FEATURE: Alright on the Night… My BRIT Awards Predictions

FEATURE:

Alright on the Night…

IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa is nominated for the Best Pop/R&B Act

My BRIT Awards Predictions

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ON 8th February…

this year’s BRIT Awards will take place. Able to house a big audience and have artists playing, it will almost like being back to normal for the decades-running ceremony. This year has seen some changes this year, including the removal of gender-specific categories. Instead, there is an Artist of the Year prize. I think this year also marks forty-five years of the BRIT Awards. You can learn more about the history of one of the most prestigious and watched annual award shows. Before coming to the award categories and my predicted winners in each, here is some news regarding some performances that have been announced:

“The BRIT Awards with Mastercard today announce the first wave of performers for this year’s BRIT Awards ceremony, taking place Tuesday 8th February, live from The O2 arena, broadcast exclusively on ITV and ITV Hub, and streamed for non-UK viewers via The BRITs’ YouTube channel.

Performing to millions of fans and viewers will be Dave, Doja Cat, Ed Sheeran, Holly Humberstone, Liam Gallagher and Little Simz, in what is set to be another monumental show to celebrate the best of British and international music.

With Omicron continuing to present many challenges in terms of planning, organisers are working around the clock to pull together the best possible show and The BRITs will continue to lead the way in terms of putting on a live music event safely as the UK navigates the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Artists, Nominees and all guests will be asked to show a negative LFT test on arrival to the venue, and fans will this year be offered to purchase stall seats on the arena floor, where nominated artists will also take their seat in an exclusive area. The BRITs are this year working with Blue Light Tickets where the emergency services are invited to enter a ballot to come to the show, following the gifting of tickets to NHS front-line workers in 2021.

Audience members will not be socially distanced but will be asked to wear their masks when not eating or drinking, or in their seats. They will be required to follow existing Government guidance when travelling to the venue and adhere to rules set out by the event organisers.

Audience tickets are now on sale to the public via the AXS website HERE.

The livestream, which will be hosted exclusively on YouTube for the 9th year in a row, will give non-UK viewers a front row seat to all the performances as they happen, as well as giving them access to the red carpet and backstage, with hosts to be announced soon.

About the Performers…

Nominated for Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act, Dave returns to the BRITs following his win at the 2020 show for Mastercard Album of the Year (for his debut no1 album ‘Psychodrama’) and a spell-binding performance of ‘Black’. The multi-talented rapper, performer, songwriter, producer and actor released his second album We’re All Alone In This Together last year to universal critical acclaim, becoming the biggest selling week 1 in 2 years (Oct 2019-Oct 2021), sitting at the #1 spot for 2 weeks and becoming the biggest seller of Q3. Dave recently surpassed 1 Million album sales worldwide and 3 Billion streams.

Making her first UK performance and BRITS debut will be Global Superstar Doja Cat in celebration of her two BRIT nominations. Doja Cat is the best-selling female R&B and hip-hop star of last year having garnered accolades and award nominations across the board including three Top Ten singles.

Another world-dominating British act with four nominations this year, Ed Sheeran will be performing at the ceremony, following another record-breaking year on the UK and international charts. His fifth studio album, = , was released last year along with chart topping singles ‘Bad Habits’, ‘Shivers’ and ‘Merry Christmas’, the Christmas collaboration with Elton John. Ed’s fourth BRITs performance will be followed by a UK & Ireland stadium tour in the Spring/Summer, including five nights at London’s Wembley Stadium.

BRITs 2022 Rising Star winner Holly Humberstone will premiere her music to her biggest audience yet, having won the prestigious prize late last year and following in the footsteps of Griff and Celeste who performed on the BRITs after winning the Rising Star award previously. Beating off competition from Bree Runway and Lola Young, over the past year the alt-pop star has garnered over 200M global streams to date as well as being shortlisted for BBC Sound of 2021 and the Ivor Novello Rising Star award.

Following his emotional performance at the 2018 BRITs, Rock’n’Roll royalty Liam Gallagher will be back for what is bound to be another memorable moment, ahead of his third studio album release coming late Spring and two huge Knebworth headline shows in June. His first two solo albums both went to No. 1 in the UK upon release.

London based Simbiatu Ajikawo, aka Little Simz had already been slowly and steadily building a reputation as one of the best and brightest talents of her generation until last year’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert came along and changed the game completely. Hailed as an instant classic, it rocketed Simz from cult hero to international superstar overnight, landing at No. 4 in the UK Official Albums Chart, earning her four BRIT nominations, with nods for Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of the Year, Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act and Best New Artist, and making her the first female to sell out three headline shows at the legendary Brixton Academy.

Little Simz: “Thank you BRITs. It's an honour to be nominated for 4 BRIT Awards and I can’t wait to be performing on the night too. I'm so happy and grateful the music has connected and resonated. Congratulations to everyone nominated. Simz x”

Nominations for this year’s BRIT Awards were unveiled before Christmas, with the above names joined by artists including Coldplay, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Central Cee and Little Mix who will battle it out for a prestigious BRIT. The 2022 BRIT Awards will be hosted by Mo Gilligan, with Clara Amfo and Maya Jama set to present The BRIT Awards Red Carpet show on ITV2.

Mastercard return as headline partner for the 24th year having supported The BRITs for over two decades, bringing cardholders closer to music through a range of Priceless BRITs experiences. This year, Mastercard will continue to sponsor the much sought after Mastercard Album award, as well as Song of the Year with Mastercard for the second time and is proud to carry on connecting people to priceless possibilities.

YouTube Shorts is the Official Digital Music Partner and will bring fans closer to the BRITs than ever before. As the home of the official livestream on YouTube, audiences around the world will be able to watch the whole journey of the BRITs unfold, from the nominations, through the run-up, to the awards themselves and the performances on demand afterwards. In an exciting first, fans will also be able to watch exclusive behind-the-scenes footage on the night on YouTube Shorts, a new short-form video experience right on YouTube, as well as listening to their favourite artists' playlists on YouTube Music. YouTube Shorts sponsors the 2022 Artist of the Year award.

The BRIT Awards 2022 with Mastercard take place Tuesday 8th February at The O2 arena, exclusively broadcast on ITV and ITV Hub and hosted by Mo Gilligan”.

Ahead of the ceremony early next month, below are the categories that will be contested. I have listed all the artists and runners in each; predicting my winner at the end. I am not sure how accurate my forecast is - though I am confident that many are right. Whilst there is some great international talent nominated, there is also a showcasing of some…