The BRIT Awards 2023: Who will win, and will Harry Styles triumph after Grammys?
It’s the biggest night in British music this Saturday – the BRIT Awards 2023 land in London.
The BRIT Awards have certainly had their fair share of controversy this year. After going genderless on the awards front in 2022, this year there are no females nominated for the Artist of the Year award, which critics have called unfair.
As well as incredible live performances, the BRITs has a history of courting controversy. Will Robbie challenge Liam Gallagher to a fight again, will Adele flick her middle finger at anyone again or will Madonna fall down any stairs?
No matter what happens on the night, the panel of experts, and fans, have voted, and it’s all to play for this Saturday. You can watch live at home on ITV and there will be live performances from Stormzy, Lizzo and Lewis Capaldi. But first, how about those gongs. Here’s our view on who will win the biggest awards of the night…
Album of the Year
Who will win: Harry Styles
Awards season is vapid. Styles’ wins at the Grammys tells us he’s likely to walk away with a gong this side of the pond, although the controversy that plagued him there may mean he’s less outspoken this weekend, and perhaps less ostentatious in the sartorial stakes. He’d said “guys like me” don’t win big at awards ceremonies – a statement that black and brown minority groups thought reeked of white male privilege. Harry’s House, Styles’ hyped album, isn’t viewed as highly among critical circles, but since when has that mattered at awards shows? Especially when the audience love his music so much and are so on his side.
Artist of the Year
Who will win: Harry Styles
Styles is truly having his moment. And so he should be: he’s (mostly) immensely likeable, and mostly celebrated for putting out music with mainstream appeal, as well as being brave in his gender-bending fashion, showing what a 2023 man can and should be able to look and act like. Okay, so his critics say he ‘queer baits’ by refusing to reveal his sexuality, but let’s face it, the majority of Brits would like an invite to Harry’s House for a cuppa. If we’re looking purely at the British public, so many Brits would choose Styles as their artist of the year this year.
Best British group
Who will win: The 1975
Twice the winners of this award before, The 1975 are still riding the wave as one of the most well-loved bands in the country. It’s partly down to lead singer Matt Healy’s provocative statements of allyship, like when he kissed another man at a gig in Dubai in a statement of support for the LGBTQ community, and partly because of their glut of bangers. Their new album has gone down well critically and with the fans too.
Best New Artist
Who will win: Wet Leg
The Isle of Wight twosome went from buzzy indie band playing subterranean London venues to superstardom this year. The rise was mostly via their Chaise Longue song, an addictively catchy off-kilter banger about spending the day chilling on a chaise longue. Give it a listen. Like with Styles, their style has played a big part in their rise: don’t they look great on those swinging chairs? But only time can tell how long their staying power will last.
Best New Artist
Who will win: Sam Ryder
Everyone’s favourite Eurovision entry with a soaring falsetto, Sam Ryder’s Space Man song was either playlisted for most of 2022 for you, or was the most annoying thing you’d heard since the Crazy Frog. Ryder comes across as incredibly warm in interviews, and his huge TikTok following has gone some way to ensure he’s transcended Eurovision to steady himself into the role of lasting pop star. He was also our most successful Eurovision act in an age, coming second only to Ukraine, putting him in the history books.
Watch the BRIT Awards 2023 from 8.30pm on Saturday on ITVX
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