The BRIT Awards | |
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Current: Brit Awards 2024 | |
![]() The O2 Arena in London on the evening of Brit Awards 2016 | |
Awarded for | Excellence in music |
Country | United Kingdom |
Presented by | British Phonographic Industry (BPI) |
First awarded | 18 October 1977 (as The British Record Industry Britannia Awards) |
Website | Official website |
Television/radio coverage | |
Network |
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The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored by Britannia Music Club), but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show. [2] The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards. [3] Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event. [4] In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, was held annually between 2000 and 2013, before being revived in 2018 but has not been held since.
The highest profile music awards ceremony in the UK, the BRIT Awards have featured some of the most notable events in British popular culture, such as the final public appearance of Freddie Mercury, the Jarvis Cocker protest against Michael Jackson, the height of a high-profile feud between Oasis and fellow Britpop band Blur, the Union Jack dress worn by Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls, and a Chumbawamba member throwing a bucket of iced water over then-Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. [5] [6] [7] [8] These moments took place in the 1990s when the ceremony had a reputation for being "a little shambolic, unpredictable and, at times, anarchic" with a criticism it has lost its edge since then and "evolved into a more polished, sanitised affair." [9]
The BRIT Awards were broadcast live until 1989, when Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood hosted a widely criticised show in which little went as rehearsed. [10] From 1990 to 2006, the event was recorded and broadcast the following night. From 2007, The BRIT Awards reverted to a live broadcast on British television, on 14 February on ITV. [10] That year, comedian Russell Brand was the host and three awards were dropped from the ceremony: British Rock Act, British Urban Act and British Pop Act. [10] For the last time, on 16 February 2010, Earls Court in London was the venue for The BRITs. The BRIT Awards were held at the O2 Arena in London for the first time in 2011. [11]
The BRIT Award statuette given to the winners features Britannia, the female personification of Britain. Since 2011, the statuette has been regularly redesigned by well known British artists, architects, and designers including Vivienne Westwood, [12] Damien Hirst, [13] Tracey Emin, [14] Peter Blake, [15] Zaha Hadid, [16] Anish Kapoor, [17] David Adjaye, [18] Yinka Ilori and Es Devlin, [19] Pam Hogg, [20] Olaolu Slawn [21] and Rachel Jones. [22] In 1992, KLF opened the show and invited extreme metal band Extreme Noise Terror on stage, complete with flame-throwers, and fired machine gun blanks over the crowd. The group sent a dead sheep to the aftershow party, and later buried their BRIT Award statuette at Stonehenge signifying their abhorrence of the music industry. [9] Robbie Williams holds the record for the most BRIT Awards, 13 as a solo artist and another five as part of Take That. [23] Girl group Little Mix made history at the Brit Awards 2021, when they became the first female group to receive the award at the ceremony after 43 years since it was first introduced. [24] In 2024, English singer-songwriter Raye, broke the record for the most nominations received by a single artist in a year with seven in total. [25]
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The first awards ceremony was in 1977, as "The BRITish Record Industry BRITannia Awards", to mark the Queen's Silver Jubilee and was televised by Thames Television. There has been an annual ceremony since 1982.
The 1988 BPI Awards was the first of the ceremonies to be broadcast on live television. The BBC had previously broadcast the ceremony from 1985, with the shows from 1982 to 1984 not broadcast on television. The BBC continued to broadcast the renamed BRIT Awards, live in 1989 and pre-recorded from 1990 to 1992. ITV have broadcast the awards since 1993, pre-recorded until 2006 and live from 2007 onwards. [10] BBC Radio 1 has provided backstage radio coverage since 2008.
For many years, ITV have aired a launch show in January titled The BRITs Are Coming, which reveals some of the artists who have been nominated at the upcoming ceremony. Previous hosts include Jonathan Ross and Kate Thornton. The 2013, 2014 and March 2021 host was Nick Grimshaw, followed by Reggie Yates and Laura Whitmore in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Emma Willis hosted The BRITs Are Coming in 2017 and again in 2018 when it was broadcast live for the first time. Clara Amfo hosted the 2019 launch show and Alice Levine hosted in 2020. Grimshaw hosted the March 2021 The Brits Are Coming with Griff. The December 2021 launch show was hosted by Amfo and Maya Jama.
The 2023 edition took place on 11 February 2023 and was held, for the first time, on a weekend. The nominees for 2023 were announced via the BRITs social platforms on 12 January 2023 by Jack Saunders and Vick Hope.
In 1987 the BPI Awards ceremony was held in the Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel. At the time there was a BBC electricians' strike in effect, and the organisers decided to use a non-TV events production company, called Upfront, to manage the show. Despite the show being picketed, the event was transmitted as intended. For a while, the outdoor broadcast scanner was rocked on its wheels by the protesters and they managed to shut off the power to one of the big GE video screen projectors. Upfront was then asked to organise the following year and persuaded the BPI to move the event to a larger venue, starting the trend that continues to this day, albeit at The O2, and with a different production company (MJK Productions).
In 1989, the ceremony was broadcast live and presented by Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood and singer Samantha Fox. The inexperience of the hosts, an ineffective autocue, and little preparation combined to create an unprofessional show that was poorly received. [26] The hosts continually got their lines mixed up, a pre-recorded message from Michael Jackson was never transmitted and several guest stars arrived late on stage or at the wrong time, such as Boy George in place of The Four Tops.
In accepting the award for British Group from Boy George at the 1989 awards, Andy Bell of Erasure kissed George on stage to cheers from the crowd, with Bell stating it was an act in protest against Section 28 introduced by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government that prohibited the "promotion" of homosexuality in schools. [26]
The 1990 awards ceremony saw the last public appearance of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. [27] Queen appeared at the ceremony to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music. [27] [28] Mercury (who had been suffering from AIDS since 1987 but had not disclosed it to the public) did not make a speech, as Brian May did the talking on behalf of the other members, but his gaunt appearance was noticeable. [29]
In 1992, dance/art band The KLF was awarded Best British Group (shared with Simply Red) and were booked to open the show. In an attempt to hijack the event, the duo collaborated with grindcore metal band Extreme Noise Terror to perform a death metal version of the dance song "3 a.m. Eternal", a performance that prompted conductor Sir Georg Solti to walk out in disgust. [30] The performance ended with Bill Drummond firing blanks from a vintage machine gun over the audience and KLF publicist/announcer Scott Piering stating "Ladies and gentlemen, The KLF have now left the music business". [31] Producers of the show then refused to let a motorcycle courier collect the award on behalf of the band. [32] Later that evening, the KLF dumped a dead sheep outside the venue of an after-show party, [31] [32] whilst their Brit Award was reportedly found buried in a field near Stonehenge in 1993. [9]
In 1996, Michael Jackson was given a special Artist of a Generation award. At the ceremony he accompanied his single "Earth Song" with a stage show, culminating with Jackson as a 'Christ-like figure' surrounded by children. Jarvis Cocker, of the band Pulp, mounted the stage in what he would later claim as a protest at this portion of the performance. [26] Cocker ran across the stage, lifting his shirt and pointing his (clothed) backside in Jackson's direction. Cocker was subsequently questioned by the police but was told he would not be prosecuted. [26]
Regarding his actions, Cocker said, "My actions were a form of protest at the way Michael Jackson sees himself as some kind of Christ-like figure with the power of healing. I just ran on the stage. I didn't make any contact with anyone as far as I recall." [33]
1996 saw the height of a well-documented feud between Britpop bands Oasis and Blur. The differing styles of the bands, coupled with their prominence within the Britpop movement, led the British media to seize upon the rivalry between the bands. [34] Both factions played along, with the Gallaghers taunting Blur at the 1996 BRIT Awards by singing a rendition of "Parklife" when they collected their award for Best British Group (with Liam Gallagher changing the lyrics to "Shite-life" and Noel Gallagher changing them to "Marmite"). [9]
"There's no denying they're a lot slicker, a lot tamer now than they were in their '80s and '90s heyday. Will we ever see another stage invasion, a politician getting a soaking, or one of the country's biggest stars offering another out for a fight? Probably not."
—Gemma Peplow, entertainment reporter for Sky News, Brit Awards 2021: From Geri to Jarvis – the biggest moments in show's history. [26]
In 1998, Danbert Nobacon of the politically active band Chumbawamba threw a bucket of iced water over then-Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Despite apologies on behalf of the band from EMI Europe, Chumbawamba were unrepentant, saying, "If John Prescott has the nerve to turn up at events like the Brit Awards in a vain attempt to make Labour seem cool and trendy, then he deserves all we can throw at him." [35]
Some controversy was caused by the host of the 2007 awards ceremony, comedian Russell Brand, who made several quips relating to news stories of the time including Robbie Williams entering rehab for addiction to prescription drugs, the Queen's 'naughty bits' and a fatal friendly fire incident involving a British soldier killed by American armed forces in Iraq. ITV received over 300 complaint calls from viewers. [36] He would again instigate controversy the following year at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.
