Get ready to celebrate your favourite LGBTQIA artists with the Brits 2023
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY ADAMA JALLOH
The Brits are back! The nominations this year are full to the brim with some of the best LGBTQIA music and artists in the industry right now. Last year marked the first time that the Brits scrapped gendered categories across their awards to make the nominations more accessible for everyone of all gender identities. Taking place at the London O2 Arena on 11 February, performances by the likes of Wet Leg, Sam Smith and Kim Petras have been already confirmed.
Here’s our guide to the best LGBTQIA artists that could be walking home with a trophy this year.
Wet Leg – Best New Artist, Mastercard album of the year, Group of the year and
Alternative/rock act
What a year it’s been for the British indie rock band Wet Leg! The duo from the Isle of Wight have had success after success. In 2021 their debut hit song Chaise Longue went viral, and gained them a cult following which has only seemed to grow each day. With four nominations at the Brits this year, Wet Leg have made a splash in the music world. In regards to the relationship between the duo, lead vocalist Rhian has said to Exclaim! Magazine: “We started out in a pretty casual relationship and now we’re
married.”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras – Song of the year with Mastercard
Who else hasn’t been able to get Unholy out of their heads since it came out? Icons Sam Smith and Kim Petras teamed together last year to give us one of the biggest songs of 2022. The queer anthem was at the UK number one top spot for a whole month, and it has been used on TikTok in 2.4 million videos! We cannot wait to watch their performance on the big night.
Cat Burns – Song of the year with Mastercard, Pop/R&B act
What started as a small snippet of a song on TikTok has now led to Cat Burns’ Brit nomination. Her song Go has got over 110 million listens on Spotify, and has been featured on by the likes of Sam Smith. Cat has been open about her queerness throughout her career, and her song Free has been coined as a queer coming out anthem and a reminder that things will always get better. Cat’s music has reached out and helped countless members of the LGBTQIA community, and we’re so excited to see her nominated for two awards this year.
Becky Hill – Dance act
Becky Hill has been the sound of the UK dance club scene since she released Gecko (Overdrive) in 2014. Last year they released their song Crazy What Love Can Do which has been streamed over 203 million times on Spotify alone. In 2021, she came out as queer after tweeting: “I’ve definitely felt uncomfortable branding myself as straight, or anything else for that matter, but queer seems to be the most fitting identity for who I am”.
Rina Sawayama – Best New Artist
If you don’t know the name Rina Sawayama, get on Spotify right now. The Japanese-British pop artist has made waves in the music world with her genre-bending albums SAWAYAMA and her recent 2022 album Hold The Girl. She’s duetted with Elton John, been cast in the John Wick film series, and featured on the single Beg for You by Charli XCX. In 2018, she came out to Broadly as pansexual saying: “I’ve always written songs about girls. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned a guy in my songs, and that’s why I wanted to talk about it.”
Hosted by British comedian Mo Gilligan, it’s sure to be an absolutely amazing night!
