BRITS 2021: VOCAL GIRLS BEST MOMENTS
Hope for a more diverse industry: The Brits 2021 will go down in history for being one of the most pivotal events for women in music!
We’d already seen a step in the right direction for women in music with the list of BRIT nominees finally including many amazing female and diverse artists - and thankfully the awards didn’t disappoint! Here’s VOCAL GIRLS best moments.
Arlo Parks winning her first BRIT Award
The night felt like a great one for female acts, including our own podcast guest Arlo Parks, who bagged her first BRIT Award for Breakthrough Artist.
Following her win she took to the stage with a beautiful performance of her song Hope, inviting the audience into the world of ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’, complete with sunset lighting surrounded by sunflowers.
Little Mix being the first girl group to win British Group!
It was tough not to be emotional as Little Mix picked up their award - the very first all female group to win in the category.
As mentioned in their speech, there are so many incredible female bands that have been deserving over the years, and this feels like a moment of celebration and appreciation for all of those that came before them.
Olly Alexander and Elton John’s incredible performance of It’s A Sin
Prefaced by another emotional speech from David Furnish, highlighting the silence and stigma surrounding the AIDS pandemic in 1981, Olly and Elton did what they do best and gave the performance of the night.
The lace two piece, the cape, the draped-on-the-piano opening, the drag queens, the dancing, Olly’s voice, the list goes on. This performance is sure to be remembered as a celebration of LGBTQ+ life through adversity for some time.
The pair’s cover of the iconic Pet Shop Boys track is available now, with all proceeds going to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Dua Lipa using her platform to highlight heroes outside of the music industry
It was great to see Dua using the huge platform that she has to honour heroes outside of our industry. For her first award she dedicated it to Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, a british nurse who has fought against discrimination in the NHS for much of her career. Here she also called for a proper mark of appreciation for our frontline workers.
When collecting her second award of the night for ‘Future Nostalgia’, she called attention to the bravery of the two young men who risked their lives to save that of a stranger on 24th April; One of whom, Folajimi “Jimi” Olubunmi-Adewole, sadly passed away as a consequence of his heroic actions.
Haim finally winning a BRIT
Darlings of our hearts and, famously, of the UK in general, Haim finally took home their award for International Group. Again, being the only female group in the category, we love to see it!
Harry Styles’ suit
That’s it. That’s the highlight.
Taylor Swift as the first female artist to win the Global Icon award
After the year she’s had, we’re not surprised! In the last 12 months Taylor has released the critically acclaimed ‘folklore’, ‘evermore’, and finally re-released her first album ‘Fearless’ on her own terms.
Swift has been in the music industry since her early teens, and passed on some wisdom to younger artists such as Griff:
“There is no career path that comes free of negativity, if you’re being met with resistance, that probably means that you’re doing something new, if you’re experiencing turbulence or pressure, that probably means you’re rising”
Honorable mention: Rina Sawayama
Rising Star Nominee fought for the right to be considered for the BRITS last year, and pushed for change in the way in which artists are defined as being british. As an immigrant with a Japanese passport, Rina is unable to hold dual citizenship, and despite living in the UK for the past 26 years, she was told she would not qualify for prizes such as the BRITS or the Mercury Prize.
The rules for eligibility have now been updated, and Rina’s campaigning has been a huge catalyst for a change that will serve to make the awards more inclusive to a more diverse group of artists in future.
You can see the full list of winners, and watch all performances from the BRITS 2021 here.
