The year 2021 is definitely a sign of renewal for award ceremonies and events, and the BRIT Awards are no exception. On the evening of May 11, the 41st edition of the BRIT Awards took place, but also one of the first live ceremonies with spectators since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
4000 people were able to attend the ceremony at the O2 Arena in London, just over a quarter of the usual attendance, without masks and without social distancing.
In addition to this, this year, the number of female nominations has exploded. In the past, there has been a lot of criticism about the lack of female nominees at the BRIT Awards, but this has now been resolved with an almost all-female shortlist of winners.
The ceremony was hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall and began with Coldplay performing their new single “Higher Power” from a pier on the Thames. Arlo Park took one of the top prizes of the evening in the category of Breakthrough Artist.
Little Mix took the award for Best British Band. This was the first time that a female band had won this award. It also happened to be the group’s tenth anniversary since they were formed on The X Factor.
As for the solo artists, J Hus won the award for Best Male Solo Artist and Dua Lipa for Best Female Solo Artist. The singer also won the Mastercard Album of the Year award for Future Nostalgia. She also set the stage alight with a performance medley of her album Future Nostalgia, part of which was filmed on the London Underground.
Billie Eilish received the award for International Female Solo Artist, and she accepted it via video link. The Weeknd received the International Male Solo Artist award from former First Lady Michelle Obama. He also performed his famous track “Save Your Tears”.
Harry Styles‘ “Watermelon Sugar” has won the BRIT Award for British Single, nine years after he won the award with his former band One Direction for “What Makes You Beautiful”. He is also the first Brit winner for British single to also win a Grammy in any category since Adele‘s “Hello” five years ago.
Haim won the International Group award, which was reintroduced to the ceremonies after a one-year absence. Haim is the fourth all-female group to win in this category, and it was also a surprise victory over the group BTS.
Finally, Taylor Swift received the Global Icon Award. She is the first female artist as well as the first non-UK artist to receive this award, which has not been awarded since 2017.
#Peace.Love.BRIT
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