A BRIT Billion celebrates artists who have gained over one billion digital streams in the United Kingdom over all major streaming platforms and is awarded by the BRIT certified scheme. Launched in 2023, it is the first major award to recognise the culmination of artist’s successes across multiple projects (including tracks they are the sole artist of and have featured on), and streaming sites amongst those such as Spotify, Deezer, Napster and other platforms. It gives a chance for artists to be celebrated for their comprehensive success. In a world where streaming makes up 87.7% of the UK music consumption (according to BPI data in 2023), it is important the music industry revolutionises itself to view streaming on a (somewhat) level playing field with the purchasing of digital or physical tracks and albums.

The award came after streams of the singer’s most-loved songs had skyrocketed over the past few weeks which can be accredited to the biopic hitting cinemas in April. According to Billboard, her parents Mitch and Janis expressed that ‘It’s wonderful that her music is being discovered by new audiences of young people who love it just as much as her contemporaries. We are so proud of Amy. Thank you.’

Despite the spike in streams for the Rehab soul-singer, the film hasn’t been received graciously, scoring a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics noting that the film seemed ‘too tame, too tasteful, too frightened of alienating the fans: everything that Winehouse was not.’ Some even went as far as to parallel the impersonation of Winehouse herself to something as seen on Saturday night television or an SNL skit.

The film intended to place Winehouse back at the centre of her own life after her passing from accidental alcohol poisoning in 2007 and give a long overdue, true depiction of the ruthlessness of the press towards the Camden singer. Fans and critics alike believe the film fell short of it’s promise to honour Winehouse. Whether the film was too conventional to dive deep into the multifaceted, complex personality of Winehouse and really capture the genius of one of the most significant artists of her time is down to personal opinion, but what we can say for Back to Black is that it’s putting the singer back on the map, if that’s to say she ever fell off in the first place. You can watch the trailer for the movie below.

If you still haven’t had a chance to catch the film in cinemas yet then there is still time, as viewings are showing frequently at any major UK cinema including Odeon, Vue and Cineworld.

the 2024 Alternative/Rock Act is @bmthofficial #BRITs pic.twitter.com/XnMQoAu9zH

— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) March 2, 2024

A big celebration ensued, and ITV1 were forced to censor some of the speech as frontman Oli Sykes instantly said to himself, “Fucking hell.” He then added: “We don’t know what to say because we didn’t think we’d be winning this, at all. Cheers to the BRITs for making the voting system so complicated only our fans could be arsed to vote (laughs).” The profanity again appeared as he said, “Thanks to our fans, because they voted. This is fucking – this is bloody insane, this. Cheers to our management, family, all that stuff. Thank you so much, cheers.”

Watch the uncensored video below. 

Bring Me The Horizon is a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean. They are signed to RCA Records globally and Columbia Records exclusively in the United States.

The band released their debut album ‘Count Your Blessings’ in 2004, followed by their second ‘Suicide Season’ in 2008. They then released their third album, There Is a Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let’s Keep It a Secret, which was the catalyst that propelled them to far greater international fame. The band have seven albums in total, and although they have been nominated for a BRIT award in the past, this is their first time winning one. 

Bring Me The Horizon are not currently on tour in the UK, but who knows, one might yet be on the horizon.

Check out the full list of 2024 winners and presenters below:

BRITs RISING STAR

Winner – The Last Dinner Party
Presenter – St Vincent

SONG OF THE YEAR WITH MASTERCARD

Winner – RAYE ft 0207 SHAKE – Escapism
Presenters – Jo Hamilton and Monica Dolan

GROUP OF THE YEAR

Winner – Jungle
Presenters – Green Day

R&B ACT

Winner – RAYE
Presenters – Aitch and Jess Glynne

ALTERNATIVE/ROCK ACT

Winner – Bring Me The Horizon
Presenter – Luke Evans and Marisa Abela

INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Winner – SZA
Presenter – Joanne Froggatt

