Brit Awards 2020 was the 40th edition of the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

's annual pop music show, the

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, and was marketed as "The 40th Show". It was held on 18 February 2020 at

the O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, with

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series '' Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series '' Bad Education'' (2012–2014, 20 ...

as the host for the third year running.

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

host

Alice Levine Alice Esme Levine (born 8 July 1986) is an English radio and television presenter, narrator, and comedian. Early life and education Levine was born in Beeston, Nottinghamshire. Her father is a retired lecturer at the University of Nottingham. H ...

hosted the BRITs Are Coming Nominations Launch Show on 11 January 2020. The show was broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Category changes

The British Phonographic Industry has "revamped" the award categories for this year's ceremony. Several award categories have been renamed and abolished, reducing the number of awards from thirteen to nine. The Brit Awards will no longer be supporting fan voting and will aim to start "giving artists' complete artistic control over their performances". Brits Committee chairman David Joseph stated "Most importantly we will be putting creativity, British culture and exceptional performances at the heart of the show to make Brits night a world class celebration."

Abolished categories

As of 18 February 2020, The British Phonographic Industry has abolished the following awards: * International Group Award (Returned in 2021) * Best British Video Award * Outstanding Contribution to Music Award *Global Success Award

Renamed categories

As of 18 February 2020, The British Phonographic Industry has renamed the following awards: *

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

(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

were almost entirely dominated by male solo artists, except for Mabel who was nominated for the latter, and international singers

Normani Normani Kordei Hamilton ( ; born May 31, 1996) is an American singer and dancer. She auditioned as a solo act for the American television series ''The X Factor'' in 2012, after which she became a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which wen ...

and

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip ho ...

, who both were up for Song of the Year for their collaborations with

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single " Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

and

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, R ...

Performers

Pre-ceremony

Main show

Winners and nominees

The winners are in bold.

Multiple nominations and awards

References

External links

Brit Awards official website
{{Brit Awards Brit Awards

Brit February 2020 events in the United Kingdom 2020 awards in the United Kingdom