yes i’m doing a roblox concert …. what about it?!! https://t.co/Vewb62tleW
Friday 11th @ 5pm GMT
for tha brits after party.
character lookin a lil thick stilllllll pic.twitter.com/5oFifvLs0v

— pinkpantheress (@pinkpantheress2) February 8, 2022

Speaking concerning her upcoming concert, PinkPantheress expresses excitement to partner her music with the gaming world, “I’m so glad I got to do a performance for the Roblox and BRITs families, As someone that loves video games and escaping into my own virtual world, I’m hoping I took everyone on an experience.”

The 2022 Brit awards have also partnered with metaverse developer Dubit to provide further digital elements for fans to interact with. The Brits new virtual world also includes scavenger hunts, Brit Award statuettes to be collected and a browsing platform for merch. For the first time in the award’s history, a digital VIP party will be made available through their partnership with Roblox and Dubit. From yesterday until 13th February 2022 nominees and honourees will be available for virtual meet and greets with fans. Within the metaverse stage, highlights will be shown today from the ceremony held last night at London’s O2 Arena.

Luke Ferrar, Innovation Director, Polydor Records and Co-Chair of the BRITs Digital committee has provided the following statement regarding the new partnership, “When planning the BRITs 2022 digital campaign we knew we wanted to enter the metaverse with Roblox. What Dubit has built within the Roblox platform is an immersive BRITs experience. It has far surpassed our expectations with wonderful detail and flourishes in the world. It’s fantastic to have PinkPantheress, who reaches a huge Gen Z audience, perform in it. Very proud to have the BRITs enter this space in this way for the first time.”

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The first broadcast of PinkPantheress’ virtual concert comes a week after the premiere of David Guetta’s performance within the platform. The superstar DJ’s avatar played a 45-minute set which premiered on 4th February 2022, Guetta has spoken on the unique shows, “Working on this concert has allowed me to bring an amazing new creation to life with design and production to suit the virtual world, We’ve built something that will play host to one of the most unique shows I’ve ever done and I can’t wait for everyone to experience it with me.”

PinkPantheress is set to appear at this year’s Reading and Leeds Festival. On Friday 26th August 2022, the 21-year-old singer will perform alongside headlining acts Dave and Megan Thee Stallion. The singer will perform at the Leeds site on Saturday 27th August 2022, featuring the same headlining acts as seen in Reading.

Click here to watch PinkPantheress’ virtual concert.

pic.twitter.com/imsVC4WVOu

— doja cat (@DojaCat) January 31, 2022

The 26-year-old artist is included within this year’s nominations. Doja Cat is shortlisted for International Artist Of The Year and Best International Song for her collaboration with SZA entitled “Kiss Me More”. The single was released on 9th April 2021 and sired the rapper great success along with three Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Song the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The multi-talented artist is no stranger to accolades, however this year marks her first nomination for a Brit award and this year’s ceremony would also have been her first performance at the awards event.

This recent cancellation is the hitmaker’s third termination of a live performance due to COVID. On 11th December 2021, the singer was forced to withdraw from several shows from the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, the cancelled shows were scheduled for New York and Boston. Doja Cat confirmed the cancellation was due to members of her road crew receiving positive tests for COVID. At the time of the confirmation, the singer took to Twitter to post a full statement.

iHeart update…I love you guys so much and I’m so sad this is happening but I will see you all soon pic.twitter.com/kwcmdGJTe4 — doja cat (@DojaCat) December 10, 2021

On 12th December 2021, the singer confirmed that she could not finish the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour as she had tested positive for the virus herself. The “Woman” singer had six dates remaining and was forced to cancel shows in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Atlanta and Miami. To announce the cancellation, the singer also took to Twitter to share an emotive statement confirming the news.

pic.twitter.com/N1mMiFHQRV

— doja cat (@DojaCat) December 12, 2021

This year’s BRIT Awards will be a historical event in music and cultural history, for the first time, the awards will feature genderless categories. The 2022 ceremony will also include four new genre-based awards, Alternative/Rock Act, Hip-Hop/Grime/Rap Act, Dance Act and Pop Act. Speaking on the British institution’s changes, co-president of Polydor Records has stated, “It is important that the Brits continue to evolve and aim to be as inclusive as possible.”

