Harry Styles, Beyonce among first winners at BRIT awards

The other is artist of the year, whose nominees are all men - singers Styles and George Ezra, rappers Stormzy and Central Cee, as well as DJ and producer Fred Again - irking many in the industry and on social media. A statement on the BRIT Awards' website said the gender-neutral categories had been introduced so artists were judged "solely on the quality and popularity of their work, rather than on who they are, or how they choose to identify." But it added that organisers "acknowledge and share in the disappointment" of no women making the list.

Harry Styles and Beyonce were among the first winners at the BRIT awards, Britain's pop music honours, on Saturday, where an all-male contender list for the artist of the year prize has cast a shadow over the event's introduction of gender-neutral categories. Styles, who together with indie rock duo Wet Leg led nominations with four nods each, won best pop/R&B act.

Chart-topper Beyonce was named international artist of the year - one of two gender-neutral categories introduced last year after organisers got rid of female and male distinctions. The other is artist of the year, whose nominees are all men - singers Styles and George Ezra, rappers Stormzy and Central Cee, as well as DJ and producer Fred Again - irking many in the industry and on social media.

A statement on the BRIT Awards' website said the gender-neutral categories had been introduced so artists were judged "solely on the quality and popularity of their work, rather than on who they are, or how they choose to identify." But it added that organisers "acknowledge and share in the disappointment" of no women making the list. "A key factor is that, unfortunately, there were relatively few commercially successful releases by women in 2022 compared to those by men."

"Of the 71 eligible artists on the longlist, only 12 (17%) are women. We recognise this points to wider issues around the representation of women in music that must also be addressed." Last year, women won prizes in 10 of the awards' 15 categories. Organisers say 42% of this year's nominations are women or groups featuring women.

"It's really good that we've gone gender-neutral as a whole. I think the limitations are there are not enough spots for nominees," singer Rina Sawayama told Reuters on the red carpet. "If you have more nominees then you're going to see a cross section of what has happened throughout the year and who has made an impact."

Styles, Wet Leg, Stormzy, Fred Again and rockers The 1975 are up for the night's top award, best album.

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