Adele won the British Album of the Year widely regarded as the most coveted award. Less than half a minute into her acceptance speech, host James Corden was forced to cut Adele off in order to introduce Blur who were due to perform an eleven-minute set as they had received the Outstanding Contribution to Music and the ceremony was running over its allotted time. [37] Adele was visibly annoyed and proceeded to raise her middle finger [38] and the producers of the show came under fire on Twitter for the decision. [39] Following the incident Adele said "I got cut off during my speech for Best Album and I flung the middle finger. But that finger was to the suits at The BRIT Awards, not to my fans". [40] Adele received an apology from the show's organisers, who stated; "We send our deepest apologies to Adele that her big moment was cut short. We don't want this to undermine her incredible achievement in winning our night's biggest award. It tops off what's been an incredible year for her." [41] Due to the tight schedule, only three of the five songs Blur played were broadcast on ITV.
On 2014 Arctic Monkeys won the British Album of the Year. When the band got up on stage to receive the award, lead singer Alex Turner, started his speech by testing the mic and then talked about the cyclical nature of rock music, saying that even if its popularity declines it will never die as a music genre, while the rest of the band laughed in the background. He ended the speech by saying, "Invoice me for the microphone if you need to", dropped it to the ground, and left the stage. [42] That night they became the first act to win both British Album and British Group three times. [43] The speech divided both press and audience, being labeled as both "pretentious twaddle" and a sincere defence of the genre, [44] [45] as well as garnering reactions from other musicians, with Johnny Marr saying it was "quite poetic". [46]
When asked a few days later, Turner said, "In public, I'm a quiet guy, so doing anything in front of lots of people always makes me nervous. I'm known for my music, not how well I deliver a speech. People always assume if you're in a band that's been on the scene for ages that you're going to be really confident, but that's not true at all." [47] In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, he re-addressed the speech, "A lot of people thought I was waffling away on drugs, but I wasn't. I just can't pretend getting an award was something I've dreamed about since I was a kid, because it isn't." [48] In 2022 when an interviewer implied the speech was akin to performance art, Turner seemed to agree. [49] Wet Leg's singer Rhian Teasdale quoted part of Turner's speech, during the 2023 ceremony, as the band won New Artist. [50]
At 67 years of age, the influential musician David Bowie became the oldest recipient of now defunct British Male Solo Artist. [51] Bowie used his acceptance speech, delivered in his absence by Kate Moss, to urge Scotland to remain part of the UK in the September 2014 Scottish independence referendum. His speech read: "I'm completely delighted to have a Brit for being the best male – but I am, aren't I Kate? Yes. I think it's a great way to end the day. Thank you very, very much and Scotland stay with us." [52] Bowie's unusual intervention in British politics garnered a significant reaction throughout the UK on social media. [51] [53]
In 2021, Little Mix's win for British Group marked the first time that a girl group had won that award since it was first introduced in 1977. [54] The group used their acceptance speech to call out white male dominance, misogyny, sexism and lack of diversity in the industry. Fellow group member Leigh-Anne Pinnock stated "It's not easy being a female in the UK pop industry. We've all seen the white male dominance, misogyny, sexism, and lack of diversity. We're proud of how we've stuck together, stood for our group, surrounded ourselves with strong women, and are now using our voices more than ever."
