Kylie Minogue will be honoured with the much sought after Global Icon gong at next month’s star-studded Brit Awards.
The songstress, 55, who will also perform at the event, said she was ‘beyond thrilled’ to receive the organisers highest accolade which is ‘reserved for truly exceptional artists’.
Kylie has sold over 80M records world-wide and perviously won three Brit awards, receiving first nomination in 1989.
Following the announcement she said: ‘I am beyond thrilled to be honoured with the global icon award and to be joining a roll call of such incredible artists.
‘The UK has always been a home from home so the Brits have a very special place in my heart. I have some amazing memories from the awards over the years and I can’t wait to be back on the Brits stage.’
Kylie Minogue, 55, will be honoured with the much sought after Global Icon gong at next month’s star-studded Brit Awards
The songstress, who will also perform at the event, said she was ‘beyond thrilled’ to receive the organisers highest accolade which is ‘reserved for truly exceptional artists’ (Pictured at the Grammys earlier this month)
The award was last won by Taylor swift in 2021, with other winners including David Bowie, The Beatles and Elton John.
Solo female artist RAYE is the most nominated British female in BRIT Awards history after receiving seven nominations.
Indeed, any residual upset regrading last year’s male dominated ceremony was swept aside as nominations for this year’s event were announced in London.
The controversial decision to replace Male and Female categories with a non-gendered Artist Of The Year Award sparked outrage in 2023 over its failure to include any female or non-binary artists among its five nominations.
But a lot can happen in a year, and subsequent tweak to the category – which has doubled in size – has resulted in a balanced mix, with six of its ten nominees established female artists, among them RAYE.
The London-born singer broke records on Wednesday with seven nominations, the most received by any female artist, following the release of her long-awaited debut album, My 21st Century Blues, in 2023.
The LP also features as an Album Of The Year nominee, while its third single, Escapism, is included as a potential Song of the Year.
RAYE is also included in the five strong Best New Artist category and will also compete as a nominee in the categories for R&B Act and Pop Act.
Solo female artist RAYE is the most nominated British female in BRIT Awards history after receiving seven nominations
The London-born singer broke records on Wednesday with seven nominations, the most received by any female artist, following the release of her long-awaited debut album
Elsewhere she features in a seventh for Song of the Year after co-writing the BRIT nominated Prada with Casso.
Speaking as the nominations were announced on Wednesday, the singer admitted she was humbled to be recognized after years of struggling to assert herself in the music industry.
‘It’s a miracle, it’s deep,’ she said. ‘A year and a half ago, as far as the industry was concerned, I was down and out and never in my wildest dreams would I feel like trying again and it would lead to seven BRIT nominations.
‘I’m a Brit kid, I went to the BRIT’s School and this was the goal. The ultimate goal was to find my way somehow to the BRIT Awards. This is a whole different thing. It’s a joke. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.’
The British Phonograph Industry – who organize the annual event – admit gender balance has been readdressed following last year’s controversial decision to omit female and non-binary artists from the Artist Of The Year category.
When the awards went gender-neutral for the first time in 2022, 18 female artists or all-women groups were nominated overall – the most in a decade – and this increased to 20 in 2023.
Meanwhile, more than half (55%) of this year’s nominations feature women – either as a solo artist or as part of female groups – rising to 57% when women in mixed-gender groups are included.
Speaking on Wednesday, BPI Chair Yolanda Brown said: ‘We shared our upset that no women or R&B artists were represented last year.
Dua Lipa’s limited output over the last 12-months hasn’t stopped her featuring in three categories at the forthcoming event
Additionally, the singer – whose third album is expected to be released later this year – will perform live at the O2 Arena event on March 2
American superstar Taylor Swift gets a nomination in the Best International Artist category
Little Simz features in three categories at this year’s event – Artist of the Year, Hip Hop/Grime and Album of the Year
‘We consulted with our advisory group, we thought long and hard about moving forward.’
