Brit Awards 2023: The real winners and losers

Harry Styles stole all the headlines, and all the hearts, and probably a few bottles of champagne – but there’s always more to Brits than awards.

On a night of bouncy pants, dancing owls and awkward breaks, who were the real winners and real losers at the O2 Arena?

Thirteen years after auditioning for The X Factor, Harry Styles is officially Britain’s biggest pop star. His quartet of awards included Best Artist, Best Pop Group and Song of the Year, for the ubiquitous and wonderful As It Was.

He also won the controversial Best Artist award – which was created last year after separate male and female categories were merged. Aware that no women had been nominated in the category, Styles dedicated the award to the people he had impersonated.

“I am very aware of my privilege here tonight, so this award is for Rina [Sawayama]charlie [XCX]Florence, Mabel and Becky [Hill]Thanks a lot.”

Sam Smith waddled down the red carpet in a custom-made black latex outfit by London fashion house Harri.

The suit was so bulky that they had to forgo the standard locker room golf cart and wobble around the outskirts of the O2 in high heels.

Fans, meanwhile, couldn’t decide if Smith was paying homage to David Bowie or a spatchcock chicken.

“There is a singer-songwriter who is the spirit of the Brit Awards distilled into human form,” host Mo Gilligan announced from the floor of the O2 Arena.

“Here with his incredible number one single Forget Me is the brilliant Sam Capaldi.”

Sam Capaldi? Half Sam Smith, half Lewis Capaldi. A monstrous gene-splicing experiment. Like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly, but with a penchant for sensitive ballads.

Luckily, however, the Brit Award organizers aren’t completely power-drunk. It was simply an error on the autocue.

And true to form, Lewis Capaldi had the last word on his Twitter feed…

Pop star Mimi Webb shone on the red carpet, thanks to a diamond necklace that was worth £1.2million.

“I can’t believe I’m wearing it,” the 22-year-old said.

The necklace even had its own security guard, who followed Mimi all night in case someone tried to grab the jewelry.

“If it was me or the diamonds,” she noted, “he would save the diamonds.”

Luckily, no harm happened to Mimi or the necklace, and she was able to celebrate her very first Brits with her mother and father.

When the Brits failed to nominate a woman for the best artist award, organizers went on the defensive.

Acknowledging the situation was “disappointing”, an awards spokesperson added: “We must also acknowledge that 2022 has seen fewer high-profile female artists in cycle with major releases, as was the case in 2021. “

Charli XCX was unimpressed.

“I’ve heard a lot of talk about there not being enough women in the album cycle,” she told BBC News. “But I was in the album cycle, and I had a number one album – and there are a lot of us.

“We’re doing everything right, so I don’t think it’s our fault.

“I think it’s their fault.”

Rina Sawayama has the experience of changing the minds of the British. In 2020, the Japanese-British singer found out she wasn’t eligible for the awards because she didn’t hold a British passport (Japan doesn’t allow dual citizenship) and successfully petitioned organizers to change their rules.

Asked about the lack of female representation this year, she said a simple change could solve the problem.

“The problem is that they combined the male and female categories, but they didn’t increase the number of nominees,” she said. “So I really want to see the categories expand. That’s what the Grammys do.

“People don’t realize that even one nomination can change an artist’s life and it’s a shame to take that away from them because there are only five spots available.”

Wet Leg arrived at the Brits fresh from Los Angeles, where they had just won two Grammy Awards.

But they couldn’t bring their trophies home.

“I think they put them in the post,” said singer Rhian Teasdale, who was surprised to find out the awards they received on stage weren’t the real deal.

“They had a big mountain of it backstage, and they were like, ‘You got a Grammy! You got a Grammy!’ and distribute them.

“And then they said, ‘Okay, you have to give it back’ and they would give the same trophy to the next act.”

“It was,” she concluded, “a bit like finding out that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.”

The group went on to win two UK trophies – for best group and best new artist – while performing their cult hit Chaise Longue surrounded by Morris dancers and human-sized owls.

There is no confirmation yet as to whether they were able to bring the Brit Award statuettes home.

Alternative rock duo Nova Twins are known for their hardcore, DIY aesthetic – and that extends to their stage outfits.

For the Brits, they designed and sewed their own clothes, adopting “a punk fairy vibe”.

The outfits were adorned with hundreds of badges, clasps, jewels and safety pins from flea markets.

“We once made an outfit with curtain rings,” the Georgia South bassist said. “You can be really resourceful.”

“Hopefully it stays intact,” noted singer and guitarist Amy Love, who said she brought a needle and thread in case something came loose.

The original Sugababes lineup was back on the red carpet for the first time since 2001, when Overload was up for best single.

But Keisha Buchanan doesn’t have the best memories of that night.

“I had chicken pox,” she told the BBC. “I got chicken pox the day of the ceremony and didn’t know until the middle of the night when I was covered in spots.”

“It shows how young we were – that it was the most rock and roll thing that ever happened to us.”

Harry Styles (who else?) took home the award for best pop and R&B this year – a category that stood out only for nominating pop artists and completely ignored R&B.

Wish I Missed My Ex singer Mahalia made her feelings known on the red carpet wearing a coat emblazoned with the caption “Long live R&B.”

“It’s a genre I’m passionate about and I think it’s not talked about enough,” she told the BBC.

“There is an idea that American R&B artists can be commercially successful, and we [in the UK] can’t. This conversation needs to become more positive.”

Suggesting that the pop and R&B categories could be separated, she added, “I just think it would be really powerful for R&B artists to have their own moment to shine.”

Usually the Brits go pretty well, but Saturday’s show was hampered by a huge technical issue with Sam Smith’s set.

Unable to clear the stage, producers took the unprecedented step of repeating Adele’s performance of I Drink Wine from last year’s ceremony.

And even with this host, Mo Gilligan was still trying to fill in for an awkward four minutes.

“You are having fun?” he asked AJ Odudu. “You are having fun?” he asked Maya Jama. “You are having fun?” he asked Keith Lemon.

The readers, they all said “yes”.

Everyone in Britain wants to have a career moment like Adele’s performance of Someone Like You in 2011.

The closest candidate on Saturday was newcomer Cat Burns, who used her breakup ballad Go as the perfect showcase for her tender, soulful style.

His voice was perfect: hushed and wounded in the verses, provocative and jubilant in the chorus. And when she moved on to the song’s drum and bass remix, the blazing confetti cannons, it was like Christmas had come early.

She will soon return to the stage.

“Oooh, that’s heavy!” Um. Okay, wow. All right. Uh… Uh.

OK, Becky Hill’s speech for best dance number didn’t get off to a good start. Next, she tried to thank her fellow nominees, but somehow mentioned people who were nominated in 2022 instead.

“Oh my God, I make a good pickle out of it,” she gritted.

But then she rallied, quoting Beyoncé and thanking the queer community for making dance music “the greatest genre on earth.”

“But the biggest thank you of all has to go to my fans who for another year have helped me win a Brit Award,” she said, fighting back tears.

“My impostor syndrome kicked in as soon as the nominees were announced, and I was so scared.

“But when I read all their comments, I was so touched, so thank you!”

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