Dua Lipa and Jay Huss will go down in history as the last stars to be recognized. As the best man and woman at the Brit Awards. Because starting next year, the two categories will be combined into one award for best British artist, according to organizers.
Artists like Sam Smith and Will Young have previously called for change, saying that the current system excludes non-binary artists. Smith, who is not a binary, missed out on the nominations for this year’s award.
Their album Love Goes peaked at number two on the UK charts, but they felt unable to fit into the gender category.
“England has been an main part of my career,” Smith said in a since-deleted post. “For me, music has always been about unity, not division.” I look forward to the time when awards can reflect the society we live in. So let us all celebrate it, regardless of gender, race, age, ability, sexuality, or class.”
The UK has been awarding prizes based on gender since its inception in 1977. OHowever, organizershave promised to rethink the 2019 awards ceremony but leave the men’s and women’s categories intact.
“If you started the award from scratch today, you probably would have done it under these conditions,” said Gennaro Castaldo, spokesman for the music industry association BPI, which administers the award. “Why can’t people like Adele and Ed Sheeran stand up to each other and be judged as artists… assuming they’re nominated?”
The changes will also be same in the international category. The best international awards for men and women won this year by The Weeknd, and Billie Eilish will be replaced with a single award for a best international artist.
Dua Lipa’s manager Ben Mawson said he agreed with the changes. “It’s great to see the UK continue to move towards a more inclusive awards show where talent comes first,” he told the. “This is a move we welcome.”
Will the artist suffer?
When the changes were first proposed in 2019, there were concerns that they could marginalize women’s actions. But experience with other music awards shows that this shouldn’t be the case.
In 2017, the MTV Video Music Awards swapped the best male and female awards for best actress. Winners since then have been Ed Sheeran, Camilla Cabello, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber.