Test Your BRIT Awards Knowledge

Overview of the British Popular Music Awards

• The BRIT Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards, first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI.
• The awards were renamed The BRIT Awards in 1989 and Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event.
• The highest profile music awards ceremony in the UK, the BRIT Awards has featured some of the most notable events in British popular culture, with moments such as the final public appearance of Freddie Mercury, the Jarvis Cocker protest against Michael Jackson, and the Union Jack dress worn by Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls.
• The BRIT Awards were broadcast live until 1989, when Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood hosted a widely criticised show in which little went as rehearsed. From 1990 to 2006, the event was recorded and broadcast the following night.
• From 2007, The BRIT Awards reverted to a live broadcast on British television, on 14 February on ITV. For the last time, on 16 February 2010, Earls Court in London was the venue for The BRITs. The BRIT Awards were held at the O2 Arena in London for the first time in 2011.
• The BRIT Award statuette given to the winners features Britannia, the female personification of Britain. Since 2011, the statuette has been regularly redesigned by well-known British artists, architects, and designers.
• Robbie Williams holds the record for the most BRIT Awards, 13 as a solo artist and another five as part of Take That.
• Girl group Little Mix made history at the Brit Awards 2021, when they became the first female group to receive the award for Best Group at the ceremony after 43 years since it was first introduced.
• The ceremony has had some notable moments, such as the electricians' strike in 1987, Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood's poorly received show in 1989, and Adele's speech being cut short in 2012.
• In 1992, KLF opened the show and invited extreme metal band Extreme Noise Terror on stage, complete with flame-throwers, and fired machine gun blanks over the crowd. The group sent a dead sheep to the aftershow party, and later buried their BRIT Award statuette at Stonehenge signifying their abhorrence of the music industry.
• The 2023 edition will take place on 11 February 2023, and it will be held, for the first time, on a weekend. The nominees for 2023 were announced via the BRITs social platforms on 12 January 2023.Notable Brit Awards Performances and Little Mix's Speech on Diversity

Little Mix called out white male dominance, misogyny, sexism, and lack of diversity in the industry during their acceptance speech, mentioning the lack of nominations and wins for female groups in the category.

Geri Halliwell, then a member of Spice Girls, wore an iconic Union Jack dress during the band's performance of "Who Do You Think You Are" in 1997.

Halliwell, now a solo artist, performed her new single "Bag It Up" at the 2000 Brit Awards, featuring her emerging, dancing with a pole, from a pair of large inflatable female legs.

Gorillaz's performance of "Clint Eastwood" in 2002 featured the four cartoon members of the band performing the song on giant life-size screens.

Girls Aloud marked their first-ever performance at the 2009 ceremony by performing their single "The Promise" while appearing naked, with their modesty being covered by pink feather fans.

Adele's performance of "Someone like You" at the 2011 BRITs with only a piano accompanying her was received with a standing ovation and launched the song 46 spots up the UK charts to number one.

Madonna's performance of "Living for Love" in 2015 was widely promoted in the media, but she fell down the stairs due to the oversized cape she was wearing, blaming it on a wardrobe malfunction.

Katy Perry's performance of "Chained to the Rhythm" in 2017 featured two large skeletal puppets dressed as Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

During Anne-Marie's performance of "Kiss My (Uh-Oh)" in 2022, she tripped while stepping down the stairs of a giant model of a heart.

Coldplay is the act with the most performances ever, with five opening presentations and eight overall, followed by Take That and Robbie Williams, who performed seven times each.

The table shows the most successful acts with four or more awards.

The BRIT Awards voting procedure is conducted by the Official Charts Company and over 1,000 members of the music industry, including the previous year's nominees and winners.

Adele has performed at five ceremonies, the most among female artists.

The 1997 Brit Awards performance won the Spice Girls the award for "BRITs Hits 30 – Best Live Performance at The BRIT Awards" at the 2010 BRIT Awards.