Brit Awards 2020 was the 40th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music show, the Brit Awards, and was marketed as "The 40th Show". It was held on 18 February 2020 at the O2 Arena in London, with Jack Whitehall as the host for the third year running.
BBC Radio 1 host Alice Levine hosted the BRITs Are Coming Nominations Launch Show on 11 January 2020. The show was broadcast on ITV.
Category changes Several changes were made to the award categories compared to the previous year with the overall number of awards based on nominations reduced from thirteen to nine. None of the categories included fan voting.
Categories not included Compared to 2019, the following awards were not awarded: International Group Award (Returned in 2021) Best British Video Award Outstanding Contribution to Music Award Global Success Award
Renamed categories The following awards were renamed: Best New Artist (previously British Breakthrough Act) Rising Star Award (previously Critics' Choice Award) Song of the Year (previously British Single of the Year)
Controversy Following the launch show, the Brits were castigated for having male-dominated nominations on the main and gender-neutral categories. The nominations for Album of the Year, Best Group and Best New Artist were almost entirely dominated by male solo artists, except for Mabel who was nominated for the latter, and international singers Normani and Miley Cyrus, who both were up for Song of the Year for their collaborations with Sam Smith and Mark Ronson.
Performers Pre-ceremony +Performer(s)SongUK Singles Chart reaction(week ending 23 January 2020)UK Albums Chart reaction(week ending 23 January 2020)Liam PayneCheat Codes"Live Forever"N/ALP1 – 100 (–31)Freya Ridings"Lost Without You"N/AFreya Ridings – 72 (+18)Aitch"Taste (Make It Shake)"N/AN/ADermot Kennedy"Power Over Me"60 (+26)Without Fear – 23 (+17)Mabel"Don't Call Me Up"52 (+4)High Expectations – 22 (+7)
Main show Performer(s)SongUK Singles Chart reaction(week ending 27 February 2020)UK Albums Chart reaction(week ending 27 February 2020)Mabel"Don't Call Me Up"34 (+14)High Expectations – 24 (+5)Lewis Capaldi"Someone You Loved"6 (+1)Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent – 2 (+/–)Harry Styles"Falling"41 (+53)Fine Line – 8 (+1)Lizzo"Cuz I Love You""Truth Hurts""Good as Hell""Juice"N/AN/A66 (+9)N/ACuz I Love You – 35 (re-entry)Dave"Black"Freestyle100 (re-entry)Psychodrama – 14 (+43)Billie EilishFinneasJohnny MarrHans Zimmer"No Time to Die"1 (debut)When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – 4 (+2)Don't Smile at Me – 13 (+4)Celeste"Strange"N/AN/AStormzyBurna BoyTiana Major9"Don't Forget to Breathe""Do Better""Wiley Flow""Own It" (with elements of "Fortune Teller" by J Hus)"Anybody" (Burna Boy)"Rainfall"N/AN/AN/A23 (+/–)N/AN/AHeavy Is the Head – 7 (+/–)Rod StewartRoyal Philharmonic OrchestraRonnie WoodKenney Jones"I Don't Want to Talk About It""Stay with Me"N/AN/AYou're in My Heart: Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – 34 (–8)
Winners and nominees The winners are in bold. British Album of the YearSong of the YearDave – PsychodramaLewis Capaldi – "Someone You Loved"
(produced by Fred Again)British Male Solo ArtistBritish Female Solo ArtistStormzyMabelBritish GroupBest New ArtistFoalsLewis CapaldiInternational Male Solo ArtistInternational Female Solo ArtistTyler, the Creator Billie Eilish Rising Star AwardBritish Producer of the YearCeleste Beabadoobee Joy CrookesFred Again
Multiple nominations and awards + Artists who received multiple nominationsNominationsArtist 4DaveLewis Capaldi 3MabelStormzy 2Burna BoyHarry StylesMichael KiwanukaFred Again
+ Artists who won multiple awardsAwardsArtist 2Lewis Capaldi
References
External links Brit Awards official website