Dua Lipa and Arlo Parks lead BRIT Awards nominees as women dominate biggest category
Arlo Parks and Dua Lipa are among the BRIT Awards frontrunners. (Getty/YouTube)
Dua Lipa and Arlo Parks are among this year’s most-nominated at the BRIT Awards.
The pair, along with Celeste, Joel Correy and Young T & Bugsey, lead this years BRIT Awards nominations with three nods each.
Dua Lipa is nominated at the BRIT Awards for Female Solo Artist, Single of the Year, for “Physical”, and Album of the Year for Future Nostalgia.
The latter category sees four women nominated (Dua Lipa, Arlo Parks, Celeste and Jessie Ware) – a record for the BRIT Awards, and a drastic improvement on 2020, when the category only honoured men. J Hus is also nominated for his album Big Conspiracy, with UK rappers receiving more nods than in recent years.
Arlo Parks is nominated acclaimed debut Collapsed in Sunbeams. She’s also nominated for Female Solo Artist – also against Celeste, Lipa and Ware, as well as Lianne La Havas – and Breakthrough Act.
“To be nominated for three BRIT awards at 20 years old as an independent artist is something that exceeds my wildest dreams,” Parks said.
“I genuinely don’t have the words to describe how grateful I am. This year has been difficult to say the least but art has been holding us together in some way, and I’m excited to be part of this celebration of British music.”
Up for Male Solo Artist are AJ Tracey, Headie One, J Hus, Joel Corry and Yungblud.
Elsewhere, MNEK picked up a nomination for his collaboration with Joel Corry, “Head and Heart”, which is up for Single of the Year against the likes of Harry Styles, Headie One and Aitch x AJ Tracey.
In the international categories, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift are up for International Female Solo Artist, with Bruce Springsteen, Burna Boy, Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and The Weeknd contesting the male category.
Notable exclusions include Sam Smith, who spoke against gendered best solo artist categories earlier this month.
In a 13 March statement posted on Instagram, they said: “The BRITS have been an important part of my career, one of my earliest achievements was winning Critics Choice in 2014.
“Music for me has always been about unification not division. I look forward to a time where awards shows can be reflective of the society we live in. Let’s celebrate everybody, regardless of gender, race, age, ability, sexuality and class.”
A BRIT Awards spokesperson said in response: “Sam Smith is an extraordinary British artist and we agree with what they have said today. The Brits are committed to evolving the show and the gendered categories are very much under review.
“But any changes made to be more inclusive need to be just that – if a change unintentionally leads to less inclusion then it risks being counterproductive to diversity and equality. We need to consult more widely before changes are made to make sure we get it right.”
Rina Sawayama was also omitted from the categories revealed Wednesday, was nominated for the previously-announced Rising Star Award. She lost out to Griff.
It came after the star forced a rule change, having previously been told she was not eligible for the BRITs or its sibling award, the Mercury Prize, because she is not a British citizen.
Organisers behind both announced eligibility rules had been changed to allow artists like Sawayama, who has lived in the UK for 26 years.
Dua Lipa is the first artist confirmed to perform at the BRIT Awards, which take place on 11 May.
