Dua Lipa and J Hus will go down in history as the last stars to win the Brit Awards for best female and male. It is because the Brit Awards will remove gendered categories for 2022.
The two categories will be consolidated into a single prize for best British artist starting next year, according to the organizers.
Artists such as Sam Smith and Will Young have already advocated for the reform. Thus, claiming that the present system discriminates against non-binary people.
Smith, who is non-binary, did not receive a nomination for the awards this year.
Their album, Love Goes, charted at number two in the United Kingdom. However, they were unable to break into gender-based categories.
The actor urged on award shows to be more “reflective of the society we live in” at the time, writing on Instagram.
“The Brits have been an important part of my career,” Smith said in a now-deleted post. “Music for me has always been about unification not division.
“I look forward to a time where awards shows can be reflective of the society we live in. Let’s celebrate everybody, regardless of gender, race, age, ability, sexuality, and class.”
Since their inception in 1977, the British have presented prizes based on gender. The organizers vowed to rethink how the rewards were awarded in 2019. But the male and female categories remained unchanged until today.
“If you were starting the awards from scratch today, you’d probably do it on these terms,” said Gennaro Castaldo, a spokesperson for music industry body the BPI, which runs the awards.
“Why shouldn’t the likes of Adele and Ed Sheeran be able to go head to head and be judged as artists… assuming they’re nominated?”
The Weeknd and Billie Eilish won the best international male and female prizes this year. However, the best international male and female awards will be replaced by a single best international artist award.
Ben Mawson, Dua Lipa’s manager, expressed his approval of the adjustment.
“It’s good to see the Brits continuing to make progress to a more inclusive award show that puts talent first,” he told the BBC. “It’s a step that we welcome.”
Brit awards remove gendered categories: Will female artists suffer?
There were fears when the change was first proposed in 2019, that it would marginalize female activities. However, previous music awards show that this should not be the case.
In 2017, the MTV Video Music Awards replaced the best male and best female awards with an overall best artist award. Hence, featuring Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber as winners.
The male and female categories for best pop vocal, country vocal, and R&B vocal performances were also amalgamated at the Grammys in 2012. Since then, the distribution of rewards is exactly 50/50 between men and women for the past ten years.
Female solo musicians have received the gender-neutral prize for best album ten times. Male solo artists have won it nine times.
Only two of the 22 bands that have won best album have included a female member: Fairground Attraction and Stereo MC’s.
If a combined award had been in place this year, Dua Lipa would almost certainly have won it. Adele is certain to sweep the board next year.
The singer’s new album 30 is on track to have the strongest first week of sales in 2021. It will put her in contention for both album of the year and best artist awards.
If the new system prioritizes male nominees, Mr. Castaldo believes it will “shine a spotlight” on issues the industry needs to address.
“As an industry, we have to acknowledge those issues and we have to act on them. Keeping the status quo won’t change things in the long term. So to achieve real equality for women and artists of all backgrounds, [this] is a very positive thing.”
Other changes
For the first time since 2006, the British have been able to restore genre-based honors by reducing the number of artist awards.
The awards will cover pop, rock, dance, rap and fans will vote for the winner. It is a break from The Brits, which usually distributes honors based on votes from music industry insiders.
Kaiser Chiefs (best rock), Lemar (best urban act), and James Blunt (best pop) were among the winners when the last awards happened 15 years ago.
The best dance award has been missing for even longer, with Basement Jaxx being the last recipient in 2004.
The revamps come just a few days before the British voting begins on December 10th.
The next ceremony will be on February 8, 2022, at London’s O2 Arena. Comedian Mo Gilligan will host it for the first time, who will succeed Jack Whitehall.