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  "description": "DiS crunches the data to see whether the pROteCt OuR gURLs brigade had anything to worry about.",
  "path": "/predictably-the-right-wing-culture-war-is-wrong-about-the-brits/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-02T10:32:49.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.drownedinsound.org",
  "tags": [
    "Become a paid subscriber",
    "ahead the 2022 awards",
    "\"woke garbage\"",
    "in 2023 when women and girls didn't get a look in the shortlist of 5 artists",
    "Emma Wilkes wrote a long read",
    "The Voting Academy",
    "BRITS and Grammys galore! But are women winning when they’re not winning?British women like Olivia Dean and Lola Young keep winning awards, however, it doesn’t equate to a better music industry for all women…Drowned in SoundEmma Wilkes",
    "‘We’re going into a dark place’: Brit awards artists voice alarm over Reform UK’s riseCMAT, Wolf Alice, Wet Leg, Self Esteem and Loyle Carner say musicians should not shy away from politics – with several warning of ‘scary times’ as the far right gains groundThe GuardianRobyn Vinter"
  ],
  "textContent": "Like clockwork, some moments in the cultural calendar trigger the tedious \"anti-woke\" discourse. After Last Night of the Proms fury, comes Poppy rage (usually because someone took their jacket off), then its being angry about radio edits of 'Fairytale of New York', and then sometimes, if they have enough anger left, it's the annual politicians, Talk TV hosts, and Telegraph/Mail/Express columnists being strategically hypersensitive about a pop music awards show.\n\n__Reminder:__****Drowned in Sound**** is a founder-owned, proudly independent publication and podcast with an insightful, funny, and kind online community. Become a paid subscriber to access all our articles and exclusive content. For the price of one of the 4 coffees I drank whilst writing this, you can support our work for a month.\n\nLast year, the BRITs ire was focused on Sabrina Carpenter's suggestive gestures. A few years ago it was something to do with Sam Smith's outfit, and before that it was the end of gendered award categories.\n\nYes, there was a moment, back when the UK's Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries was still a member of the Conservative party (before she inevitably joined Reform UK LTD) when the BRITs is \"going woke\" discourse was all about demise of the Best Female Artist and just having Best Artist. (Best Male Artist was also merged into one prize, but that didn't get much attention at the time).\n\nBack then, if you were on the platform formerly known as Twitter, you'd either have seen grievance farmers worried about how the awards were either \"rigged for women\" or see a clip of someone on GB News getting very upset about the organisers changing things to be inclusive of non-binary artists.\n\nBecause inclusion is bad, for _reasons_.\n\nTo be clear, you have not misread that: ahead the 2022 awards, the smooshing together of the BRITs' male and female categories was denounced as \"woke garbage\" (hi, Piers!). Other culture warriors were very very _very_ worried in 2023 when women and girls didn't get a look in the shortlist of 5 artists (notably, it's now 10 acts), whilst some members of the so-called manosphere got upset one year about the sidelining of men...\n\nMeanwhile, most of us just wondered what the opposite of being awake to injustice is whilst feeling a bit old when we hadn't heard \"of\" Tate Mcrae.\n\nAnd yet this year,**Olivia Dean** won four awards. **Charli XCX** won five last year. **Raye** won a record six the year before. Then there were the incredible performances at this year's awards shindig, including **Dua Lipa** being joining Mark Ronson and an incredible performance from **ROSALÍA** with the most special of special guest: **BJÖRK**!\n\nCan you hear that? Me either. The pearl-clutchers - whose Tommy Robinson endorsed candidate lost to a lovely seeming Green party plumber in last week's by-election that took place not far from this year's BRITs - are _oh-so_ silent.\n\nMaybe world war three was a bit of a distraction from the annual ragebait. Or maybe they're waiting for someone to tell them which pop star they should be furious about for 6-12 hours and file an Ofcom complaint against.