As we emerge from our COVID-induced haze, into the dead of winter, the one bright spot we have is the Brits. For one night, we will bask in the glamour of this annual event, maybe even forgetting that last year's show was necessarily constrained.
There will be no remote performances this year, and the O2 Arena is set to welcome a full complement of artists and audience.
Like those of us watching from home, as well as international viewers watching the live stream show and those who will see the performances in person, the anticipation runs high. What will this year's show be like? What will be different from past years' shows?
It would take a mighty powerful crystal ball to predict the particulars of this year's ceremony, let alone who will walk away with the coveted statuettes. Everyone involved with the production has been very close-lipped, not leaking a peep of what to expect.
Still, there is reason for excitement because we know of one major change.
| Revised Categories for the 2022 Brit Awards: |
|---|
| Artist of the Year replaces Male British solo and Female British Solo artist categories. |
| International Artist of the Year replaces International Male Solo and International Female Solo Artist categories. |
| Alternative Rock Act |
| Dance Act |
| Hip Hop-Rap-Grime Act |
| Pop/R&B Act |
The latter four categories are revivals from past shows but the first two are a direct result of a controversy that arose during the 2021 Brit Awards.
Let's touch on it before we detail the other categories, discuss some of the artists up for awards in each category and disclose who we think are likely to win top prizes.
New Categories for Brits 2022
Who remembers the scandal Boy George provoked with his heavy makeup, hyper-teased hair and flowing, robe-like garments? Dare we go further back, to David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust days, when his androgynous costuming was as much a part of his stage presence as his music was?
Through their actions and appearance, these two legends said, way back then, what Sam Smith expounded on after last year's Brit Awards show.
He stated the gendered categories - Best Female Artist, Best Male Song and so forth did not allow for representation of artists who might not define themselves as belonging to either designation.
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Bowie and George were far ahead of their time; the world wasn't ready for anything besides boys and girls. Now, society has advanced to recognise that not everyone fits neatly into a pigeonhole.
It took a bit of consideration to not inadvertently cause more harm through any changes made to the binary artist designations but, finally, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the British music industry's trade association, came up with a solution.
In short order, the four offending categories were retired to make way for 'top artist' designations and a few extra categories:
- British Male/British Female Solo Artist categories were merged into Artist of the Year
- International Male/International Female Solo Artist categories became International Artist of the Year
- Best Hip Hop/Rap/Grime was revived to fill a slot left by the merging of male/female categories
- Best Alternative Rock Act also fills a slot, but it also creates a further distinction between pop and rock music awards
- Best Pop/R&B Act incorporates soul music into a more mainstream music category
- Best Dance Act fills the gap between the Rap, Hip Hop and Rock genres
For anyone who thought the Brit Awards 2022 would fall short of expectations for a lack of categories to honour artists, rest assured that the addition of four categories allows for more recognition, not less.
The One Sure Winner
Earlier, we asserted our crystal ball was not powerful enough to see into the 2022 Brits winners' list. We know all about the nominees; that list was published a few months back but, so far, only one winner has been declared.
Holly Humberstone claimed the Rising Star award early in December, last year. She was one of three artists on that category's nominees list, the other two were Bree Runway and Lola Young.
This award is presented to artists the Brit Award Voting Academy believes will be most impactful in British music in the year to come. Clearly, all three nominees deserve our attention; it must have been hard for the academy to select only one of the three. From where we stand, they made a good call.
Nine days after the announcement that Ms Humberstone had claimed that prize, the nominees for all of the other categories were announced. Did you miss the December 18th airing of The Brits Are Coming? That's when Maya Jama and Clara Amfo spilt the beans.
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Brits 2022 Favourites
We'll presume you did watch that show or, at least, have read through the nominees' list on the Brits website and, therefore, you don't need us to detail that information again. Instead, let's dive right in with a few predictions.
Adele has been nominated for four categories: Artist of the Year, Best British Album, Best Song and Best R&B/Pop Act. Surely, anyone nominated alongside her has to wonder if they even stand a chance. Maybe they're panicking too soon.
There's a good chance she'll pick up Album of the Year and Best Pop Act. Not only did her latest album, 30, reach top sales; it did so in only six weeks. Ed Sheeran might give her a run for her money in the Pop Act category but we see Adele coming out ahead.
As Adele looks set to claim Best Pop Act, Ed Sheeran comes out ahead in the Artist of the Year category. He's had quite a year, with his latest album outselling all of the Top 30 albums combined the week it was released. That has to count for something, doesn't it?
It's a good thing for all of the nominated International Groups that BTS flew a tad lower under the radar than usual this year, otherwise there'd be no question who would claim that award. Though hardly a consolation prize, ABBA looks set to claim the statuette, despite their latest album being panned, if only because we're heavy on the nostalgia these days.
As for International Artist? That award will likely go to Olivia Rodrigo, who racked up impressive wins with her debut album Sour, proving that Drivers Licence wasn't just a fluke from a former Disney kid.
Touching again on nostalgia, we've got our money on Coldplay as Best Group winners. Admittedly, they haven't really moved the needle over the past year; Music of the Spheres fell a bit flat, here. But it resonated with audiences in other parts of the world. That, coupled with the nostalgia vibe pushes us toward a Coldplay win.
Of all the nominees in all the categories, only one artist stands out as both deserving and likely to win in a specific category: Sam Fender, for Best Rock/Alternative Act. He has captured this era of angst and reflects it back at us through his amazing guitar riffs.
And he's been popping up everywhere, lately: headlining Ally Pally, playing at Brixton Academy and, as though that weren't enough, he's set to play Wembley in the not too distant future. How can an artist with such a resume not claim the statuette?
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By the way, Sam is also performing at the Brits this year. Who else is on that roster?
Who We'd Like to See Win
Obviously, every nominee deserves to win but that's just not possible. And, while the four artists with four nominations are certainly music royalty, it seems unfair that their accomplishments would be so richly rewarded when so many others are deserving of accolades.
So, while it's a sure bet that Adele will walk away with more than one statuette, we'd like to see Little Simz or Dave claim the Album of the Year statuette. Both delivered such amazing albums last year, it's hard to prefer one over the other.
As for the Artist of the Year award? Here, too, we'd like to see Dave take the prize. After all, he is the greatest British rapper making music today, isn't he?
As for the Song of the Year prize, we'd like Glass Animal's Heat Wave to win. Especially after what we've endured for the past two years, we could use a desolate epilogue to put paid to all of the sorrow and fear, so we can finally move on.
Maybe our preference will triumph. While Adele's Easy on Me stands poised to trounce the field, let's not forget that Heat Wave has been streamed over a billion times on Spotify; surely that must mean it is an overwhelming fan favourite.
Out of the 15 songs nominated for the International Song prize, we like to see the statuette go to Doja Cat for Kiss Me Too. There's just something so breathless and fresh about that song that's antithetical to the anger and disillusionment manifested in Good 4 U (Olivia Rodrigo), which is heavily favoured to win.
And for Best Group? Let it be Wolf Alice. They've been on the fringes long enough; their latest album proves they're more than ready to take centre stage.
Now, having taken nothing away from the anticipation of the ceremony, we leave you to year excitement about the upcoming Brits and the other UK music awards ceremonies throughout the year.
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