With awards season now in full swing, the countdown to the biggest night in British music is officially on.
This year is a special one for the Brit Awards, as 2020 marks the 40th time the awards show has taken place.
Bosses are pulling out all the stops to try and make it one to remember, so ahead of the ceremony next month, here’s everything you need to know about it…
When are the Brit Awards 2020?
This year, the Brits take place on Tuesday 18 February at London’s O2 Arena.
As ever, ITV will be showing the whole event live (albeit with a minor delay) on the night.
What changes have been made?
In a bid to rejuvenate the awards, there have been a number of changes for 2020.
The biggest is the number of awards given out on the night, which has been reduced from 14 to nine so that more of the ceremony can be dedicated to the performances.
Those that have been ditched include Outstanding Contribution and the still-confusing Global Success award.
They’ve also done away with the International Group award, although International Male and International Female have remained.
British Video has also been retired, having returned as a fan-voted category in 2014 (during which time it has only been awarded to One Direction, Harry Styles and Little Mix).
British Breakthrough Act and the Critics’ Choice Awards have both been renamed to Best New Artist and Rising Star respectively.
The recipient of the Rising Star award will get to perform during the ceremony, with previous winners having only performed during the nominations show.
Bosses have also done away with fan voting, with winners now decided entirely by the Official Voting Academy. This is made up of around 1,200 “artists, retailers, promoters, agents, publishers, labels, producers and media”, who will be reviewed annually in order to keep things fresh.
This year will also see the return of the “iconic and classic” original Brit Award, after nine years of the statuette being redesigned each year by a different UK artist.
Who is nominated?
Dave and Lewis Capaldi have come out on top in this year’s nominations, with four each.
And while last year saw three British women leading the nominees, it’s a decidedly male-heavy shortlist this year, with no women recognised in the Album Of The Year or Group Of The Year categories.
Mabel is the only female artist with more than one nomination, with three in total, matching Stormzy, who is up for Album Of The Year alongside Dave, Lewis Capaldi, Harry Styles and Michael Kiwanuka.
Check out the full list of nominees below…
Female Solo Artist
Charli XCX
FKA Twigs
Freya Ridings
Mabel
Mahalia
Male Solo Artist
Dave
Harry Styles
Lewis Capaldi
Michael Kiwanuka
Stormzy
Group Of The Year
Bastille
Bring Me The Horizon
Coldplay
D-Block Europe
Foals
New Artist Of The Year
Aitch
Dave
Lewis Capaldi
Mabel
Sam Fender
Song Of The Year
Dancing With A Stranger – Sam Smith and Normani
Don’t Call Me Up – Mabel
Giant – Calvin Harris and Rag’n’Bone Man
I Don’t Care – Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber
Just You And I – Tom Walker
Ladbroke Grove – AJ Tracey
Location – Dave and Burna Boy
Nothing Breaks Like A Heart – Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus
Someone You Loved – Lewis Capaldi
Vossi Bop – Stormzy
International Male Solo Artist
Bruce Springsteen
Burna Boy
Dermot Kennedy
Post Malone
Tyler, The Creator
International Female Solo Artist
Ariana Grande
Billie Eilish
Camila Cabello
Lana Del Rey
Lizzo
Album Of The Year
Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent – Lewis Capaldi
Fine Line – Harry Styles
Heavy Is The Head – Stormzy
Kiwanuka – Michael Kiwanuka
PSYCHODRAMA – Dave
You’ll have probably picked up on some notable snubs among this year’s nominees, which you can read more about here.
Who is this year’s Rising Star?
British singer/songwriter Celeste will receive this year’s prize, after beating fellow shortlisters Beabadoobee and Joy Crookes.
She follows in the footsteps of past Critics’ Choice winners Adele, Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, Florence + The Machine, Jessie J and Emeli Sandé, to name but a few.
As part of her prize, Celeste will be among the performers the ceremony.
She said of her win: “Like many others, I grew up watching the Brits and have been continually inspired by its nominees, winners and the performances.
“I hope to make the most of this incredible opportunity and I can’t wait to perform on the BRITS next year.”
Who else is performing?
Joining Celeste on the bill of performers are a host of this year’s nominees.
Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Stormzy will be taking to the stage on the biggest night in music.
Lewis Capaldi will also be topping off a huge year with a performance slot, as will Mabel.
More artists are expected to be announced in the lead up to the ceremony.
Who is hosting?
Jack Whitehall will return as the host of the Brits for the third year running, bringing his sharp wit and withering putdowns to the proceedings.
“I’m delighted to be back hosting the BRITs for a third time!” he said.
“I’m excited for another night of trying not to put my foot in it in front of the biggest names in the music industry.”
But given his record the last two years, we probably wouldn’t hold out much hope on that one.
Who is hosting the red carpet coverage?
As is the case every year, ITV2 will be bringing you exclusive access to the stars arriving at the Brits live and direct from the red carpet, hosted by Clara Amfo and Alice Levine. There’s also likely to be another Facebook live stream of the stars arriving and being interviewed by celebrity hosts.