\n\nAnyway, I love a good stat and have been learning how to visualise data, so I spent my Sunday having a proper dig into the numbers. Predictably, the data tells a completely different story to the one the culture warriors were fearful of.\n\nWhat the numbers show isn't some diversity programme run amok, nor POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD(!!!!!) but a decades-long correction after decades of inequality (or at least an odd misrepresentation of things, especially when the Spice Girls don't win best group).\n\nICYMI, Emma Wilkes wrote a long read a few weeks ago about why women keep winning, but there's still a lot of work to do but some of this data does how some progress. Let's hope it's not a blip.\n\n### Before we get into it, here are 3 great BRITs 2026 performances\n\nARE WOMEN WINNING? | DROWNED IN SOUND\n\nWHO PERFORMED\n\n2026 BRIT Awards main ceremony performers by gender\n\n4 Female\n\n5 Male\n\n1 Mixed\n\nFemale\n\nMale\n\nMixed\n\nMain ceremony acts\n\nHarry StylesOpening solo set\n\nOlivia DeanSolo performance · 4 wins on the night\n\nWolf AliceBand set · 1 woman, 3 men\n\nAlex WarrenSolo set\n\nRosalíaMain stage performance · with Björk\n\nSombrSolo performance\n\nHUNTR/XK-pop group · first ever K-pop performance at the BRITs\n\nRAYESolo performance\n\nMark RonsonOutstanding Contribution tribute · with Dua Lipa, Ghostface Killah & the Dap Kings\n\nRobbie WilliamsOzzy Osbourne tribute\n\nDespite 5 male headline acts to 4 female, women dominated the standout moments. **Björk joined Rosalía** for one of the night's most striking sets. HUNTR/X made history as the first K-pop group to perform at the BRITs.\n\nThis year's performers are part of a shift in who takes the stage at the annual televised celebration of the UK music industry...\n\nARE WOMEN WINNING? | DROWNED IN SOUND\n\nPERFORMERS OVER TIME\n\nFemale representation on the BRITs stage · 1985–2026\n\nFemale\n\nMixed\n\nMale\n\nEra averages — acts by gender\n\n1985–89\n\n38%\n\n1990s\n\n37%\n\n2000s\n\n39%\n\n2010s\n\n41%\n\n2020s\n\n54%\n\nRecent years\n\n2022\n\nAdele · Little Simz · Holly Humberstone · Anne-Marie\n\n33%\n\n2023\n\nLizzo · Wet Leg · Cat Burns · Becky Hill · Ella Henderson · Sam Smith & Kim Petras\n\n54%\n\n2024\n\nDua Lipa · Kylie Minogue · Ellie Goulding · Tate McRae · Raye · Becky Hill\n\n70%\n\n2025\n\nSabrina Carpenter · JADE · The Last Dinner Party · Lola Young · Jorja Smith\n\n56%\n\n2026\n\nOlivia Dean · Rosalía · HUNTR/X · RAYE · Wolf Alice\n\n50%\n\n2026's 50% female-involved lineup is above the 40-year average of ~39% — but it's the **2020s as a whole** that mark the real shift. Women have shared or dominated the BRITs stage for five consecutive years. That's new.\n\n### What actually happened in 2026\n\nWomen won _a lot._ The full picture is little more nuanced than simple headlines suggests but in short: the competitive awards skewed female whilst the honorary awards skewed male. The genre breakdown is more uneven still.\n\nARE WOMEN WINNING? | DROWNED IN SOUND\n\nWHO WON WHAT\n\nAll 18 awards by gender of winner — 2026\n\n7 Women\n\n6 Men\n\n4 Mixed\n\nWoman\n\nMan\n\nMixed\n\nCollab\n\nCompetitive awards\n\nOlivia DeanArtist of the Year · Album of the Year · Best Pop Act\n\nSam Fender & Olivia DeanSong of the Year (public vote)\n\nWolf AliceGroup of the Year\n\nLola YoungBreakthrough Artist\n\nJacob AlonCritics' Choice\n\nSam FenderBest Alt / Rock Act\n\nDaveBest Hip-Hop / Rap / Grime\n\nSaultBest R&B Act\n\nFred again.., Skepta & PlaqueBoyMaxBest Dance Act\n\nInternational awards\n\nRosalíaInternational Artist of the Year\n\nGeeseInternational Group of the Year\n\nRose & Bruno MarsInternational Song of the Year (public vote)\n\nHonorary awards\n\nPinkPantheressProducer of the Year\n\nNoel GallagherSongwriter of the Year\n\nMark RonsonOutstanding Contribution to Music\n\nOzzy OsbourneLifetime Achievement\n\nThe competitive solo awards lean heavily towards women — but groups and legacy categories tell a different story. Women have won British Group of the Year just **3 times in 50 years** : Little Mix in 2021, Wolf Alice in 2022, Wolf Alice again in 2026. And **3 of the 4 honorary awards** went to men.\n\n### It wasn't always like this\n\nThe Album of the Year award has been running since 1977. For most of that time, it was essentially a men-only club. The graphic below shows every winner across 46 years (excluding 78-81 when the awards didn't happen). The three eras tell the whole story.