Adele during her appearance on the CBS special Adele One Night Only.
Photo: CBS via Getty Images, CBS Photo Archive. All rights reserved.
As expected, Adele dominated the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) Brit Awards 2022. After turbulent weeks about the cancellation of her shows in Las Vegas and renewed speculation about her love life, which she dispelled by demonstratively wearing an (engagement) ring, she received three awards in London.
As “Artist”, for “30” as “Best Album” and for “Easy on Me” as the best song of the year. Dua Lipa only had to admit defeat in the “Pop/Rock Act” category, which was voted on by the public. “I can hardly believe it; that a piano ballad could prevail against all the other hits,” she said after performing her current single “I Drink Wine” in an elaborately tailored evening dress.
Her award in the queen category “Artist of the Year” also received a corresponding comment. “This award has been changed, but I would have loved to have been ARTIST of the year too,” she said. Dubbed “woke Brits” by the local press, the ceremony for the first time completely dispenses with gender-specific categories.
In the early stages of 2020, this meant that only one female act appeared on the nomination list. In the meantime, the categories have been changed again. This time ten out of 15 Brit Awards went to female artists or female fronted bands. Holly Humberstone, for example, received the Brit in the “Rising Star” category, Little Simz became “Best New Artist”, and Becky Hill, who is relatively unknown in this country, won the “Dance” Brit. Internationally, Billie Eilish scored as “Act” and Olivia Rodrigo with the song “Good 4 U”.
The otherwise so spoiled by success Ed Sheeran, who played his “Bad Habbits” live with the rockers of Bring Me The Horizon, had to be content with the category “Songwriter of the Year”. It wasn’t enough for a Brit as the “overall artist” against Adele.
The American soul project Silk Sonic won as “International Group” ahead of ABBA and the Korean TicToc superstars BTS.
Adele, who made three costume changes at the Woke Brit gala, continues in the bright spotlight on Friday night. She is a guest on popular BBC talk show host Graham Norton, who will no doubt want to know more about her Las Vegas cancellation disaster and the water levels in relation to her US boyfriend Rich Paul.