The Brit Awards mark the biggest night in British music every year; celebrating the talent witnessed over the past year, and the artists, songs, and albums that have been defining the music industry. It’s difficult to disagree with the fact that 2024 was truly the year of music, with releases from the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX, Taylor Swift and Beyonce…the list goes on. The Award ceremony this year not only celebrated industry icons, but also breakout stars, recognising the talent which has been shaping the music landscape recently.
Starting with the industry icons: Charli XCX, predictably, was the star of the night. Bagging 5 awards, including song of the year, artist of the year, and album of the year, Charli has finally gotten the recognition she deserves. With BRAT being her seventh album, fans have been waiting in the sidelines for her breakthrough for many years, BRAT well and truly delivered. Not only did she release an album perfecting a mix of both pop music and club anthems, but she furthered this by inviting well-known and loved artists to collaborate with her on a collab-only version of BRAT, with the likes of Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande pushing her newest album to its limits. While accepting one of her many awards, Charli stated “this genre of music, for me, is euphoric, it allows me to escape, it allows me to feel on such a deep level.”, and it is fair to say: we all escaped alongside her
Although not British, Sabrina Carpenter, another artist who has been trying to break the barrier for years now, won big. Recognised and celebrated for the impact that she has had internationally over the last year following the release of hit-single Espresso, and latest album Short and Sweet, Sabrina won the Global Success Award. It is clear this past year has been a true success for her; however it must be noted that the award was originally created to honour British artists who managed to ‘make it’ worldwide, with One Direction and Adele being previous winners – it is the Brit Awards after all.
Artists should be allowed the privilege of failure and not be continuously pushed by labels
On a similar note, Chappell Roan had an equally successful night, awarded both international artist of the year, and international song of the year for her single Good Luck Babe! Admirably, Chappell continued her crusade for fairer labour practices within the music industry. Following her speech at the Grammys: calling for labels to offer their artists liveable wages and health care and to treat them as truly valuable employees, Chappell went on to state that artists should be allowed the privilege of failure and not be continuously pushed by labels to release disingenuous music simply because of trends in that moment.
Chappell Roan’s spark has ignited over the past months into a raging fire, with Charli XCX addressing the many years it has taken her: from signing to a label at just 14 years of age, to now at age 32, to release music that is authentic and true to herself. This was furthered by Myles Smith’s plea to further newer artists’ careers by sticking with them past a singular viral hit.
The group was full of gratitude for the youth group that led to their formation
Moving on to the recent breakout stars: jazz-quartet Ezra Collective was awarded Group of the Year – making them the first jazz band to do so. The group was full of gratitude for the youth group that led to their formation, casting light not only to the lack of funding and recent cuts in music education, but also the importance of the arts, and of introducing children to music from a young age. The group stated that ‘the solution lies with giving a young person a trumpet, the solution lies in giving a young person a saxophone’, and in giving young people a dream and aspiration – overall a much-needed message to the youth in Britain with dreams of being on that very stage.
The Last Dinner Party bagged Best New Artist; well deserved despite many claims of being industry plants – begging the question as to when the public will finally be ready to appreciate a talented women-only band (an issue for another time). Myles Smith was expectedly awarded the Rising Star award, and Sam Fender the Alternative/rock act Award. Finally, formerly in iconic band Little Mix, Jade won the Pop Act award, to the joy of many around Britain as we finally see her taking the stage once more – a truly nostalgic sight as we wait in anticipation to see what she will do next.
Performances are also a very important element of the awards night, and we were not left disappointed. Sabrina Carpenter stole the show: opening with a mashup of Espresso and Rule Britannia while surrounded by Buckingham Palace guard-dancers and Union Jacks galore, followed by Bed Chem. However, this only marked the beginning: Myles Smith managed to get the crowd stomping and clapping in time to his latest big hit Stargazing, with Jade later recreating the music video for Angel of My Dreams in a five-act theatrical production – featuring many outfit changes. Lola Young and The Last Dinner Party each performed their biggest hits, with corresponding stunning visuals on stage. Finally, Ezra Collective closed out the Awards night, joined by Jorja Smith to sing Little Things. The artists who shaped the past year truly put on a show worthy of the awards they worked so hard for.
Téa Kaci
Featured image courtesy of ActionVance via Unsplash. Image use license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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