Harry Styles and indie rock duo Wet Leg have emerged as the frontrunners at this year’s Brit Awards after securing four nominations apiece.
Former One Direction star Styles capped off a successful 12 months by earning nods for album of the year for Harry’s House, song of the year for As It Was, artist of the year and best pop/R&B act.
In July, he was nominated for the Mercury Prize, a rarity among pop acts, and also forged an acting career starring in the films My Policeman and Don’t Worry Darling.
Isle of Wight duo Wet Leg, comprised of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, are nominated for album of the year for their chart-topping self-titled debut, which won plaudits for its sardonic lyrics and angular riffs.
They also received nods for group of the year, best new artist and best alternative rock act, as the awards entered a second year with gender-neutral categories.
“Somebody hold our horses while we get to grips with this wild news, being nominated for a Brit Award is too hard to comprehend, we never could have expected for our wee band to achieve this,” they said.
Somebody hold our horses while we get to grips with this wild news, being nominated for a Brit Award is too hard to comprehend, we never could have expected for our wee band to achieve this— Wet Leg
Last year, when the awards went gender-neutral for the first time, 18 female artists or all-women groups were nominated – the most in a decade. This year it was 20.
Despite this, the artist of the year category was dominated entirely by men – with Central Cee, Fred again.., George Ezra, Styles and Stormzy featuring on the shortlist.
The nominations were announced by BBC Radio 1 presenters Vick Hope and Jack Saunders during a livestream on Thursday evening.
Stormzy, The 1975, newcomer Cat Burns and dance music DJ Fred again.. all scored three nominations.
Artists including George Ezra, Arctic Monkeys, Nova Twins, Aitch and Dave claimed two.
Debut nominations went to K-pop girl group Blackpink, Eurovision star Sam Ryder, Kentucky rapper Jack Harlow and British grime and hip hop artist Kojey Radical.
Ryder, who came second at the Eurovision Song Contest this year before climbing to number one with his debut album, was among the nominees for best new artist.
He said: “I’m buzzing. I feel like a golden retriever that’s won a competition.”
In the song of the year category, As It Was by Styles will go head to head with Green Green Grass by George Ezra and Forget Me by Lewis Capaldi.
Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John’s festive song Merry Christmas also made a surprise appearance on the list.
Disney claimed a rare nomination for international song of the year for We Don’t Talk About Bruno by the cast of the film Encanto.
In January 2022, the track became the first original Disney track to reach number one in the UK singles chart, also hitting the top spot in the US.
In the international artist of the year category three of America’s biggest female acts – Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Lizzo – will battle it out for the prize.
This year four genre categories will be decided by the public via a vote on TikTok – alternative rock act, hip hop/rap/grime act, dance act and pop/R&B act.
It was also confirmed that Smith and Kim Petras will perform together during the award show, and Wet Leg will also take to the stage.
R&B girl group Flo were previously announced as the winners of the 2023 Rising Star award.
The gong seeks to identify future stars of the UK music scene, and the winner is selected by a panel of music editors and critics from across the industry.
The London-based trio became the first group to win the award since its inception in 2008.
The Brits Awards 2023 will take place on Saturday, February 11, and will broadcast live on ITV1 and ITVX from London’s The O2 arena.
