This year’s Brit Awards was dominated by an unsurprising artist: Adele. The British powerhouse managed to sweep up the prize for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for her fourth record, 30, and British Song of the Year for its lead single, Easy on Me. “I can’t believe that a piano ballad won against that many bangers,” she said in her acceptance speech.
The vocalist has won a total of 12 Brit awards throughout her career but none of that comes as a shock, as her commercial success keeps on climbing. Her album 30 was the biggest selling album of 2021 after only six weeks on sale, proving just how influential the artist truly is.
She dedicated the award for Album of the Year to her son, Angelo, and her ex-husband, Simon Konecki. “This album was all of our journey, not just mine, and I’m very proud of myself for sticking to my guns and putting out an album that was so personal to me – ’cause not many people do that anymore. My son has been so kind and gracious and patient with me over the years.”
In more disappointing news, Ed Sheeran won none of his four categories, but he was given a new award, Songwriter of the Year, which was voted for by an independent panel. The artist not only wrote his fifth studio album, =, in 2021, but he also co-wrote songs for Rita Ora, Maisie Peters, BTS, Anne-Marie and JLS to name a few. Sheeran also collaborated with a number of big names last year such as Elton John and Taylor Swift.
2022 marked the first time the Brit Awards discarded gendered categories after non-binary singer Sam Smith, whose gender identity didn’t allow him to be nominated in either the male or female artist awards, criticised the ceremony back in 2021. “I look forward to a time where awards shows can be reflective of the society we live in,” they said.
However, after collecting the award for Best Artist, Adele said: “I understand why they changed the name of this award [from best female/male artist], but I really love being a woman, I really love being a female artist.”
The awards are mainly voted for by the Brits Academy, music industry and media figures. Nominees in the two Song of the Year categories are determined by UK chart performance, but the winner is chosen by the Academy.
2022 Brit Award Winners
Artist of the Year: Adele
British Group: Wolf Alice
Song of the Year: Adele – Easy on Me
New Artist: Little Simz
Album of the Year: Adele – 30
Rock/Alternative Act: Sam Fender
Hip-hop/Grime/Rap Act: Dave
Dance Act: Becky Hill
Pop/R&B: Dua Lipa
International Artist: Billie Eilish
International Group: Silk Sonic
International Song: Olivia Rodrigo – Good 4 U
Rising Star: Holly Humberstone
Producer: Inflo
Songwriter of the Year: Ed Sheeran
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