The Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist was an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. The winners and nominees were determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees.
History The award was first presented in 1989 as International Female Solo Artist. The accolade was not handed out at the 1990, 1992 and 1993 ceremonies, with the award for International Solo Artist (given to a male or female artist) being awarded instead. The award for International Female Solo Artist was reinstated in 1994, but was again retired in favour of the gender-neutral award following the abolition of gendered categories in 2022.
Björk is the artist with the most wins and nominations in the category, with four awards won out of nine nominations. Two artists achieved two consecutive wins; Rihanna in 2011 and 2012 and Billie Eilish in 2020 and 2021. Artists from the United States won the accolade sixteen times, more than any other country.
Winners and nominees
YearRecipientNominees1989 Tracy ChapmanAnita Baker Enya Whitney Houston Kylie Minogue1990 align="center" colspan="2" 1991 Sinéad O'ConnorMariah Carey Neneh Cherry Whitney Houston Janet Jackson Madonna Tina Turner1992 align="center" colspan="2" rowspan="2" 19931994 BjörkMariah Carey Nanci Griffith Janet Jackson Tina Turner1995 k.d. langTori Amos Madonna Kylie Minogue Sinéad O'Connor1996 BjörkCeline Dion Mariah Carey k.d. lang Alanis Morissette1997 Sheryl CrowToni Braxton Neneh Cherry Celine Dion Joan Osborne1998 BjörkErykah Badu Meredith Brooks Celine Dion Janet Jackson1999 Natalie ImbrugliaSheryl Crow Lauryn Hill Madonna Alanis Morissette2000 Macy GrayMary J. Blige Whitney Houston Jennifer Lopez Britney Spears2001 MadonnaKylie Minogue Pink Jill Scott Britney Spears2002 Kylie MinogueAnastacia Björk Nelly Furtado Alicia Keys2003 PinkMissy Elliott Norah Jones Alicia Keys Avril Lavigne2004 BeyoncéMissy Elliott Christina Aguilera Alicia Keys Kylie Minogue2005 Gwen StefaniAnastacia Kelis Alicia Keys Kylie Minogue2006 MadonnaBjörk Mariah Carey Kelly Clarkson Missy Elliott2007 Nelly FurtadoChristina Aguilera Beyoncé Cat Power Pink2008 Kylie MinogueBjörk Feist Alicia Keys Rihanna2009 Katy PerryBeyoncé Gabriella Cilmi Pink Santigold2010 Lady GagaNorah Jones Ladyhawke Rihanna Shakira2011RihannaAlicia Keys Kylie Minogue Katy Perry Robyn2012Beyoncé Björk Feist Lady Gaga2013 Lana Del ReyCat Power Alicia Keys Rihanna Taylor Swift2014 LordeLady Gaga Janelle Monáe Katy Perry Pink2015 Taylor SwiftBeyoncé Lana Del Rey Sia St. Vincent2016 BjörkCourtney Barnett Lana Del Rey Ariana Grande Meghan Trainor2017 BeyoncéChristine and the Queens Rihanna Sia Solange2018 LordeBjörk Alicia Keys Pink Taylor Swift2019 Ariana Grande //Camila Cabello Cardi B Christine and the Queens Janelle Monáe2020Billie Eilish //Camila Cabello Lana Del Rey Ariana Grande Lizzo2021 Cardi B Taylor Swift Ariana Grande Miley Cyrus
Artists with multiple wins + Artists that received multiple awardsAwardsArtist4Björk2BeyoncéBillie EilishKylie MinogueLordeMadonnaRihanna
Artists with multiple nominations
9 nominations Björk
8 nominations
Alicia Keys Kylie Minogue
6 nominations
Beyoncé Pink Rihanna
5 nominations Madonna
4 nominations
Mariah Carey Lana Del Rey Ariana Grande Taylor Swift
3 nominations
Celine Dion Missy Elliott Whitney Houston Janet Jackson Lady Gaga Katy Perry
2 nominations
Christina Aguilera Anastacia Camila Cabello Cat Power Neneh Cherry Christine and the Queens Sheryl Crow Billie Eilish Feist Nelly Furtado Norah Jones k.d. lang Lorde Janelle Monáe Alanis Morissette Sinéad O'Connor Sia Britney Spears Tina Turner
See also List of music awards honoring women
Awards by country + Countries by wins Country Wins First win Last winArtist/s1619892021Tracy Chapman, Sheryl Crow, Macy Gray, Madonna, Pink, Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish419942016Björk319992008Natalie Imbruglia, Kylie Minogue220112012Rihanna19952007k.d. lang, Nelly Furtado20142018Lorde11991Sinéad O'Connor
+ Countries by nominations Country Nominations First nomination Last nominationArtist/s10019892021Majority of nominees132017Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia, Gabriella Cilmi, Sia1219952012k.d. lang, Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette, Nelly Furtado, Avril Lavigne, Feist919942018Björk620082017Rihanna319891995Enya, Sinéad O'Connor20102018Ladyhawke, Lorde19912011Neneh Cherry, Robyn220192020Camila Cabello20172019Christine and the Queens20192020Camila Cabello
Notes Tracy Chapman (1989), Björk (1994), Natalie Imbruglia (1999), Macy Gray (2000), Lady Gaga (2010) also won Brit Award for International Breakthrough Act Billie Eilish (2022) also won Brit Award for International Solo Artist
References