The Brit awards have become the latest award ceremony to do away with gendered categories that split male and female talent apart. Prizes will be handed out to the artist of the year and the international artist of the year, replacing best male and female solo artist and best international male and female solo artist.
Next February, there will be gongs for artist of the year and international artist of the year, instead of best male and female solo artist and best international male and female solo artist. The rest of the categories will be decided by the voting academy, which is made up of around 1,200 music industry experts across media, artists, labels, publishers, promoters, retailers and more.
The song of the year prize will also recognise featured artists, rather than just the lead artists and named collaborators.
The Brits academy has faced pressure to do away with its male and female-specific awards and says the move will celebrate artists “solely for their music and work, rather than how they choose to identify or as others may see them, as part of The Brits’ commitment to evolving the show to be as inclusive and as relevant as possible”.