BEST NEW ARTIST

Winner – RAYE
Presenter – Joe Keery

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

Winner – RAYE
Presenter – Clara Amfo

DANCE ACT

Winner – Calvin Harris
Presenters – Charli XCX and Alison Oliver

HIP HOP/GRIME/RAP ACT

Winner – CASISDEAD
Presenters – Ashley Walters and Kingsley Ben-Adir

POP ACT

Winner – Dua Lipa
Presenter – Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancey

INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Winner – boygenius
Presenters – Jack Saunders and Yinka Bokinni

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Winner – Chase & Status
Presenter – Ivan Toney and Vick Hope

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Winner – RAYE
Presenter – Jonathan Bailey

INTERNATIONAL SONG OF THE YEAR

Winner – Miley Cyrus
Presenter – Bimini and Rob Beckett

MASTERCARD ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Winner: RAYE
Presenters: Jaime Winstone and BRIT School Principal Stuart Worden

BRITs GLOBAL ICON

Winner: Kylie Minogue
Presenter: Dua Lipa

Following analysis by the Official Charts Company – whose data additionally revealed that more than one billion of the singer-songwriter’s streams had been garnered in the last 12 months – Sheeran was presented with the prestigious award by Rizzle Kicks member Jordan Stephens on behalf of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The Suffolk superstar, who claimed his trophy in a record store, was quick to express gratitude to fans in an Instagram video, saying: “Thank you so much for all the streams. It’s a pleasure, I love being British.”

Later on, he added in a statement: “It’s wonderful to receive the first-ever BRIT Billion Award in the UK for 10 billion streams. I want say a big thank you to my fans. None of this is possible without you guys.”

Meanwhile, BPI Chief Executive Dr. Jo Twist applauded the singer for his new milestone:

“We congratulate Ed Sheeran and his team on this landmark achievement. Ed may represent the pinnacle of streaming success, but he is also among the thousands of artists who are being streamed in the tens and hundreds of millions in the UK each year and who are thriving thanks to streaming and label support. We look forward to honouring many more artists, including future talent, with a BRIT Billion award.”

Sheeran, who in June was named the UK’s most-played artist for the sixth time in eight years, has dominated the charts throughout most of his career – with all six of his studio albums peaking at number one. The seven-time Brit Award winner has made Official Charts history countless times, breaking records including becoming the first British solo artist to claim a full year at No.1.

Listen to Ed Sheeran’s most recent number one single, “Eyes Closed“, below:

He currently holds three of the 10 most-streamed songs of all time with “Shape Of You” in second place, “Perfect” at number three and “Bad Habits” claiming the ninth spot. As the recipient of the Gold BRIT Billion Award, Sheeran joins an exclusive club of similarly high-achieving acts including ABBA, Whitney Houston and most recently, Billie Eilish.

Last week, the songwriter released his latest studio effort, Autumn Variations, his second record this year following May’s chart-topping release Subtract. 

Listen to Autumn Variations here.

Along with the annual announcements, presenters Clara Amfro and Maya Jama also confirmed the upcoming race between multiple acts. The list includes two of the nation’s most popular artists, Adele and Ed Sheeran will both be competing for Artist of The Year in association with YouTube shorts, Song of The Year with Mastercard, Mastercard Album of The Year and Pop/RnB Act. Adele’s quadruple nomination was announced via Twitter.

Adele is nominated for four #Brits Awards! pic.twitter.com/y7fi7keAes

— Adele Access (@AdeleAccess) December 18, 2021

Little Simz and Dave also join the pair in the running for Artist of the Year and Mastercard Album of the year, and both are also shortlisted for Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act. Dave is no stranger to accolades; the British rapper won Album of the year at last year’s ceremony and also won the Mercury prize in 2019. The award-winning artist is also shortlisted for Song of the Year, Dave was also nominated for the award in 2020 for the single “Location”.  Little Simz is also in the running for multiple awards, the 27-year-old rapper has secured her fourth nomination for Best New Artist.

Tom March 2022 BRITs chair and co-president of Polydor records have given the following statement concerning the recently announced nominations. “I am delighted to see such a brilliant spread of artists across the categories this year. It is great to see so many of the artists that have defined this past year have been recognised, all exemplifying enormous talent and creativity. It is a true testament to the power and vibrancy of British and international music right now. We look forward to what the public vote for as winners in the four new genre award categories, introduced to create even more opportunities for artists to be recognised when the voting opens in January. I thank our Voting Academy for providing such inspirational nominees for the 2022 BRITs.”

