Brit Awards for Female Artists Shows There’s A Long Way To Go – Sam Smith

Sam Smith has said that the 2023 Brit Awards not nominating any female songwriters in the Artist of the Year category shows “there’s still a long way to go”.

In 2021, it was announced that the awards ceremony would remove the male and female categories, and introduce sexist gongs in their place.

The Oscar-winning singer Smith, who identifies as non-binary and uses the pronoun surname/last, has previously called for the move, saying they look forward to a time when the award shows “reflect society” the society we live in”.

However, after this year’s nominations were announced earlier this month, there was much criticism about the lack of female representation in the gender-neutral artist category.

Smith told The Sunday Times: “It’s embarrassing. Things are moving forward, but it’s clearly not there yet.

“From seeing the (best artist) list, there is still a long way to go.”

The shortlist for the artist of the year award includes Central Cee, Fred again.., George Ezra, Harry Styles and Stormzy.

Last year, superstar Adele praised female artists when accepting a gender-neutral award.

In her acceptance speech, she said: “I understand why the name of this award has changed but I really love being a woman and being a female artist. I do. I am really proud of us.”

Smith added that they found the lack of women’s recognition this year “extremely frustrating,” saying: “It seems like it’s easy to do.

“(The British) have to congratulate everyone because this is not just about artists receiving awards.

“The award is for kids who watch on TV and think, ‘I can make music like this’.

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“When I was younger, if I could see more gay people at these awards, it would light up my heart. The award is there to inspire.”

When asked which female artists they think should be on the list of best artists, the singer praised Cat Burns, Anne Marie and Florence Welch.

They added: “There is so much incredible female talent in the UK, they should be on that list.”

Smith were nominated in the song of the year category for their collaboration with German singer-songwriter Kim Petras on the viral hit Unholy.

They will face stiff competition for the award from a range of talents including Burns with the song Go, Style with the super hit As It Was and Dave with the song Starlight.

Smith and Petras will also perform at the awards ceremony, which will be held in February at The O2 in London.

Unholy also earned Smith a Grammy nomination for the first time.

The 2023 Brits Awards will take place on Saturday, February 11 and will be televised live on ITV1 and ITVX from The O2 arena in London.