The Brits 2023 as it happened: Harry Styles wins coveted Album of the Year
Mo Gilligan hosted the awards ceremony for a second time at the O2 Arena in London
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Your support makes all the difference.The biggest night in British music came to a rather predictable end, as Harry Styles won every category he was nominated in.
The “As It Was” singer took home the prizes for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Pop/R&B, as the 2023 Brit Awards were transformed into “Harry’s House”.
Wet Leg were the other big winners of the night, as the “Chaise Longue” hitmakers were awarded Best British Group and Best New Artist on Saturday (11 February). They lost out, however, to The 1975 in the Alt/Rock category (which is decided by fans) and to Styles in the Album of the Year category.
Read: Biggest talking points from the 2023 Brits
Hosted by Mo Gilligan, the show had a number of standout moments including Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s “Unholy” performance and Styles thanking his former One Direction bandmates during his Artist of the Year acceptance speech.
Elsewhere, Cat Burns performed a stunning rendition of of her 2020 TikTok hit “Go”, and Wet Leg bassist Ellis Durand had some strong words for the Tory party, which ITV rushed to bleep out.
Lizzo’s glittery, show-stopping performance earned praise on Twitter, and David Guetta’s finale act with Becky Hill and Sam Ryder was a surprise triumph.
In the run-up to the ceremony, there was considerable backlash to the all-male contender list for this year’s gender-neutral Artist of the Year prize.
Catch up on everything that happened below...
Brits introduces gender-neutral categories in 2022
This is the second year that the Brits will have gender-neutral categories.
In 2022, the annual music ceremony scrapped its male and female categories in a bid to make the Brits as “inclusive and relevant as possible”.
The move had previously been called for by artists including Sam Smith and Will Young, who said gendered categories excluded non-binary musicians.
Why did the Brits ditch gender-based awards categories?
Decision was made by organisers in order to celebrate artists ‘solely for their music, rather than how they choose to identify or as others may see them’
‘One step forward, three steps back’
This year’s awards cermeony is not without controversy.
After the nominees were announced last month, many people spoke out against the fact there are zero women nominated in the gender-neutral Artist of the Year category.
Brit Awards backlash after women snubbed in Artist of the Year nominations
Awards body abandoned gendered categories last year
Sam Smith says all-male Artist of the Year category ‘is a shame'
Sam Smith was among those to share their “frustration” after no female artists were nominated for Best Artist.
“It is a shame,” they said “Things are moving forward, but it’s obvious it’s not there yet. From seeing that [Best Artist] list, there is still a long way to go.”
The accolade will, instead, go to Stormzy, Harry Styles, George Ezra, Fred Again or Central Cee.
Sam Smith responds to backlash over Brits Best Artist category
After a move to non-gendered categories at the music awards, no women have been nominated for Best Artist at this year’s Brits
Stars begin arriving for 2023 Brit Awards
Stars have begun arriving at the 2023 Brit Awards, taking place this evening. You can follow all the action unfolding at the O2 Arena in London here:
Watch live as stars arrive on red carpet for 2023 Brit Awards
The music world’s biggest stars are arriving on the red carpet ahead of the 2023 Brit Awards.
Social media star and Chicken Shop Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg will be catching up with celebrities on the Brits red carpet later this evening.
R&B trio and the winners of this year’s Rising Star award FLO have arrived at the Brit Awards, as the red carpet gets underway on the biggest night in British music.
Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma and Renée Downer donned matching burgundy leather looks for their Brits appearance.
Sam Smith has arrived at the Brits! The “Unholy” singer, who is nominated for Song of the Year along with Kim Petras, is wearing a dramatic, all-black ensemble.
Smith and Petras are also scheduled to perform at this year’s awards ceremony, being held at the O2 in London.
Lizzo is coming through – the “About Damn Time” singer has opted for a golden gown, complete with ruffled sleeves and a short train, for this year’s show.
After Sam Smith and Lizzo, Lewis Capaldi has now reached the O2 in London for what promises to be a star-studded affair.
Capaldi’s track “Forget Me” is among the Song of the Year nominations this year. You can find the full list of nominees here.
Brit Awards 2023: Read the full list of nominations
The full list of nominees ahead of Saturday night’s ceremony
The stars have descended for the 2023 Brit Awards, being held on a Saturday for the first time ever.
Shania Twain and pop trio Sugababes are at the O2 Arena in London tonight, as well as nominees including Sam Smith, Lizzo, and Wet Leg.
Jessie J, Kojey Radical, and “B.O.T.A. (Baddest of them All)” collaborators Interplanetary Criminal and Eliza Rose are among those attending the Brits tonight.
Viewers at home can watch the live ceremony, which begins at 8:30pm GMT, on ITV1 and ITVx.
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