Hosting responsibilities for this year’s event have been bestowed to Mo Gilligan. the comedian will be replacing veteran host Jack Whitehall who stepped down after four years at the helm. Gilligan is best known for his chat show The Lateish Show, a Channel 4 production which debuted in 2019. The remaining performers for the event are still scheduled to take the stage, Brit icon Liam Gallagher, Ed Sheeran, Dace, Sam Fender, Little Simz and 2022’s Brits rising star award winner Holly Humberston are all billed to perform at the ceremony.

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During the TV special, the British singer-songwriter took to the stage with a five-piece band to give a rousing performance of his hit single. Viewers also saw performances by Mahalia and AJ Tracey who performed their duet “Roadside”. Arrdee also took the stage to perform his 2021 single “Flowers (Say My Name)“, the British rapper’s third solo single placed within the top 5 within the UK’s Official singles chart. The track gained positive reviews through the incorporation of two hit singles, Sweet Female Attitude track “Flowers” and Destiny’s Child hit “Say My Name”. Also included within the show’s lineup were Becky Hill, Lola Young, Mabel and Dermot Kennedy.

Within the performance, Fender and his backing group played the title track from his recent album Seventeen Going Under. The album was released on 8th October 2021 via Polydor Records and was recently awarded NME’s album of the year accolade. The English musician’s second studio album became a commercial success and brought Fender to the forefront of popular music. The album also sired great critical acclaim and garnered many accolades including topping the list of PopMatters’ list of 15 Best Indie Rock Albums of 2021.

The album’s title track, “Seventeen Going Under”, was the first of five singles to be released from the record. The track was also marketed as the album’s lead single and was released on 7th July 2021. Much like the single’s album, “Seventeen Going Under” also received acclaim within the industry and was named as BBC’S 2021 Hottest Record of The Year. In December 2021 Fender released a re-worked version of the track, the reimagined version saw Fender take the song to an acoustic level. Within the paired back recording Fender collaborate with Holly Humberstone, the track was released alongside the announcement that Humberstone had won the 2022 Brits Rising star award. The news of Humberstone’s win was shared via video which saw the duo in the studio working on their release. The touching video showed Fender, who won the award in 2019, handing the trophy to Humberstone.

!!!! @samfendermusic pic.twitter.com/JyWkpMjT3i

— Holly Humberstone (@HolHumberstone) December 9, 2021

Fender will soon be hitting the road to start his UK and European tour which kicks off in March this year. The singer will kick start a series of UK dates with a performance in Nottingham on 20th March 2022, after ten UK dates the singer will perform at six different European cities. In June 2022, Fender will continue his live shows with a run as the supporting artist within The Killer’s headlining tour. Fender’s scheduled list of live dates concludes with an appearance at London’s Finsbury Park on 15th July 2022.

Sam Fender UK tour dates

20/03/2022 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
21/03 – Echo Arena – Liverpool
24/03 – 3Arena – Dublin
26/03 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
27/03 – Arena – Birmingham
30/03 – The Brighton Centre – Brighton
01/04 – The SSE Arena – London
02/04 – The SSE Arena – London
05/04 – Metro Radio Arena – Newcastle
06/04 – Metro Radio Arena – Newcastle
03/06 – The Killers – London
04/06 – The Killers – London
14/06 – The Killers – Dublin
15/06 – The Killers – Dublin
06/07 – Castlefield Bowl – Manchester
15/07 – Finsbury Park – London

Click here to buy tickets.

here’s the incred line-up for #BRITsWeek 2022 presented by @MastercardUK for @WarChildUK: @AnneMarie@bastille@joycrookes@maisiehpeters@BeckyHill@mimiwebb@CraigDavid@Damonalbarn

For info on the shows head to: https://t.co/km2Rwkqqb9 pic.twitter.com/LIgMuRPs8p

— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) December 14, 2021

The concert series will kick start with a performance by English singer-songwriter Anne-Marie. The 30-year-old artist will take the stage at King Cross’ Lafayette on 1st February 2021. The Essex born singer is no stranger to the Brits, she was nominated for four awards including Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2019 awards. After her set for BRITs week, Anne-Marie is set to hit the road for her Dysfunctional Tour in May 2022.