Little Mix also called out the awards ceremony for the lack of nominations and wins for female groups in the category while paying homage to previous "female bands" including the Spice Girls, Sugababes, All Saints, and Girls Aloud etc, who all had made significant contributions to pop culture in the UK but were overlooked by the Brit Awards. [54] [55]
At the Brit Awards 2024, English singer-songwriter Raye received seven nominations, making her the most nominated artist in a single year breaking a record held by Gorillaz, Craig David and Robbie Williams. [56] Furthermore, she broke the record for the most wins received in a single night with six in total. [57]
Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell, wore a Union Jack dress. [7] [58] [59] [60] Spicemania was at its height in the UK and the Spice Girls had just cracked the US as well, reaching Number 1 with their debut single and album. Halliwell was originally going to wear an all-black dress, but she thought it was too boring so her sister sewed on a Union Jack tea towel, with a 'peace' sign on the back. The now iconic red, white and blue mini-dress was worn during the Spice Girls' performance of their Number 1 song "Who Do You Think You Are". [61] In 1998 she sold her dress in a charity auction to Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas for a record £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold. [62] This performance won the Spice Girls the award for "BRITs Hits 30 – Best Live Performance at The BRIT Awards" at the 2010 BRIT Awards, with Samantha Fox presenting the award to Geri Halliwell and Mel B. [63]
Three years following the iconic Spice Girls performance, Halliwell, now a solo artist, performed her new single "Bag It Up" at the 2000 BRIT Awards. The performance featured Halliwell emerging, whilst dancing on with a pole, from a pair of large inflatable female legs. As the performance continued, her male backing dancers stripped to their pink briefs whilst dancing with the Union Jack flag. It is widely believed that Halliwell lip-synced her performance. In addition to all this, the performance is famous for being performed on the same night that the Spice Girls received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, which Halliwell declined to accept with her former bandmates.
When it was announced that past Brit Award recipient Damon Albarn, and his project Gorillaz, would be taking the stage at the 2002 Brit Awards, no one knew what to expect. The four cartoon members of the band performed the song on giant life size screens (an early version of a 3D hologram) without the Blur frontman being present at all. [64] The band performed their hit single "Clint Eastwood" alongside UK underground rap group Phi Life Cypher and a group of silhouetted female dancers mimicking the zombies from the band's music video. [64] The performance received rapturous cheers and applause. [65]
English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud marked their first ever performance at the 2009 ceremony, by performing their single "The Promise". The performance saw the members, Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Nadine Coyle appear as though they were naked, with their modesty being covered by pink feather fans. This performance was nominated in the 2010 ceremony for the "BRITs Hits 30 – Best Live Performance at The BRIT Awards", alongside Oasis and The Who, which the Spice Girls eventually went on to win. [63]
Adele performed her song "Someone like You" at the 2011 BRITs with only a piano accompanying her. Her emotional performance was received with a standing ovation at the O2 Arena and the video has received 187 million views so far on YouTube. The performance launched "Someone Like You" 46 spots up the UK charts to Number 1, and in the process, made Adele the first artist in the UK since The Beatles to have two top five singles and two top five albums at the same time. The performance had all lights down and focused on Adele and her piano. [59]
Madonna's live return to BRIT Awards after 20 years was widely promoted in the media in the days leading up to the ceremony and during the show itself. [66] During the performance of "Living for Love", she walked onstage wearing an oversized cape. When standing on stairs situated on the stage, the cape's cord failed to separate, so when Madonna's backing dancer pulled the cape behind her, she fell down the stairs and noticeably hit the stage hard. [67] She paused momentarily as her backing music continued, before she managed to separate herself from the cape and then continued performing. [68] In an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show , Madonna blamed her fall on a wardrobe malfunction as her cape had been tied too tightly so it could not be unfastened in time, before adding: "I had a little bit of whiplash, I smacked the back of my head. And I had a man standing over me with a flashlight until about 3am to make sure I was compos mentis. I know how to fall, I have fallen off my horse many times." [58] [59] [67]
In the leadup to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Katy Perry was a major endorsement for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, performing at many of her rallies and speaking at public events. After Donald Trump won the election, Perry returned to recording her fifth studio album and in February 2017 released "Chained to the Rhythm". During the performance, she was joined onstage by two large skeletal puppets dressed as Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May. [69] The performance was also notable as a backing dancer fell offstage at the end of the performance whilst wearing a house costume. [70] [58]
According to The BRIT Awards website, the list of eligible artists, albums, and singles is compiled by the Official Charts Company and submitted to the voting academy, which consists of over 1,000 members of the music industry, including the previous year's nominees and winners. The voters use a secure online website to vote, and the voting is scrutinized by Electoral Reform Services. [71] The concept of fan voting was abolished after the 2019 Brit Awards, but brought back in 2022.
Coldplay are the act with most performances ever, with five opening presentations and eight overall, followed by Take That and band member Robbie Williams, who performed seven times each. Adele has performed at five ceremonies, the most amongst female artists.
