After the controversy surrounding the lack of female representation in this year’s Artist Of The Year category, the Brits have once again been met with a backlash over this year’s nominations.
The latest conversation surrounds the Best Pop/R&B prize, which was introduced in 2022 alongside three more genre-specific awards to ensure a wider array of British talent receive recognition.
However, many have taken issue with the fact that no R&B artists are being honoured this year, despite the genre being mentioned in the category’s title.
Instead, Cat Burns, Charli XCX, Dua Lipa (who did not release any original solo material in 2022), Harry Styles and Sam Smith are all up for the Best Pop/R&B Award.
The lack of R&B representation has been called out online, including by British musicians like Tiana Major 9, Bellah and Mahalia:
HuffPost UK has contacted a Brit Awards spokesperson for comment.
When the Brits nominations were announced on Thursday evening, many were disappointed to see that no women were up for the Artist Of The Year prize, for which Central Cee, Fred Again.., George Ezra, Harry Styles and Stormzy are all in the running.
Responding to the backlash, a Brits spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “While it’s disappointing there are no nominations in the Artist of the Year category, we also have to recognise that 2022 saw fewer high profile women artists in cycle with major releases as was the case in 2021.
“These trends based around the release schedule are a feature of the music industry, but if, over time, a pattern emerges, then this puts the onus on the industry to deal with this important issue – and the BPI is already carrying out a major study to identify barriers that may inhibit more women becoming successful in music, so that there can be solutions that result in meaningful change.”
The Brit Awards 2023 will air live on ITV from London’s O2 Arena on Saturday 11 February.