Music fans will then get the chance to see Bastille when they perform at Hackney’s Earth Theatre on 2nd February 2022. The English pop band are also part of the BRIT awards alumni, the group won Best New Artist in 2013 and were nominated for three more awards. The band were also in the running for British Group, Best British Album for Bad Blood and Song Of The Year for their hit “Pompeii”.

It has been announced that former Blur frontman Damon Albarn will conclude the series on 20th February 2022 with a performance at The Troxy. The artist will treat ticketholders to live renditions of classics as well as tracks from his recently released album The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows. The 53-year-old singer released his second solo studio album on 12th November 2021 via Transgressive Records.

Head of Live at War Child, Ben Anderson has provided the following statement, “We are delighted to be working with BPI and AEG once again on another BRITs Week series. Whilst there was a temporary pause on all things live music over the past 12 months or so, there was no pause to the challenges facing children who live in conflict zones around the world. With conflict rates on the rise, and more children at risk, our work as a charity is never more needed. “The whole music team and the wider War Child teams are very excited to be working on a fantastic series of gigs. There are some real treats for fans to see their favourite artists in some venues across the capital that they wouldn’t normally play, and we look forward to not only the gigs but also to raising much needed funds and awareness of the fantastic work that War Child do.”

Other acts have also been announced to take part in the annual concert series. It has been revealed that Joy Crookes will perform on 2nd February 2022, the English singer is set to perform at Omeara. The 23-year-old singer was shortlisted for the Rising Star Award at last year’s ceremony. Fellow singer-songwriter Maisie Peters is billed to play the next day at the same venue.

British singer-songwriter Becky Hill has also been announced to perform in the series. The 27-year-old singer will take the stage at The Lafayette on 3rd February 2022. Fans will also be able to catch Mimi Webb at London Bridge’s Omeara on 5th February 2022. The 21-year-old singer will be performing tracks from her recently released EP Seven Shades of Heartbreak, the release dropped on 22nd October 2021 and reached number nine within the UK charts. Three days before Albarn’s closing gig, Craig David presents TS5 will take place at Under The Bridge on 17th February 2022. TS5 began as an exclusive pre-party by David but has now developed into a club night full of anthems and hits.

Mastercard cardholders have access to an exclusive pre-sale for all shows, the pre-sale began today at 10 am. Fans can also win tickets via the prize draw, to enter the competition fans must make a £5 donation via the Brits Week War Child website.

the shortlist for the 2022 #BRITs Rising Star as supported by @BBCR1 is…

Bree Runway (@breerunway)
Holly Humberstone (@HolHumberstone)
Lola Young (@lolayounggg) pic.twitter.com/XKXIYe2u11

— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) November 30, 2021

British musician, Holly Humberstone, made waves with her first EP Falling Asleep At The Wheel. The 21-year-old singer released the EP on 14th August 2020 after signing with Interscope and Polydor Records. The singer caught the attention of industry professionals whilst performing at a local BBC Introducing show. The singer recently released her second EP The Walls Are Way Too Thin, the EP was released on on 12th November 2021 and sired five singles including “Scarlett” and “Friendly Fire“.

Speaking on her inclusion, Humberstone has provided the following statement, “Music has always been my entire life, and being nominated for such a prestigious award really means everything to me. Recognition from the BRITs is something I am struggling to comprehend at the moment! it’s truly an honour to be nominated for the BRITs Rising Star Award alongside two other incredibly inspiring female artists.”

