2022 BRITs NOMINATIONS. THE BRITS HAVE A PROBLEM WITH EDM.

This week the list of nominees for the 2022 Brits was announced. The ceremony will take place on February the 8th, coming back to their usual date. With the pandemic still fluttering, there's uncertainty about how the ceremony is going to be.

Let's get into the nominations:

Best hip-hop/grime/rap:The BRITs join the general opinion of the critics by nominating Little Simz, who's getting the first places of the lists of the Best Album of The Year. Apart from the now well-known AJ Tracey and Dave (both with albums praised by the critic, even if commercially it's hasn't been the same as their predecessors), the new additions come with Ghetts (shortlisted to this year's Mercury Prize) and Central Cee.

-AJ Tracey

-Dave

-Central Cee

-Ghetts

-Little Simz

Best pop/R&B:This category always feels a little strange because there is no R&B artist at all, except  maybe Joy Crookes. This concentration of giving one award for two major categories has never been understanding, especially when the biggest popstars from the UK are nominated and no one sings R&B.

-Adele

-Ed Sheeran

-Griff

-Joy Crookes

-Dua Lipa

Best rock/alternative:I'm glad that Sam Fender and Wolf  Alice got a nomination on this one, but the rest of the nominees don't seem neither rock or alternative: Coldplay's latest era, I don't even know how to call it, but it's certainly closer to pop, Tom Grennan's second album seems to fit better on the pop category than in the alternative one and Glass Animals earn a nomination here after the success of Heat Waves.

-Coldplay

-Glass Animals

-Sam Fender

-Tom Grennan

-Wolf Alice

Best dance:I agree with the nominees on this one.

-Becky Hill

-Calvin Harris

-Fred Again

-Joel Corry

-Raye

Best international song:There are 15 nominees on this category and the ensemble is very vague. There are major hits, characteristic of the year, as Olivia Rodrigo's Good 4 U, Doja Cat's Kiss Me More and Maneskin's I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE. However, there are questionable picks, like 'Your Love' , the second of Topic's major international hits, but with notable less success than 'Breaking Me' or 'Calling My Phone' , which occupied the top spots of  the chart in their first weeks but it didn't stay for too long. On the other hand, Ckay gets one of his first big nominations in this category. 

-ATB / Topic / A7S - Your Love (9PM)

-Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever

-Ckay - Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)

-Doja Cat ft SZA - Kiss Me More

-Drake ft Lil Baby - Girls Want Girls

-Galantis, David Guetta & Little Mix - Heartbreak Anthem

-Jonasu - Black Magic

-Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber - Stay

-Lil Nas X - Montero (Call Me By Your Name)

-Lil TJ & 6lack - Calling My Phone

-Maneskin - I Wanna Be Your Slave

-Olivia Rodrigo - Good 4U

-Polo G - Rapstar

-Tiesto - The Business

-The Weeknd - Save Your Tears

Song of the Year:In this category I find a problem with the BRITs nomiinating EDM. Everywhere, except for the UK, EDM had its time in the mid 2010s, but now it's been replaced by latin beats. In the UK, it is still a successful genre, which is okay, as it hasn't fallen for reggaeton (yet). The thing is that I believe the BRITs mess qantity over quality here. EDM is a commercial genre, a safe bet for an artist (example: KSI), but is it the answer to the Song Of The Year? Is Friday - a song whose main hook says 'It's Friday again /Then Saturday, Sunday, what? /It's Friday again /Then Saturday, Sunday, what?/It's Friday again /Then Saturday, Sunday, what? /It's Friday again, 'ain, 'ain', 'ain (what?)' the Song Of The Year in the UK? This gets even more messy when the BRITs try to balance the commercial success with the critics opinion. 

-A1 & J1 - Latest Trends

-Adele - Easy On Me

-Anne-Marie, KSI & Digital Farm Animals - Don't Play

-Becky Hill & David Guetta - Remember

-Central Cee - Obsessed With You

-Dave ft Stormzy - Clash

-Ed Sheeran - Bad Habits

-Elton John & Dua Lipa - Cold Heart (Pnau Mix)

-Glass Animals - Heat Waves

-Joel Corry, Raye & David Guetta - Bed

-KSI - Holiday

-Nathan & 220Kid & Billen Ted - Wellerman

-Riton, Nightcrawlers & Mufasa - Friday

-Tion Wayne & Russ Millions - Body

-Tom Grennan - Little Bit Of Love

Best group: I would like to emphasize Little Mix nomination after winning last year in the same category and all the controversy that it generated. It seems like the BRITS have taken part in the conflict. 

-Coldplay

-D-Block Europe

-Little Mix

-London Grammar

-Wolf Alice

(Royal Blood could have been nominated here too)

Best new artist:The nominees on this category reaffirms what I've said about the BRITS and EDM, this category is almost full of nominees praised by the international critic. This does not connect with the Song Of The Year nominees and undermines the BRITs, which need to pick a side or make a better balance.

-Central Cee

-Griff

-Joy Crookes

-Little Simz

-Self Esteem

Album of the year: It's remarkable that every album considered has been released on the second half of the year.

-Adele - 30

-Dave - We're All Alone In This Together

-Ed Sheeran - =

-Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

-Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under

Artist of the Year:The BRITS have repeated the same artists from the AOTY category.

-Adele

-Dave

-Ed Sheeran

-Little Simz

-Sam Fender

In conclusion, the BRITS nominations leave a bittersweet feeling overall. Despite they appreciate some artists that are usually disregarded by American awards (Maneskin, Little Simz, Wolf Alice, Self Esteem...) their consideration of EDM seems to be conflicting with that approach to  critics-praised artists and projects, getting a dim ensemble.