Will Young tells music awards to change gendered categories and ‘make it work’ for non-binary artists

Singer said it’s a ‘tricky’ issue but ‘there is a way it can be done respectfully’

Will Young has discussed the “tricky” issue of gendered categories at awards shows, which exclude artists who identify as non-binary.

Earlier this year, Sam Smith – who came out as non-binary and changed their pronouns to they/them in 2019 – called for awards shows to be more “reflective of the society we live in”.

While the Brits had announced plans to scrap gendered categories in 2019, the awards body said in a statement this year: “The Brits are committed to evolving the show and the gendered categories are very much under review. But any changes made to be more inclusive need to be just that – if a change unintentionally leads to less inclusion then it risks being counterproductive to diversity and equality. We need to consult more widely before changes are made to make sure we get it right.”

Speaking about the issue on The Independent’s Millennial Love podcast on Friday (13 August), Young said: “It’s quite difficult that. It really is. At present, I profess to ignorance here, I only know of a couple of artists who identify as non-binary in the UK who would be up for Brit awards. How much does something move around? How do you reconfigure? I think it would be really difficult to have just one category because less people would win. It’s a tricky one, but you have to respect that. You have to change things around and make it work.”

He added: “There is a way that it can be done respectfully. I wouldn’t want to be on the Brits board. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. The people to speak to are the people identifying as non-binary.”

The majority of music awards today still have male and female categories, from the Brits to the American Music Awards and the Billboard Music Awards.

One notable exception from that list is the Grammys. In 2012, before the debate regarding gendered categories and their exclusion of non-binary artists entered the mainstream, the Recording Academy announced an overhaul of their system, including the removal of all gendered categories.

In 2017, MTV announced that its Video Music Awards and Movie & TV Awards would scrap gendered categories, with the VMAs’ iconic Moonman award changed to Moon Person.

Elsewhere on the podcast, Young discussed how he was encouraged to keep his own sexuality a secret when he entered into the public eye as a Pop Idol contestant in 2001.

Young’s new album, Crying on the Bathroom Floor, is out now.