Brit Awards

"The Brits" redirects here. For the people colloquially known as Brits, see British people.

The BRIT Awards
Current: Brit Awards 2024
The O2 Arena in London on the evening of Brit Awards 2016
Awarded forExcellence in music
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented byBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI)
First awarded18 October 1977; 47 years ago (1977-10-18) (as The British Record Industry Britannia Awards)
WebsiteOfficial website
Television/radio coverage
Network

The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored by Britannia Music Club), but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show.[2] The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards.[3] Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event.[4] In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, was held annually between 2000 and 2013, before being revived in 2018 but has not been held since.

The highest profile music awards ceremony in the UK, the BRIT Awards have featured some of the most notable events in British popular culture, such as the final public appearance of Freddie Mercury, the Jarvis Cocker protest against Michael Jackson, the height of a high-profile feud between Oasis and fellow Britpop band Blur, the Union Jack dress worn by Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls, and a Chumbawamba member throwing a bucket of iced water over then-Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.[5][6][7][8] These moments took place in the 1990s when the ceremony had a reputation for being "a little shambolic, unpredictable and, at times, anarchic" with a criticism it has lost its edge since then and "evolved into a more polished, sanitised affair."[9]

The BRIT Awards were broadcast live until 1989, when Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood hosted a widely criticised show in which little went as rehearsed.[10] From 1990 to 2006, the event was recorded and broadcast the following night. From 2007, The BRIT Awards reverted to a live broadcast on British television, on 14 February on ITV.[10] That year, comedian Russell Brand was the host and three awards were dropped from the ceremony: British Rock Act, British Urban Act and British Pop Act.[10] For the last time, on 16 February 2010, Earls Court in London was the venue for The BRITs. The BRIT Awards were held at the O2 Arena in London for the first time in 2011.[11]

BRIT Award statuette (silhouette)

The BRIT Award statuette given to the winners features Britannia, the female personification of Britain. Since 2011, the statuette has been regularly redesigned by well known British artists, architects, and designers including Vivienne Westwood,[12] Damien Hirst,[13] Tracey Emin,[14] Peter Blake,[15] Zaha Hadid,[16] Anish Kapoor,[17] David Adjaye,[18] Yinka Ilori and Es Devlin,[19] Pam Hogg,[20] Olaolu Slawn[21] and Rachel Jones.[22]

Robbie Williams holds the record for the most BRIT Awards, 13 as a solo artist and another five as part of Take That.[23] Girl group Little Mix made history at the Brit Awards 2021, when they became the first female group to receive the award at the ceremony after 43 years since it was first introduced.[24] In 2024, English singer-songwriter Raye, broke the record for the most nominations received by a single artist in a year with seven in total.[25]

  1. ^ "History". BRIT Awards. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  2. ^ BRITs Duo On Track To Reach Dizzee-ing Heights in UK Charts Archived 9 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine British Recorded Music Industry Retrieved 28 April 2011
  3. ^ "British Pop's Big Party". BBC News. Retrieved 10 December 2012
  4. ^ "MasterCard Renews Sponsorship of The BRIT Awards" Archived 16 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. BPI. Retrieved 23 November 2012
  5. ^ "Brit Awards: 10 memorable moments ahead of 40th ceremony". BBC. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Last Public Appearance: Freddie Mercury & Queen in pictures". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Harpers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Could Jarvis Cocker flashing hit Brit Awards again?". Metro. UK. 20 February 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Have the BRIT Awards lost their edge?". The Independent. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  10. ^ a b c "2007 Brits to be broadcast live". BBC. Retrieved 23 November 2012
  11. ^ "The BRIT Awards 2011 with MasterCard unveils new location" Archived 26 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. BPI. Retrieved 23 November 2012
  12. ^ "This is what Brit winners will take home next year". BBC. 10 December 2017.
  13. ^ "Damien Hirst's 2013 Brit Award statue unveiled". BBC. 1 December 2016.
  14. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (3 December 2014). "New sensation: Tracey Emin's Brit awards statue unveiled". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Sir Peter Blake designs Brit Awards trophy". BBC News. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Dame Zaha Hadid's Brit Awards statuette design unveiled". BBC. 1 December 2016.
  17. ^ "Anish Kapoor designs sculptural red trophy for Brit Awards 2018". Dezeen. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Sir David Adjaye is 2019's Statue Designer". BRIT Awards. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  19. ^ Bertoli, Rosa (28 April 2021). "Brit Awards 2021 winners to receive trophies by Yinka Ilori and Es Devlin". wallpaper.com. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Pam Hogg revealed as BRITs trophy designer". BRIT Awards. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  21. ^ Elliott, Martha (24 November 2022). "Discover the Brit Awards 2023 trophy design by Slawn". wallpaper.com. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  22. ^ "2024 Trophy revealed, with updates to award categories!". BRIT Awards. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  23. ^ "BRITs Hall Of Fame: The 20 Biggest BRIT Awards Winners In History". Capital. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  24. ^ "Little Mix make history winning Best British Group at the BRITs". NME. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  25. ^ "The BRIT Awards 2024". BRIT Awards. Retrieved 30 January 2024.