BRIT AWARDS 2024 Admits to Making Amends for 2023 Gender Blunder, Outrage

On Wednesday, the BRIT Awards revealed the 2024 ceremony's nominees. Outrage erupted in 2023 when the contentious decision to replace the Male and Female categories with a non-gendered Artist of the Year Award was made, as none of the five nominees were female or non-binary musicians.

However, after a year, the category's doubling size was adjusted, and as a consequence, the ten contenders, six of whom are well-known female musicians, provide a balanced mix.

Speaking during the annual event's nomination announcement on Wednesday, the British Phonograph Industry acknowledged that after last year's contentious choice, gender parity has been reevaluated.

"We consulted with our advisory group, we thought long and hard about moving forward."

Youth Music CEO Matt Griffiths added, "It's great to see that the BRIT Awards are committed to making the show more inclusive, responding proactively to last year's feedback by taking concerted actions for 2024."

"The 50/50 gender split for the nominees in the Artist of the Year category is the standout development following last year's controversy."

"Doubling the number of nominations for Artist of the Year, International Artist of the Year and introduction of R&B as its own genre award are also positive steps forward, together with greater transparency in setting out the makeup and demographics of the Voting Academy."

"t's important now that this positive momentum is built on as there's more to be done to ensure a creative, diverse, and inclusive music industry."

The female nominees for Artist of the Year are RAYE, Arlo Parks, Jessie Ware, Little Simz, Olivia Sims, and Dua Lipa; the male nominees are Central Cee, Dave, J Hus, and Fred.

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The number of female artists or all-women groups nominated overall grew to 18 in 2023, the most in a decade, since the awards became gender-neutral for the first time in 2022. Women are nominated for more than half (55%) of the categories this year, either as solo artists or as members of female groups; the percentage rises to 57% when women in mixed-gender groups are included.

With her seven nominations on Wednesday, solo female artist RAYE became the most nominated British female in the history of the BRIT Awards.