The much-awaited BRIT Awards 2023 took place for the first time on a Saturday night on February 11, 2023, at The O2 Arena in London, England.
This year’s BRIT award ceremony, hosted by Mo Gilligan, aired live on ITV1 and ITVX and witnessed legendary musicians and up-and-coming talents of the British industry converging for the annual award gala to celebrate and honor the hottest releases and most significant accomplishments of the year.
As we always say, this is Harry Styles‘ world, and we’re just living in it. Styles, who received four nods this year for 2023 awards, dominated the headlines as he swept the board with notable wins, including, “Artist of the Year.” We witnessed the GRAMMY-winning British singer-songwriter accepting awards for what felt like half the night. Styles also kicked off the evening with another glitch-free roaring performance on “As It Was,” the song that topped every music chart and smashed records left and right last year.
Other winners included Wet Leg and Beyoncé, the other big BRIT Awards 2023 winners, and Becky Hill, Aitch, and The 1975 also snagged prizes to take home. The awards for the categories “Producer of the Year” and “Songwriter of the Year” at the 2023 BRIT Awards go to David Guetta and Kid Harpoon, respectively.
“I am very honoured to receive ‘Producer of the Year’,” Guetta said. “I have always felt a strong connection to British music and culture. The UK music scene is full of world-class artists and producers, so to be recognised like this means a lot to me. Thank you so much!”
The Songwriter of the Year category at the BRIT Awards, introduced in 2022 with Ed Sheeran as the inaugural recipient, saw this year’s winner as Kid Harpoon. He is the co-writer and co-producer of Harry Styles’ third solo studio album, “Harry’s House,” as well as boasts writing credits for artists renowned including Lizzo, Florence + The Machine, Miley Cyrus and Jessie Ware.
Kid Harpoon said: “To be acknowledged by the BRITs this year for songwriting, a beautiful and complex craft, is unbelievable. It’s a dream come true to create for a living. I cannot wait to celebrate with everyone on Saturday.”
Besides notable accomplishments, entertaining banter, and a few awkward interactions, this year’s BRIT Awards received heavy criticism for the UK Artist of the Year category’s all-male nominees, which comes after the awards eliminated their gender-specific categories last year in favour of gender-neutral ones. Notable artist Sam Smith noted it’s “a shame,” saying, “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.”
However, Harry Styles, after scooping up “Best Artist of the Year,” the category laden with controversies this year, said he’s “aware of his privilege” and dedicated his award to overlooked female musicians, saying, “This award is for Rina, Charlie, Mabel, Florence, and Becky.” He garnered appreciation and applause on Twitter, but One Direction Twitter erupted in roars as he concluded his speech by mentioning and thanking his former bandmates. He said,
“I want to thank my mom for signing me up for X Factor without telling me, so I literally wouldn’t be here without you. I want to thank Niall, Louis, Liam, and Zayn, so I wouldn’t be here without you, either. Thank you so much. And I’m really, really grateful for this.”
Harry Styles during his acceptance speech at the BRIT Awards 2023
Below is the list of all the Brit Award winners: Class of 2023!
Album of the Year
Harry Styles – Harry’s House — WINNER
The 1975 – Being Funny In a Foreign Language
Fred Again – Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)
Stormzy – This Is What I Mean
Wet Leg – Wet Leg
Artist of the Year
Central Cee
Fred Again
George Ezra
Harry Styles — WINNER
Stormzy
Best Group
The 1975
Arctic Monkeys
Bad Boy Chiller Crew
Nova Twins
Wet Leg — WINNER
Song of the Year
Aitch and Ashanti – “Baby”
Cat Burns – “Go”
Dave – “Starlight”
Ed Sheeran and Elton John – “Merry Christmas”
Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal – “B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)”
George Ezra – “Green Green Grass”
Harry Styles – “As It Was” — WINNER
Lewis Capaldi – “Forget Me”
LF System – “Afraid to Feel”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras – “Unholy”
Best International Artist
Beyoncé — WINNER
Burna Boy
Kendrick Lamar
Lizzo
Taylor Swift
Best International Group
Blackpink
Drake & 21 Savage
First Aid Kit
Fontaines DC — WINNER
Gabriels
International Song of the Year
Beyoncé – “Break My Soul” — WINNER
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – “I’m Good (Blue)”
Fireboy DML & Ed Sheeran – “Peru”
Encanto cast – “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
Gayle – “ABCDEFU”
Jack Harlow – “First Class”
Lizzo – “About Damn Time”
Lost Frequencies & Calum Scott – “Where Are You Now?”
OneRepublic – “I Ain’t Worried”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best new artist
Kojey Radical
Rina Sawayama
Sam Ryder
Mimi Webb
Wet Leg — WINNER
Rising Star
Flo — WINNER
Cat Burns
Nia Archives
Best Alternative/Rock
The 1975 — WINNER
Arctic Monkeys
Nova Twins
Tom Grennan
Wet Leg
Best Dance
Becky Hill — WINNER
Bonobo
Calvin Harris
Eliza Rose
Fred Again
Best hip-hop/rap/grime
Aitch — WINNER
Central Cee
Dave
Loyle Carner
Stormzy
Best Pop/R&B
Cat Burns
Charli XCX
Dua Lipa
Harry Styles — WINNER
Sam Smith
Share your thoughts with us on Twitter at @CelebMix!