The 2023 Brit Awards nominations have sparked widespread backlash from fans over the exclusion of female musicians in the artist of the year category.
Only male nominees have been shortlisted for the honour, after award organisers opted to make the category gender-neutral.
This year’s Artist of the Year nominees are Stormzy, Harry Styles, George Ezra, Fred again.. and Central Cee.
No female musician were nominated for the prize, which has been seen as a big step backwards after Adele won the award in the gender-neutral category’s inaugural year in 2022.
“So the Brits introduced an Artist of the Year category as a gender-neutral replacement for Best Male and Best Female Artist category – but this year all five nominees are blokes,” tweeted musician Tim Burgess. “One step forward, three steps back.”
The album of the year category is also dominated by men, with Wet Leg the only female act out of contenders.
Meanwhile, the international artist of the year award is more mixed, and the list features Beyonce, Lizzo and Taylor Swift.
Reacting to the major women snub, fans also took to social media platforms and shared their concerns. “Florence and the Machine being snubbed at the Brits when she could have fit in so well to the Artist of the Year category… oh I’m mad,” wrote one person.
The 2023 Brit Awards will air live on ITV from London’s O2 Arena on Saturday 11 February.
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