Brit Award for Best New Artist explained

Brit Award for Best New Artist
Country:United Kingdom (UK)
Presenter:British Phonographic Industry (BPI)
Year:1977
Holder:Raye (2024)

The Brit Award for Best New Artist (previously Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act)[1] is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom.[2] The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music.[3] The winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over 1,000 members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees.[4]

Throughout its tenure, the category has been known by a number of different names. Originally presented as two gendered categories in 1977, the inaugural recipients were Graham Parker and Julie Covington. The Human League were the first group to win the award. Paul Young and Lisa Stansfield were the first male and female solo artists to receive the combined award, winning in 1984 and 1990 respectively. In January 2023, Sam Ryder became the first Eurovision artist to be nominated in this category.[5] The current holder of the award is Raye, who won in 2024.

History

The award was first presented in 1977 as two awards: British Male Newcomer and British Female Newcomer which were won by Graham Parker and Julie Covington.[6] When the Brit Awards was held for the second time in 1982, these categories were combined and rules were changed so that groups were also eligible. The inaugural recipients of the new British Newcomer award were The Human League.[7] From 2003 to 2019, the award was presented as British Breakthrough Act.[8] The award received its current name Best New Artist starting in 2020, bringing it in line with similar international awards such as the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Mabel and Dave are the only artists who have been nominated for this award more than once. Dave was nominated 2018 and 2020 and Mabel was nominated in both 2019 and 2020.

Winners and nominees

British Male/Female Newcomer (1977)

Yearwidth=250pxRecipientwidth=300px class=unsortableNominees
1977Graham Parker
Julie Covington

British Newcomer (1982–2002)

Yearwidth=250pxRecipientwidth=300px class=unsortableNominees
1982The Human League
1983Yazoo
1984Paul Young
1985Frankie Goes to Hollywood
1986Go Westalign="center" rowspan="2"
1987The Housemartins
1988Wet Wet WetNominated
Eliminated
1989Brosalign="center"
1990Lisa Stansfield
1991Betty Boo
1992Beverley Craven
1993Tasmin Archer
1994Gabrielle
1995Oasis
1996Supergrass
1997Kula Shaker
1998Stereophonics
1999Belle and Sebastian
2000S Club 7
2001A1
2002Blue

British Breakthrough Act (2003–2019)

Yearwidth=250pxRecipientwidth=300px class=unsortableNominees
2003Will Young
2004Busted
2005Keane
2006Arctic Monkeys
2007The Fratellis
2008Mika
2009Duffy
2010JLS
2011Tinie Tempah
2012Ed Sheeran
2013Ben Howard
2014Bastille
2015Sam Smith
2016Catfish and the Bottlemen
2017Rag'n'Bone Man
2018Dua Lipa
2019Tom Walker

Best New Artist (2020–present)

Yearwidth=250pxRecipientwidth=300px class=unsortableNominees
2020Lewis Capaldi
2021Arlo Parks
2022Little Simz
2023Wet Leg
2024Raye

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: We’re back!. BRIT Awards. en. 16 December 2019.
  2. Web site: About the BPI. British Phonographic Industry (BPI). 20 July 2014. 6 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151206225605/http://www.bpi.co.uk/about-bpi.aspx. dead.
  3. Web site: BRIT Awards. British Phonographic Industry (BPI). 20 July 2014. 6 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180906195429/https://www.bpi.co.uk/brit-awards.aspx. dead.
  4. Web site: And the nominees are.... Brits.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry (BPI). 20 July 2014.
  5. News: 2023-01-12 . Brit Awards: Harry Styles and Wet Leg lead male-dominated nominations . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-01-16.
  6. Web site: The BRITs 1977. Brits.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry (BPI). 20 July 2014.
  7. Web site: The BRITs 1982. Brits.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry (BPI). 20 July 2014.
  8. Web site: The BRITs 2003. Brits.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry (BPI). 20 July 2014.