Bree Runway is no stranger to accolades, earlier this year the British rapper and singer won a BET Award for Best International Act and was shortlisted for the BBC Sound of 2021 poll. The 29-year-old singer signed with EMI Records in 2018 and has released one mixtape and three Eps. The talented artist has been making music since a child and performed for Michelle Obama at age 14. Runway has gone on to work with many influential artists including Rhianna and Missy Elliott, the singer recently released the single “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” with British rockers Glass Animals.

Runway provides the following statement concerning her nomination, “I feel so honoured to be recognised by the BRITs in this way, it’s all so exciting especially as previous nominees have gone on to do such amazing things, I hope I’m struck by that same luck. Attending the BRITs alone has been something I’ve wanted to do for years, but attending as a Rising Star nominee is a DREAM.”

Lola Young has released a collection of Eps and has garnered critical success for her work. The 21-year-old singer got her start at open mics and won a national competition at the age of 13. Young recently rose to fan for her beautiful rendition of the 1984 Philip Oakley and Giorgio Moroder hit, “Together In Electric Dreams”. The cover was used in this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert and promptly captured the nation’s hearts.

The BRIT School alumni has provided a statement expressing her excitement to be nominated, “I can’t believe I’ve been nominated for this award. It feels surreal and completely unexpected. I actually have to pinch myself looking at the other artists that have been nominated previously. It is such a big step for me and I feel very excited to have been nominated!”.

The Rising Star award was previously known as the Critics’ Choice Award and has been included in the ceremony since 2008, the award’s first winner was Grammy-Award winning artist Adele. The accolade is supported and sponsored by BBC Radio 1 and has previously been awarded to Celeste and Griff. The award aims to celebrate and endorse British artists who have yet to chart within the top 20 with an album or have not achieved more than one top 20 single. The award’s winner will be selected by a panel of industry professionals and experts. The winner for the Brits rising star award will be announced on 10th December, the winner will be handed the award at the ceremony next year.

“Yeah, I think so! This kind of feels like a good way to round it up – especially with performances – but I’ve still got everything crossed that hopefully I’ll be back on the road and still touring this album.” The singer also spoke directly concerning when her fans can expect new music. “I’m working on some bits, so possibly there will be something soon.” In the full interview below, the singer speaks further concerning new material and states her excitement to attend the awards and perform and also discusses her contemporaries.

During her win at this year’s awards, the singer scooped a hat trick of awards. She won Best British album for ‘Future Nostalgia‘, best British single for the singer’s 2020 smash hit ‘Physical‘ and the Best Female Solo Artist Award for the second time. During her acceptance speech for the Best Female Solo Artist Award, Lipa called for action. She called out the Prime Minister’s contentious one per cent pay raise for nurses, also during her acceptance speech Lipa dedicated her award to Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, who famously battled during her career to ensure that the NHS was fair and promoted equality. She is famed for forming the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice which she formed as a professor of nursing, the centre was established in 1998 to battle the racial inequalities within the nursing industry, Anionwu worked at the centre until her retirement in 2007.

Within her acceptance speech, Lipa spoke about Anionwu’s importance and why she decided to dedicate part of her award to the important figure.

“I think this is such an incredible initiative to give another part of your award to someone and I’ve chosen that my Best British Female of the year is Dame Elizabeth Anionwu. She has spent her stellar nursing career fighting racial injustice. She has also spent so much time and is a strong, strong advocate for protecting frontline workers.”

Lipa then turned her attention to the controversial topic and with a rousing speech urged everyone to show their support for the cause.

“[Anionwu] has also said that there’s a massive disparity between gratitude and respect for frontline workers because it’s very good to clap for them but we need to pay them. And so I think what we should do is we should all give a massive massive round of applause and give Boris a message that we all support a fair pay rise for our frontline.”

Judging from this exciting news regarding new material, it would appear that fans can look forward to Lipa toping her record-shattering album ‘Future Nostalgia’. Fans will also get a chance to see the superstar live during her UK tour, which is due to start this September in Liverpool at the M&S Bank Arena.

