar name in this category, and possibly of the whole night, it’s still early days for this soul trio, who have only released Part One of a debut album so far. But one listen to Jacob Lusk’s spectacular voice and it’s clear umpteen awards will be theirs in the future.
Best International Song
Who will win? Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero
The hard-working A-lister already made one surprise appearance at the O2 last month, popping up to perform this song in the middle of The 1975’s show, so don’t put it past her to materialise here and accept acknowledgement for new material that has once again enraptured the public.
Who should win? Lizzo – About Damn Time
This is the song Lizzo is likely to sing on the night, just named Record of the Year at the Grammys, and surely even the industry suits at the round tables won’t be able to stay cool when they hear it again. A disco funk TikTok favourite packed with killer lines, it spent three months in the UK top 10 last year.
British Album of the Year
Who will win? Harry Styles
The two biggest prizes of the night are British Artist and British Album, so this must be the point when Harry Style confirms his status as man of the year. Harry’s House saw him relaxing away from a perceived need to be a classic rocker in the vein of Jagger or Bowie, and simply making brilliant sunny day pop.
Who should win? Wet Leg
A close rival to Harry’s House for most fun you can have with a 2022 album, the Wet Leg debut showed that indie guitar pop could still sound fresh. It’s full of cool in-jokes between two old friends as well as marvellous tunes.
British Artist of the Year
Who will win? Harry Styles
Hope he’s got a good speech ready. When he inevitably collects this one, Grammys Album of the Year victor Styles will need to be thankful for a great 2022 as well as acknowledging that this category, introduced last year to be more gender inclusive, only features male nominees.
Who should win? Harry Styles
Come on. Against an underpowered Stormzy, cuddly George Ezra and less familiar nominees Central Cee and Fred Again, anything other than a Styles victory will cause a riot.