Youth Music CEO Matt Griffiths added: ‘It’s great to see that the BRIT Awards are committed to making the show more inclusive, responding proactively to last year’s feedback by taking concerted actions for 2024.
‘The 50/50 gender split for the nominees in the Artist of the Year category is the standout development following last year’s controversy.
‘Doubling the number of nominations for Artist of the Year, International Artist of the Year and introduction of R&B as its own genre award are also positive steps forward, together with greater transparency in setting out the makeup and demographics of the Voting Academy.
‘It’s important now that this positive momentum is built on as there’s more to be done to ensure a creative, diverse, and inclusive music industry.’
Arlo Parks, Jessie Ware, Little Simz, Olivia Sims and Dua Lipa make up the female nominees for Artist Of The Year, while male nominations go to Central Cee, Dave, J Hus and Fred Again…
Dua Lipa’s limited output over the last 12-months hasn’t stopped her featuring in two additional categories at the forthcoming event.
The singer’s Barbie soundtrack Dance The Night – one of only two original tracks to be released by the artist since 2020 album Future Nostalgia – features among the nominees for Song of the Year.
Lipa’a global appeal has also helped find a place in the category for Pop Act, despite spending much of the last 12-months touring the world.
Additionally, the singer – whose third album is expected to be released later this year – will perform live at the O2 Arena event on March 2.
This year’s BRIT Awards sees a total of 98 nominees, the most there has ever been
This year’s BRIT Awards will be live on ITV on March 2 at 8pm.
BRIT AWARDS 2024 – THE NOMINATIONS IN FULL
SONG OF THE YEAR
Calvin Harris – Miracle
Casso x RAYE – Prada
Central Cee – Let Go
Dave – Sprinter
Dua Lipa – Dance the Night
Ed Sheeran – Eyes Closed
J Hus – Who Told You
Kenya Grace – Strangers
Lewis Capaldi – Wish You The Best
Pink Pantheress – Boy’s a Liar
RAYE – Escapism
Rudimental – Dancing is Healing
Stormzy – Firebae
Switch Disco – React
Venebee – Messy in Heaven
BEST NEW ARTIST
Mahalia
Olivia Dean
Pinkpantheress
RAYE
Yuseff Dayes
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Arlo Parks
Central Cee
Dave
Dua Lipa
Fred Again…
J Hus
Jessie Ware
Little Simz
Olivia Dean
RAYE
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Blur
Chase & Status
Headie One and K-Trap
Jungle
Young Fathers
INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Blink 182
Boygenius
Foo fighters
Gabriels
Paramore
DANCE ACT
Barry Can’t Swim
Becky Hill
Calvin Harris
Fred Again…
Romy
R&B ACT
Cleo Sol
Jorja smith
Mahalia
RAYE
Sault
ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Blur
Bring Me The Horizon
The Rolling Stones
Young Fathers
Yusseff Dayes
HIP HOP/GRIME/RAP ACT
CASSIEDEAD
Central Cee
Dave
J Hus
Little Simz
POP ACT
Calvin Harris
Charli XCX
Dua Lipa
Olivia Dean
RAYE
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST
Asake
Burna Boy
Caroline Polachek
CMAT
Kylie Minogue
Lana del Rey
Miley Cyrus
Olivia Rodrigo
SZA
Taylor Swift
INTERNATIONAL SONG OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For
David Kushner – Daylight
Doja Cat – Paint The Town Red
Jazzy – Giving Me
Libianca – People
Meghan Trainer – Made You Look
Miley Cyrus – Flowers
Noah Kahan – Stick Season
Oliver Tree – Miss you
Olivia Rodrigo – Vampire
Peggy Gou – It Goes Like
Rema – Calm Down
SZA – Kill Bill
Tate McRae – Greedy –
Tyla – Water
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Blur – the Ballad of Darren
J Hus – Beautiful
Little Simz – No Thank You
RAYE – My 21st Century Blues
Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy
BRIT RISING STAR
Caity Baser
Sekou Island
The Last Dinner Party (Winner)