Dua Lipa UK Tour

10/09/2021 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
11/09 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow
13/09 – Utilita Arena Newcastle – Newcastle Upon Tyne
15/09 – Motorpoint Arena Cardiff – Cardiff
16/09 – A0 Arena – Manchester
18/09 – 3Arena – Dublin
19/09 – 3Arena – Dublin
21/09 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
24/09 – O2 Arena – London
25/09 – O2 Arena – London
27/09 – Motorpoint Arena Nottingham – Nottingham
28/09 – Utilita Arena Birmingham – Birmingham

Did someone say story time?? @wiffygriffy talks the moment she found out she’d WON the 2021 #BRITs Rising Star Award! pic.twitter.com/jk5fqwPU3V

— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) March 19, 2021

A young pop singer – songwriter, who grew up in Hertfordshire, has signed with Warner Records back in 2019 and released EP ‘The Mirror Talk’ the same year. Last summer she was nominated for her first award – Rising Star Ivor Novello Award, which is held every year and open to young musicians in the UK. “The new award helps discover, support, and accelerate the careers of the most promising music creators in the UK and Ireland, and demonstrates Apple Music’s continued support of the songwriter and composer community”. 

Griff’s single from 2020 ‘Love is a Compass’ peaked at No.42 in the Official UK Singles Chart. The song is a soundtrack to Disney’s Christmas Advert and has almost seven million streams on Spotify alone. A month ago the singer released new single ‘Black Hole’ and new mixtape ‘One Foot In Front Of Other’ will come out on 11th June and available to pre-save here. Every pre-order is coming with a early pass access to tickets to Griff’s upcoming Autumn Tour. The offer however ends 9am on Tuesday 23rd March. 

This prestigious Brits trophy was first handed out in 2008 and last year has changed the name from Brits Critics Choice. Since the very beginning, it has opened the career door for many successful future stars, including Adele, Florence + The Machine and last year’s winner Celeste. The Brit Awards this year had been moved from the usual February date to 11th May and will take place in O2 Arena in London.

Full list of Bri Critics Choice/ Rising Star winners is as follows:
2008 – Adele
2009 – Florence + The Machine
2010 – Ellie Goulding
2011 – Jessie J
2012 – Emeli Sandé
2013 – Tom Odell
2014 – Sam Smith
2015 – James Bay
2016 – Jack Garratt
2017 – Rag ’n’ Bone Man
2018 – Jorja Smith
2019 – Sam Fender
2020 – Celeste
2021 – Griff

Griff’s Autumn 2021 Tour includes:
22/10/2021 –  King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut – Glasgow
25/10 – O2 Academy 3 – Birmingham
27/10 – Heaven – London

Rina announced in an Instagram post that following her conversations with the BPI, starting this year the eligibility clause will be expanded. Artists will now be eligible for nomination if they have been a resident of the UK for five years, even without British citizenship. The nomination will also be possible to any artist with a British passport or was born in the UK. Rina went on to thank her fans who helped raise awareness and starting the conversation.

She went on to say; “Without your collective voice, this wouldn’t have happened. In my 26th year of living in the UK I’m so proud that I can help make this systemic change for future generations, so that in years to come we can see a more diverse definition of British musical excellence.”

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A post shared by Rina Sawayama (@rinasonline)

Rina raised this issue with Mercury last year after she released her debut album, SAWAYAMA, she was told that the rules would not change. The Japanese government does not allow people to carry duel citizenship, however, Rina has indefinite leave to remain in the UK, meaning she shares most citizens’ rights so she has kept her Japanese passport to maintain ties to her family who live in her country of birth, this includes her father.

At the point, Rina told VICE; “You get to a level when you don’t have to worry about your nationality and your status and whether you fit into this country. Things like that bring into sharp focus, like, whether I am even British.” She then added; “I fundamentally don’t agree with this definition of Britishness.”