The upcoming BRITs promise to return with a bang, as the 2022 ceremony includes four new genre-based awards. The British institution will now recognise and award acts for their work within pop, rock, dance and hip-hop. The winners of the new categories will be determined via a public vote on the popular app TikTok. The 2022 awards will also welcome some changes within its organisation and ceremony. A new ruling will be enacted which means that featured artists are now eligible to be nominated in their own right for the Song of the year and international song of the year categories. The nomination list for this year has also seen some changes, the docket includes more female artists than previously seen in over a decade.

The winners will be announced during the BRIT Awards ceremony held on Tuesday 8th February 2022 at London’s O2 Arena. The event will be presented by Mo Gilligan and will be broadcast via ITV and ITV Hub.

Click here to watch the Official BRIT YouTube channel.

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The award is presented and supported by BBC Radio 1 and aims to showcase British artists who have not placed an album within the top 20 nor have had more than one single place within the top 20. This year, the winner for the award was presented by Clara Amfo via her show on BBC Radio 1. The BBC spoke with Humberstone concerning her recent win, the singer was interviewed after she first discovered the good news. When asked how it felt to join the ranks of the celebrated artists who have won the award in previous years, the singer replied, “I remember watching the Brits as a child and being in complete awe of all of the artists, so this is kind of mad.”

The singer was also questioned to describe life as an artist during lockdown, “It was really hard for me to grasp just what was going on. [During the pandemic] I felt like I was living two parallel lives. One of them was my career – I seemed to be doing OK on the internet and my statistics looked good or whatever – and the other one was me sitting at home, completely uninspired. So it was really strange coming out of lockdown and going straight into playing festivals, and seeing that there are actual, physical people who have listened to my music. That was something I’d never had before.”

Humberstone has risen as a standout artist from the recent pandemic and has carved out an avid audience since her first release. The singer released her first EP Falling Asleep At The Wheel on 14th August 2020 via the record label Platoon. In 2021 the singer signed with major labels Interscope and Polydor Records, soon after her second EP The Walls Are Way Too Thin was released on 12th November 2021.

Since the formation of her musical career, the singer has released a total of twelve singles, including a cover of the Radiohead track “Fake Plastic Trees”. The acoustic cover was released as a non-album track on 30^th July 2020 and was accompanied by an intimate music video. As well as her recent BRIT win, the singer has also achieved success with other awards. The singer came in second place for BBC’s Sound of 2021 and was included in the running for YouTube artist on the rise.

Previous winners of the Rising Star award have included such artists as Jessie J, Sam Smith, Jorja Smith, James Bay and Adele. The accolade has been a staple of the popular music institution since the 28th Brit Awards held in 2008. The award was previously known as the Critic’s Choice Award, the winner is decided by a panel of professionals from all avenues of the music industry. The first-ever winner of the award was Grammy-Award winning artist Adele, the singer was nominated alongside Duffy and Foals.

Humberstone will be hitting the road in March 2022, the singer will embark on tour in support of Girl In Red. The tour will see Humberstone perform across the United States and Canada in over twenty-five cities. The “Scarlett” singer will then start her solo performances in the United Kingdom, Humberstone will begin her UK dates with a set in Manchester on 5th June 2022.

Holly Humberstone UK tour dates

05/06/2022 – Academy 2 – Manchester
06/06 – O2 Forum Kentish Town – London
17/07 – Finsbury Park – London

Click here to purchase tickets.

The Scottish singer took to her social media channels to post a statement outlining the reasons for the termination of the tour.

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In the statement the ‘Suddenly I See’ singer related her fears to a previous incident involving hearing loss during her 2018 tour whilst thanking her fans for their continued support. Within the statement the singer also announces her unfortunate withdrawal from her US tour dates with Hall and Oats, the rescheduled tour saw the singer recruited to support legendary pop duo. The outfit responsible for such hits as ‘Maneater’ and ‘I Can’t Go for That |(No Can Do)’ will still be hitting this road this summer under the name Daryl Hall + John Oates, joined by with special guests Squeeze.

