After pushing for gendered awards to be scrapped, Sam Smith says the Brits not shortlisting any women in the best artist category is ‘frustrating’ (Picture: Getty Images)
Sam Smith thinks it is ‘a shame’ there are no women nominated for best artist at this year’s Brit Awards.
The non-binary singer-songwriter was one of the first musicians to call for the abolishment of gendered categories after the Unholy hitmaker was left out of them in 2021.
At the time, the 30-year-old said: ‘Music for me has always been about unification not division. I look forward to a time where awards shows can be reflective of the society we live in.
‘Let’s celebrate everybody regardless of gender, race, age, ability, sexuality, and class.’
This resulted in the Brits taking action, and 2022 saw the first year of no gendered awards, but instead, a new award, artist of the year, which replaced the British male and female solo artist categories.
Also, an international artist of the year award replaced the previously female and male international solo artist awards.
Sam changed their pronouns in 2019 (Picture: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Image)
At the moment Sam is promoting their fourth studio album, Gloria (Picture: Getty Images)
But the Brit awards, taking place on February 11, faced a backlash when they failed to nominate any women for the best artist award for 2023.
Instead, just male artists like Harry Styles, Stormzy, George Ezra, Central Cee, and Fred Again made the shortlist.
‘It is a shame,’ Sam told The Sunday Times. ‘Things are moving forward, but it’s obvious it’s not there yet. From seeing that [best artist] list, there is still a long way to go.
‘It’s incredibly frustrating. It feels like it should be easy to do.
‘[The Brits] just have to celebrate everyone because this is not just about artists getting awards. Awards are for kids watching on TV, thinking, “I can make music like this.”
‘When I was young, if I’d seen more queer people at these awards it would have lit my heart. Awards are there to inspire.’
Sam scored their first hit contributing vocals to Disclosure’s 2012 song Latch (Picture: Getty Images )
Asked which women should have been shortlisted, they said: ‘Cat Burns. Anne Marie. Florence Welch. There’s so much incredible female talent in the UK — they should be on that list.’
Twelve of 71 artists eligible for the award were female. Anne Marie and Cat Burns did not meet the criteria, which asked for a top 40 album or two top 20 singles.
Outside this category, 42% of all nominations were for female acts or mixed groups.
Meanwhile, the Stay With Me singer thinks their new album Gloria, scheduled for release on January 27, is their most authentic to date.
‘I’ve always been authentic,’ Sam said. ‘I just think asking a 24-year-old to be their 100% self in front of 20,000 people was never going to happen.
‘I showed 70% of who I was then and a lot of that has to do with me being gay.
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‘As I got older, though, I realised there’s no shame. I wasn’t being inauthentic – you just keep some things to yourself until you’re ready.
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‘Awards are there to inspire.’
