awards
Harry Styles dominates the Brit Awards
Harry Styles arriving at the 2023 Brit Awards. Photo
© Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP/dpa
After triumphing at the Grammys, a pop star won four Brit Awards in his native Britain. In his acceptance speech, he addresses a controversy surrounding this year’s award ceremony.
He came, sang and conquered: pop superstar Harry Styles (“As It Was”) topped this year’s Brit Awards and took home four of the prestigious awards. With his album “Harry’s House”, the 29-year-old won the award in the most important category “Album of the Year” at the award ceremony on Saturday evening in London, as he did at the Grammys a week ago.
He was also honored with the Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop/R&B Act trophies. He won all four awards for which he was nominated.
“Thank you for welcoming home. I’m so proud to be a British artist,” said the former One Direction artist after the evening’s fourth award. He had previously expressed his thanks to his family, but also to his former bandmates from One Direction. “I want to thank Niall, Louis, Liam and Zayn. I wouldn’t be here without you either.”
Already on the red carpet, Styles had turned heads with a flared black tuxedo and an oversized black rose that partially obscured his face. He then warmed up the audience at the beginning of the ceremony in a red sequined jacket with his worldwide hit “As It Was” before he raked in one “Brit” after the next over the course of the evening. He is the first artist since Adele in 2016 to win four of Britain’s most important music awards in one year.
Greetings from Beyoncé via video
Styles was not the only artist with multiple awards: The indie rock duo Wet Leg (“Chaise Longue”), also nominated four times, secured the “Brits” as best band and best new artist. Grammy record winner Beyoncé also won two awards for International Artist and International Song of the Year, “Break My Soul.” She wasn’t there, but sent video greetings to London.
Alongside the Grammys awarded in Los Angeles, the Brit Awards are among the most important music prizes in the world. As of last year, the “Brits” categories are no longer separated by gender. Those responsible responded to criticism from Sam Smith, who identified as non-binary and complained that he could not be nominated in any category.
Sam Smith got nothing
Smith was nominated for Song of the Year with Kim Petras for the duet “Unholy” on Saturday night, but Styles ultimately won with “As It Was.” Smith was also the center of attention – first on the red carpet in a black latex suit with what appeared to be inflatable shoulders and legs, then with a lascivious rendition of “Unholy”.
The gender-neutral categories are controversial. This year’s Best Artist nominees were all male, although female stars such as Charli XCX and Florence + The Machine, as well as Rina Sawayama, Mabel and Becky Hill would have been eligible for nominations. Harry Styles responded to this when he was honored in the award category. “I’m very aware of my privilege up here tonight,” said the winner of the night. “This award is for Rina, Charli, Florence, Mabel and Becky.”