Tunstall has stated that she previously experienced hearing issues a decade prior, the artist’s left ear incurred high-frequency issues. Tunstall has stated that she then developed tinnitus, a hearing-loss condition, that includes symptoms such as ringing, roaring and humming sounds in the ears. The condition is said to affect 15-20% of people, the issue has also been described as a permanent ailment among people diagnosed.

Earlier in the year, the singer addressed her fears on the threat of hearing loss, the singer attributed her concerns to her underuse of ear protection whilst listening to loud music. The 46-year-old singer provided the following description of her relationship with live music and her subsequent issues with tinnitus. “I’d never been particularly careful about my hearing over the years, especially as a clubber through my 20s and cranking the volume up on bad monitors at my early gigs, The kicker is, I still have the tinnitus, even in a deaf ear, I’ve adapted really well and can still perform and record, but if I could do it all again, I would definitely make sure I was going for regular hearing checks from a young age.”

KT Tunstall first rose to fan with the release of her 2005 single, ‘Black Horse and the Cherry Tree’. The track landed at number 28 within the UK singles charts and was the lead single from the singer’s debut studio album, ‘Eye to the Telescope’ released in 2004, the album was later re-released under Relentless Records in 2005. The track was performed live in 2004 on the popular TV show, ‘Later… with Jools Holland’, the solo performance garnered public attention for the singer and showcased the artist’s original talents. Tunstall was soon winning awards and being nominated for various accolades, such nominations include the 2005 Mercury Prize and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance in 2007.

Tunstall has also been nominated for various awards at the Brit award ceremonies, in 2006 the singer was nominated for the categories Best British Live Acts and BRIT Award for Best Breakthrough Act. Tunstall would go on to win multiple Brit Awards in 2006 for two categories, Best British Female Artist and the European Border Breakers Award. The multitalented singer has also worked within the film industry, Tunstall has written soundtracks for a variety of films. She has penned the score and music for such films as ‘The Kid’, the Disney sports biographical drama ‘Million Dollar Arm’ and ‘Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast’. Tunstall also wrote two pieces of music for the Blockbuster film ‘Bad Moms’, entitled ‘Band Moms (Suite)‘ and ‘Enough Is Enough (Suite)’.

Exposure to loud music is an issue in which the World Health Organisation wish to address and have provided guidance regarding prevention and care. Such precautions suggested include carefully controlled settings of volume levels on phones and other mobile devices and noise-cancelling headphones. The World Health Organisation has also suggested safety measures for live music such as wearable ear protection.

Sources have told The Sun newspaper that although change is on the cards for the ceremony, they feel that a change for this year may work against the event, “There has been a lot of discussion about plans. The concern is that looking at the artists who have released this year — with all of the restrictions and problems — scrapping separate male and female awards categories might actually have had more of a negative impact across the board. They continue to provide assurance that the topic will be relooked at again in the coming years “It’s definitely something that is going to be looked at again in subsequent years.”

The awards ceremony, held at London’s O2 Arena has been pushed by three months, usually held in February the event will now be held on Tuesday 11^th May. Today sees voting open for the awards, artists included on the ballot and contenders for huge wins this year are Sir Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, Little Mix, Biffy Clyro, The 1975 and AJ Tracey. Other nominee’s names have also been leaked, nominations for the Brits Rising Star Award have been confirmed as Griff, Pa Salieu and Rina Sawayama. The Rising Star Award acknowledges popular music’s next ‘one to watch’, previous winners of this award include the likes of Adele and Celeste. New rules implemented today meant that an artist who does not hold a passport or dual citizenship can now be be included to win prizes, previously left out due the old rule was British- Japanese singer Rina Sawayama even though she has lived in the UK for more than 26 years. She took to her Instagram page to rejoice in her nomination.

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Although a decision has not been made this year, viewers can feel positive that more talks and action will take place in time for next year’s ceremony. But with many viewers holding an opposite opinion which supports the division of gender for the awards, it is hard to see which decision will be actioned. But with further harsh and non inclusive rules being changed to The BRIT awards, fans can at least see some change for the better this year.