Rina’s album SAWAYAMA was released on the 17th of April 2020 via Dirty Hit. The album included the amazing singles XS, Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys), STFU!, Chosen Family and Bad Friend. The album peaked in the UK Indie charts at number 8. The album was produced by Clarence Clarity and Sawayama herself, with help from Bram Inscore, Nate Company, and Nicole Morier, creating a wide range of sounds and genres across the songs. Speaking to Consequence of Sound, Sawayama said “Everything kind of picks up from different bits of the 2000s. I think music was so diverse then.”

Dave became the biggest artist last night, taking home the most prestigious prize, Best Album, for his debut album Psychodrama. Meanwhile, Scottish vocal powerhouse and comedian Lewis Capaldi was also crowned with the Best Song prize for his mega-hit “Someone You Loved,” which he too confirmed during the speech that is not about his ex-girlfriend but about his late grandmother.

Another excellent reaction GIF supplied from @LewisCapaldi after winning Song of the Year #BRITs pic.twitter.com/WR94okxKt4

— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 18, 2020

18-year-old global phenomenon Billie Eilish won International Female Solo Artist. While thanking for the crown, the “bad guy” hitmaker almost bursted into tears from great joy. “I have wanted to say something that I was thinking like two seconds ago,” she said. “I’ve felt very hated recently. And when I was on the stage and I saw you guys smiling at me, it genuinely made me want to cry and I want to cry right now, so thank you.” That moment was probably the very first time Eilish was highly emotional on stage despite her receiving a plethora of awards prior to the BRITS.

Another impressive achievement belongs to Mabel. She was named British Female Solo Artist last night, while her mother Neneh Cherry took her own trophies back home 30 years ago.

Below are the lists of the winners.

Best album

• Dave – Psychodrama
• Stormzy – Heavy Is The Head
• Michael Kiwanuka – KIWANUKA
• Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
• Harry Styles – Fine Line

Best British female

• Mabel
• Freya Ridings
• FKA Twigs
• Charli XCX
• Mahalia

Best British male

• Stormzy
• Harry Styles
• Lewis Capaldi
• Dave
• Michael Kiwanuka

Best British group

• Foals
• Bring Me The Horizon
• D-Block Europe
• Bastille
• Coldplay

Best new artist

• Lewis Capaldi
• Dave
• Mabel
• Sam Fender
• Aitch

Best song

• Lewis Capaldi – “Someone You Loved”
• Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber – “I Don’t Care”
• Mabel – “Don’t Call Me Up”
• Calvin Harris ft Rag ‘N’ Bone Man – “Giant”
• Dave ft Burna Boy – “Location”
• Mark Ronson ft Miley Cyrus – “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart”
• AJ Tracey – “Ladbroke Grove”
• Tom Walker – “Just You and I”
• Sam Smith ft Normani – “Dancing with a Stranger”
• Stormzy – “Vossi Bop”

International female

• Billie Eilish
• Ariana Grande
• Camila Cabello
• Lana Del Rey
• Lizzo

International male

• Tyler, The Creator
• Bruce Springsteen
• Burna Boy
• Dermot Kennedy
• Post Malone

Rising star award

• Celeste
• Joy Crookes
• Beabadoobee

Elsewhere in the ceremony, there were a string of remarkable performances from huge stars. Stormzy, to begin with, brought Burna Boy and Tiana Major9 together with dancers and choirs for his singles from Heavy Is the Head. Mabel and Dave were also performing, and their shows received much praise for creating diversity for the awards. Furthermore, Celeste who won Rising Star Award belted out “Strange”, her single that put the singer to fame.

International acts, namely Billie Eilish and Lizzo, also impressed the audience with their songs. As Eilish debuted the live performance of James Bond’s theme song “No Time to Die”, Lizzo did a mash-up of her smash hits which brought extreme fun for the night.

Despite delightful shows and great politically inspirational speeches from the artists, this year’s BRITS awards has been criticised for its lack of gender balance from the nominations which were dominated by male artists.