There have been numerous acts, both groups and individuals, that have won multiple awards. The table below shows those that have won four or more awards. [72] [73] [74] [75]
Number of awards | British acts | Notes |
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13 | Robbie Williams |
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12 | Adele |
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9 | Coldplay |
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8 | Take That |
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7 | Arctic Monkeys |
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Annie Lennox |
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One Direction |
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Dua Lipa |
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Ed Sheeran |
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6 | David Bowie |
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Phil Collins |
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Oasis |
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Harry Styles |
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Raye |
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5 | Blur |
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Elton John |
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Spice Girls |
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4 | The Beatles |
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Dido |
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Manic Street Preachers |
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Emeli Sandé |
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Paul Weller |
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The 1975 |
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Number of awards | International acts | Notes |
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7 | U2 |
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6 | Michael Jackson |
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Beyoncé |
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5 | Björk |
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Foo Fighters |
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Prince |
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4 | Kylie Minogue |
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Eminem |
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3 | Beck |
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Billie Eilish |
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Lady Gaga |
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Bruno Mars |
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R.E.M. |
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Scissor Sisters |
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Justin Timberlake |
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Kanye West |
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Year | Air date | Official ratings [78] (in millions) (Includes HD) | Weekly rank [78] |
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1999 | 17 February | 9.86 | 12 |
2000 | 4 March | 9.61 | 12 |
2001 | 27 February | 8.62 | 18 |
2002 | 21 February | 7.83 | 15 |
2003 | 20 February | 7.64 | 15 |
2004 | 17 February | 6.18 | 18 |
2005 | 10 February | 6.32 | 17 |
2006 | 16 February | 4.70 | 22 |
2007 | 14 February | 5.43 | 19 |
2008 | 20 February | 6.35 | 17 |
2009 | 18 February | 5.49 | 17 |
2010 | 16 February | 6.52 | 14 |
2011 | 15 February | 4.79 | 18 |
2012 | 21 February | 6.63 | 17 |
2013 | 20 February | 5.91 | 14 |
2014 | 19 February | 3.84 | 18 |
2015 | 25 February | 5.99 | 13 |
2016 | 24 February | 6.22 | 13 |
2017 | 22 February | 5.57 | 14 |
2018 | 21 February | 4.94 | 17 |
2019 | 20 February | 4.82 | 28 |
2020 | 18 February | 4.42 | 35 |
2021 | 11 May | 3.27 | 50 |
2022 | 8 February | 2.70 [79] | — |
2023 | 11 February | 3.79 | 26 |
2024 | 2 March | 2.92 | 40 |
The Spice Girls were an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ; Melanie C ; Emma Bunton ; Geri Halliwell ; and Victoria Beckham. They have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group of all time. With their "girl power" mantra, the Spice Girls redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became popular culture icons of the decade.
Ann Lennox is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart went on to achieve international success in the 1980s as Eurythmics. Appearing in the 1983 music video for "Sweet Dreams " with orange cropped hair and wearing a man's lounge suit, the BBC wrote, "all eyes were on Annie Lennox, the singer whose powerful androgynous look defied the male gaze". Subsequent hits with Eurythmics include "There Must Be an Angel ", "Love Is a Stranger" and "Here Comes the Rain Again".
Emma Lee Bunton is an English singer, songwriter, media personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice, reflecting the fact that she was the youngest member.
Geraldine Estelle Halliwell-Horner is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, author, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Ginger Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time. Their slogan "girl power" was most closely associated with Halliwell and her Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards also became an enduring symbol. Halliwell left the Spice Girls in 1998, citing exhaustion and creative differences, but rejoined when they reunited for a greatest hits album (2007) and two concert tours: the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019).
"Wannabe" is the debut single by the British girl group the Spice Girls, released on 26 June 1996. It was written by the Spice Girls, Matt Rowe and Richard "Biff" Stannard and produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album, Spice, released in November 1996. The song was originally mixed by Dave Way, however the Spice Girls were not pleased with the result, and the recording was instead mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent. A dance-pop song, its lyrics address the value of female friendship over heterosexual relationships. It has since became a symbol of female empowerment and the most emblematic song of the group's girl power philosophy.