The Club Classics tour will kick off in Tramshed, Cardiff on January 21st, 2022 and will follow a series of 15 concerts over the course of 3 months. Notably, Soul II Soul will end their UK tour at the famed Royal Albert Hall in London on April 18th, 2021. The tour will be comprised of music from their popular Club Classics Vol. One album, also known as Keep On Movin in the US.

This was the groups debut record and was originally released in 1989. The band has toured this album before, in 2018 they performed sold-out arenas across the UK. They have promised to make the 2022 version of this tour a greater spectacle, with more surprises and astounding productions.

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In the year of its release, Club Classics Vol. One reached #1 in the British pop charts and was certified triple platinum after reaching nearly 1 million sales. Soul II Soul earned critical praise for their British soul-style and thereupon won multiple Brit Awards and Grammy awards. The hit track Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) reached #1 single in the UK’s hit charts and Top 10 in the States, giving Soul II Soul international acclaim in the first year of their career.

In a press statement, the lead producer of the band Jazzie B stated that “Who would have thought that after thirty-odd years later we’d still be on the road with this thing? It’s been a helluva journey – literally! – and I feel truly blessed”. Jazzie B himself is also acclaimed in the music industry for his services in British music, winning the OBE award in 2008.

The band remarked on their disappointment about rescheduling their Club Classics tour on social-media today, saying “we’re as frustrated as you, but can’t wait to see you all again. Tickets remain valid, for any questions please contact your ticket provider.” However, the safety of their fans remains the main concern for Soul II Soul and they are looking forward to 2022 and getting back on the road in the UK.

2022 Tour Dates for Soul II Soul’s Club Classics Tour:

21/01/2022 – Tramshed – Cardiff
22/01 – O2 Academy – Bristol
28/01 – Barrowlands – Glasgow
29/01- Academy – Manchester
11/02 – O2 City Hall – Newcastle
12/02 – Asylum – Hull
18/02 – Dome – Brighton
19/02 – Guildhall – Portsmouth
25/02 – Barbican – York
26/02 – Rock City – Nottingham
04/03 – Eventim Olympia – Liverpool
05/03 – O2 Institute – Birmingham
18/03 – UEA – Norwich
19/03 – Corn Exchange – Cambridge
18/04 – Royal Albert Hall – London

The 54 year old Irish native has been working on this memoir for the past few years, stating that this is my story, as I remember it. Rememberings will be published via Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media.

Deb Brody, the vice president of the publishing company, stated that the memoir will include O’Connor’s struggles with illness and her fraught childhood. Brody continued that the book will also delve into her musical triumphs and the enduring power of song.

https://t.co/QXTyaC7i18

— Sinéad O’Connor (@SineadOConnor) December 9, 2020

Brody continued to praise the coming memoir, describing t as remarkably candid and intensely personal with the overarching theme being about the famed musician leading a life both charmed and troubled.

While nothing compares to O’Connor’s mega hit single Nothing Compares 2U, she has had many musical accomplishments throughout her career including winning a Brit Award and a Grammy. She has released 10 full-length albums, the most recent arriving in 2014 titled I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss.

She recently released the track and music video for her political version of Trouble of the World, which was made available in the fall of 2020. The vinyl version will be released December 11, 2020, six months ahead of the memoir.

As well as her many musical achievements, O’Connor has also been the subject of controversy throughout her career. The most famous example of this is when the artist shocked the world, and the SNL producers, by ripping a picture of Pope John Paul II during her performance on the show. This was the climax of her disdain for politics and religion and caused backlash throughout the world.

O’Connor changed her named in 2018 to Shuhada Sadaqat when she converted to Islam, however she continues to use her Irish name in her music and now in this upcoming memoir. After converting, she made waves when she tweeted that white people and non-muslims were disgusting and she never wanted to speak to another again; a statement for which she later apologized.

Sinead has no upcoming tour dates or performances scheduled. Rememberings is available to pre-order now and comes out on June 1st, 2021. The vinyl version of her newest track Trouble of the World will be arriving this Friday, December 11th and is available for pre-order now.