Shaznay Lewis, a singer, stated that it “does not feel right that female musicians have suffered” as a result of the Brit Awards’ category modifications.
Best male and best female artists have been amalgamated into a single best artist category to accommodate non-binary acts.
However, this year’s shortlist for the award for best artist consists entirely of men.
Lewis, who won two Brit Awards as a member of All Saints, applauded the aims of the awards body, but stated,
“Progressive ideas should benefit everyone.”
She wrote in the Radio Times, “How can this be the case if we do not recognize female musicians, who are role models for millions of young aspiring women?”
The singer and songwriter welcomed the category change as a “great and beautiful step” towards recognizing talent regardless of the gender of the performer.
Nevertheless, she continued:
“How can we continue a category that this year excludes half of the population, women if the Brits are supposed to be an award for everyone? I hope this is not the situation in 2024.”
Adele was the inaugural recipient of the newly-named artist of the year award in 2022, following the release of her fourth studio album 30, which was her fourth studio album overall.
In her acceptance speech, she stated:
“I understand why the name of this award has changed, but I enjoy being a woman and a female artist tremendously. I am quite proud of us.”
The nominations for the best artist are Fred Again, Central Cee, George Ezra, Stormzy, and Harry Styles this year.
Charli XCX and Florence + The Machine were excluded, although Wet Leg, Nova Twins, and Cat Burns were recognized in other categories.
Lewis said:
“Women have suffered as a result of [the combining of the categories]. It does not make sense.”
She questioned why women were “ignored and excluded” and whether it was because the music industry did not view female singers as “equally bankable.”
Organizers of the Brits stated that the changes were made because “it was time to proceed to judge artists based entirely on the quality and popularity of their work, rather than on who they are or how they want to identify themselves.”
They stated that 42% of this year’s nominees were women, but that a major reason for the best artist shortlist was that “women had very few financially successful releases in 2022 compared to men.”
Monday’s statement continued, “We recognize that this highlights broader issues with the representation of women in the music industry that must also be addressed.”
Organizers do an annual evaluation of the awards, they said, adding that they will revisit the question of the artist of the year after Saturday’s gala.
“We are fully committed to a thorough evaluation of the categories in the immediate months following this year’s event, which will include industry input and discussion, as we have done for the past five years, with any conclusions and adjustments taken prior to the 2024 competition.”
However, they emphasized that additional time may be required to determine whether women are disadvantaged.
The assertion stated: “We feel that any changes to award categories should be considered carefully over time. Last year, Adele was elected the inaugural AOTY winner, and women won ten of the fifteen categories.”
In 1998, All Saints won best single and best video at the Brit Awards for their hit Never Ever.
The girl group competed in both gender-neutral categories against male acts such as Elton John, Blur, Radiohead, Oasis, and David Bowie.
Shola Ama won best British female solo artist, while Bjork won best international female, as a result of the existence of gendered categories that year.
Lewis wrote that the group was incredibly pleased with their accomplishment: “We played a significant role in ensuring that Britain was a thriving environment for women. Does this still apply?”
The public voted for the two prizes won by All Saints, however, the majority of the winners and candidates at the presentation are selected by the Brits Voting Academy, which has approximately 1,200 members.
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