Who’s performing and presenting at the Brit Awards this year?
From Dua Lipa to RAYE, some of the biggest stars of the past 12 months will perform live at the O2 Arena on 2 March
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The Brit Awards look set to follow the Grammys in acknowledging the achievements of female artists over the past 12 months.
The British music ceremony takes place this Saturday (2 March) at the O2 Arena in London, where stars including Dua Lipa, RAYE, Mahalia, Little Simz and Arlo Parks are all up for top awards.
Representation is significantly improved this year after controversy surrounding categories with all-male nominees last year. More than half of the Song of the Year and Artist of the Year nominees featured female artists, while four out of five nominees for Best New Artist were women.
As usual, the ceremony will also involve a number of live performances from many of the nominated artists. Here are the ones confirmed so far.
Pop singer RAYE broke a record as the musician to receive the most nominations in a single year, when the 2024 nominees were announced.
RAYE, real name Rachel Agatha Keen, split with her former label Polydor after claiming she was being blocked from releasing new music. She later received near-unanimous praise for her independently released debut, My 21st Century Blues, which achieved a No 2 spot on the UK albums chart and was shortlisted for the 2023 Mercury Prize.
Two of her songs are up for Song of the Year: “Prada” with producer Cassö and hip hop collective D-Block Europe, and “Escapism” with rapper 070 Shake. She is also nominated for Artist of the Year, Best New Artist, the R&B and pop categories, and Album of the Year – the night’s biggest prize.
In a video message responding to the nominations announcement in January, RAYE alluded to the drama of the past few years as she thanked her fans for their support.
“This time a year ago, as far as the industry was concerned I was down and out,” she said, adding that it was “incredible” to be up for seven Brit Awards.
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RAYE will be joined by fellow pop star Dua Lipa, who attended the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles last month where she was up for Song of the Year.
At the Brits, she is nominated for Artist of the Year and Pop Act, as well as Song of the Year with her Barbie soundtrack contribution, “Dance the Night Away”.
Dua Lipa has previously been awarded six Brit Awards, including British Single of the Year and British Female Solo Artist.
Kylie Minogue has been announced as one of this year’s Brit performances and will also be presented with the Global Icon award, following the success of her summer hit, “Padam Padam”.
“I am beyond thrilled to be honoured with the Global Icon Award and to be joining a roll call of such incredible artists,” Minogue said in a statement.
“The UK has always been a home from home, so the Brits have a very special place in my heart.”
She added: “I have some amazing memories from the awards of the years and I can't wait to be back on the Brits stage. See you at The O2!”
British electronic music project Jungle will perform after being nominated for Group of the Year, alongside Britpop legends Blur, dance music duo Chase & Status, Mercury Prize-winning experimental rock group Young Fathers, and rap duo Headie One and K-Trap.
Jungle said: “It's an honour for us to be asked to perform at this year's Brit Awards. We're really excited to be part of such an amazing showcase for British music.”
In a five-star review of Jungle’s 2023 album, Volcano, critic Helen Brown wrote: “There’s so much deliciously analogue texture to cherish here – all bakelite, mahogany, coconut shells and bougainvillea, with woodwind you could drink and percussion you could tuck behind your ear. It’s 2023’s hippest release. Get up, get down, kick back to it.”
Nigerian rapper and singer Rema is behind one of the biggest hits of the past 12 months, “Calm Down”, a remix of which featured Selena Gomez and charted in the top 10 in both the UK and the US.
Rema said: “I am honoured to be returning to The O2 to perform at the Brit Awards this year.”
Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding
Nominated for Song of the Year for their No 1 single “Miracle”, producer and DJ Calvin Harris and pop star Ellie Goulding will take to the Brit Awards stage on 2 March. Both artists have performed at the Brits before; Harris is also nominated for the public-voted Pop Act and Dance Act categories.
“Can’t wait for a VERY SPECIAL performance with Ellie!” Harris said in a statement.
Tate McRae
The Canadian pop star is nominated for International Song of the Year for her UK Top 3 and US Billboard Global 200 No 1 hit single, “greedy”.
She said: “I’m so excited to be returning to London for my first Brit Awards! It is the biggest honour to be performing on the iconic Brits stage. It’s going to be an unforgettable night!”
Who’s presenting the Brit Awards this year?
This year’s awards show will be hosted by Love Island: All Stars presenter Maya Jama, and radio presenters Clara Amfo and Roman Kemp.
“The great thing about The Brits is that you never know what could happen, live TV is an opportunity for beautiful chaos!” Amfo said.
Kemp added: “When they told me, I cried. The Brits has always been on this pedestal for me, because in terms of excitement in the UK, there is nothing like it.”
“Everyone’s been coming up with ideas, jotting down what we want from it,” Jama said. “In my brain, I’m telling myself, “This will be something to show my grandkids, so don’t mess it up!”
The Brit Awards 2024 take place on Saturday 2 March and will be broadcast live on ITV1, STV, ITVX and STV Player.
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