Spiceworld is the second studio album by English girl group the Spice Girls, released on 1 November 1997 by Virgin Records. Its music incorporates dance-pop music and production. The album became a commercial success worldwide, lengthening the so-called "Spicemania" of the time. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 190,000 copies and shipped 1.4 million copies in two weeks. The album also reached number one in 13 countries, while peaking inside the top three in Australia, Canada, France, Switzerland and the United States. Spiceworld has sold over 14 million copies worldwide, making it one of the world's best-selling albums by a girl group.
"Goodbye" is a song recorded by British girl group Spice Girls. It was written by the group, Richard Stannard, and Matt Rowe, while it was produced by the latter two. The song became the group's first song without the vocals of Geri Halliwell. It was released by Virgin Records on 14 December 1998 and was later included on their third studio album Forever (2000). "Goodbye" is a pop ballad that lyrically consists of the group's farewell to a friend, specifically Halliwell. The lyrics were also seen, by the media and fans alike, as the group's end, although the idea was dismissed by the members.
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, known mononymously as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. Her accolades include 16 Grammy Awards, 12 Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Brit Awards 1997 was the 17th edition of the Brit Awards, an annual pop music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 24 February 1997 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.
Brit Awards 2011 was the 31st edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music show, the Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held on Tuesday 15 February 2011 at The O2 Arena in London for the first time in its history, moving from the original venue of Earls Court, also in London. The ceremony was hosted by James Corden. Leading the nominations was Tinie Tempah with four nominations. The artists with the most awards won were Tinie Tempah and Arcade Fire, with two wins each. The 2011 awards were billed as a reboot of the Brit Awards format featuring a different venue, a new award statuette designed by Vivienne Westwood and a greater emphasis placed on music, particularly live performances. Whilst the re-working of the show was generally well received, the TV audience was the lowest for five years, with an average viewership of 4.8 million viewers peaking at 5.9 million.
The Union Jack dress is an item of clothing worn by singer Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls at the 1997 Brit Awards. The mini dress featured a flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Jack, on the front, and a white CND symbol emblazoned on the black-coloured back of the dress. The next day the images of the dress made the front page of various newspapers around the world, and is now remembered as one of the most iconic pop moments of the 1990s and Brit Awards history. The dress has become synonymous with the Spice Girls, Halliwell and the notions of Girl Power and Cool Britannia.
Brit Awards 2012 was held on 21 February 2012. This was the 32nd edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London for the second time. The ceremony was presented by James Corden. Leading the nominations was Ed Sheeran with four, followed by Adele and Jessie J with three, whilst Bon Iver, Aloe Blacc, Coldplay and Florence and the Machine all had two.
Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the seventh series of The X Factor. They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and originally Jesy Nelson, before her departure from the group in 2020. Regarded as the show's most successful winning act, their success led to a girl band renaissance in the UK. Little Mix's vocals and harmonies have garnered critical acclaim and the group have been ranked as one of the best vocal girl groups. They were often dubbed, by some media, as the "biggest girl group in the world", before going on a hiatus in 2022, allowing its members to pursue solo projects.
Jessica Hannah Glynne is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, Glynne rose to prominence in 2013 as a featured artist on the singles "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and "My Love" by Route 94, both of which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.
Brit Awards 2016 was held on 24 February 2016 and was the 36th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London and were presented by Ant & Dec. Award nominations were revealed on 14 January 2016. British fashion designer Pam Hogg has designed the trophies for this year's ceremony, styling the BRIT statue.
English pop girl group the Spice Girls have starred in one feature film, as well as several television specials, documentaries and commercials. They made their film debut in 1997, starring in their feature film Spice World. The film was a commercial success, but was widely panned by critics, earning the group the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress.
The Brit Award for Song of the Year is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. The winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees. The award was first known as Brit Award for British Single, from the inaugural 1977 Brit Awards through to the 2019 Brit Awards, was first renamed as Song of the Year in 2020, returned to the name British Single in 2021, then returned to Song of the Year in 2022.
Brit Awards 2023, the 43rd edition of the ceremony, presented by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), was held on 11 February 2023 to recognise the best in British and international music. The ceremony took place at The O2 Arena in London and was hosted by British comedian Mo Gilligan, who returns after hosting the 2022 edition. Coverage of the red carpet was broadcast on ITV2 and presented by Clara Amfo, Maya Jama and Roman Kemp. The 2023 Brit Award trophy was designed by Nigerian-born London-based artist Olaolu Slawn.
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