\n\nARE WOMEN WINNING? | DROWNED IN SOUND\n\nALBUM OF THE YEAR\n\nGender of every winner — 1977 to 2026\n\nWoman / woman-fronted\n\nMan / male act\n\nMixed group\n\n1977 – 1999\n\n▼ 3 women in 22 years\n\n1977\n\nThe Beatles\n\n78–81\n\nNo ceremony\n\n1982\n\nAdam & the Ants\n\n1983\n\nBarbra Streisand\n\n1984\n\nMichael Jackson\n\n1985\n\nSade\n\n1986\n\nPhil Collins\n\n1987\n\nDire Straits\n\n1988\n\nSting\n\n1989\n\nFairground Attraction\n\n1990\n\nFine Young Cannibals\n\n1991\n\nGeorge Michael\n\n1992\n\nSeal\n\n1993\n\nAnnie Lennox\n\n1994\n\nStereo MC's\n\n1995\n\nBlur\n\n1996\n\nOasis\n\n1997\n\nManic Street Preachers\n\n1998\n\nThe Verve\n\n1999\n\nManic Street Preachers\n\n77\n\n78\n\n79\n\n80\n\n81\n\n82\n\n83\n\n84\n\n85\n\n86\n\n87\n\n88\n\n89\n\n90\n\n91\n\n92\n\n93\n\n94\n\n95\n\n96\n\n97\n\n98\n\n99\n\nFemale winners\n\n1983Barbra Streisand\n\n1985Sade\n\n1989Fairground Attraction\n\n1993Annie Lennox\n\n2000 – 2013\n\n▼ 7 years, no women\n\n2000\n\nTravis\n\n2001\n\nColdplay\n\n2002\n\nDido\n\n2003\n\nColdplay\n\n2004\n\nThe Darkness\n\n2005\n\nKeane\n\n2006\n\nColdplay\n\n2007\n\nArctic Monkeys\n\n2008\n\nArctic Monkeys\n\n▲ 4 women in 5 years\n\n2009\n\nDuffy\n\n2010\n\nFlorence + the Machine\n\n2011\n\nMumford & Sons\n\n2012\n\nAdele\n\n2013\n\nEmeli Sandé\n\n00\n\n01\n\n02\n\n03\n\n04\n\n05\n\n06\n\n07\n\n08\n\n09\n\n10\n\n11\n\n12\n\n13\n\nFemale winners\n\n2002Dido\n\n2009Duffy\n\n2010Florence + the Machine\n\n2012Adele\n\n2013Emeli Sandé\n\n2014 – 2026\n\n▼ 1 woman in 7 years\n\n2014\n\nArctic Monkeys\n\n2015\n\nEd Sheeran\n\n2016\n\nAdele\n\n2017\n\nDavid Bowie\n\n2018\n\nStormzy\n\n2019\n\nThe 1975\n\n2020\n\nDave\n\n▲ 5 women in 6 years\n\n2021\n\nDua Lipa\n\n2022\n\nAdele\n\n2023\n\nHarry Styles\n\n2024\n\nRaye\n\n2025\n\nCharli XCX\n\n2026\n\nOlivia Dean\n\n14\n\n15\n\n16\n\n17\n\n18\n\n19\n\n20\n\n21\n\n22\n\n23\n\n24\n\n25\n\n26\n\nFemale winners\n\n2016Adele\n\n2021Dua Lipa\n\n2022Adele\n\n2024Raye\n\n2025Charli XCX\n\n2026Olivia Dean\n\n3\n\nwomen winners in the first 22 years (1977–1999)\n\n3 in a row\n\nRaye, Charli XCX, Olivia Dean — the longest consecutive streak by women in the award's history\n\n**This is not an accident.** The same award. The same criteria. The same industry. What changed is who gets to vote — and who gets to make music worth voting for.\n\n### Who decided\n\nCulture warriors rant and rave but what they won't tell you is that the awards haven't changed because of a quota system. They've evolved the pool of who votes. The Voting Academy, that's the 1,200ish industry figures who decide most categories, looks dramatically different to how it did in 2016.\n\nARE WOMEN WINNING? | DROWNED IN SOUND\n\nWHO DECIDES\n\nHow the BRITs voting works in 2026\n\nIndustry: 16 categories\n\nFans: 2\n\n~1,200 industry members WhatsApp\n\nThe Voting Academy\n\nAround **1,200 industry figures** choose nominees and winners for most awards: labels, managers, producers, publishers, media, retailers, live music figures, DSPs. Overseen by Civica Election Services.\n\nArtist of the Year\n\nAlbum of the Year\n\nGroup\n\nBreakthrough\n\nPop\n\nAlt / Rock\n\nHip-Hop\n\nR&B\n\nDance\n\nInt'l Artist\n\nInt'l Group\n\nCritics' Choice\n\nThe Public Vote\n\nOnly **2 categories** decided by fans via WhatsApp voting:\n\nSong of the Year\n\nInt'l Song of the Year\n\nWho are those 1,200 voters?\n\nWHO VOTES\n\nThe BRIT Voting Academy, then and now\n\nMale\n\nFemale\n\nNon-binary\n\nWhite\n\nNon-white\n\nGender\n\n2016\n\n~70%\n\n~30%\n\n2026\n\n46%\n\n47%\n\n6% did not disclose · 1% non-binary\n\nEthnicity\n\n2016\n\n~85%\n\n~15%\n\n2026\n\n69%\n\n26%\n\n5% did not disclose\n\nAge · 2026\n\n9% Under 25\n\n61% 25–44\n\n18% 45–54\n\n11% 55+\n\nA decade ago, **7 in 10 voters were male**. Today the academy is near gender parity. That same period saw 4 of 5 Artist of the Year winners be women. The culture war crowd calls this \"woke.\" The data calls it correlation.\n\n### Before victory's declared\n\nNone of this is a clean win. The nomination breakdown by genre shows how uneven representation actually is. Pop is all women. Hip-Hop is 80% men. International solo acts are 80% women; International groups are 60% men. The revolution, such as it is, has very specific borders.\n\nARE WOMEN WINNING? | DROWNED IN SOUND\n\nWHO GOT NOMINATED 2026\n\nAll nominees by gender, across every category\n\nWomen\n\nMen\n\nMixed\n\nBritish categories\n\nArtist of the Year\n\n7\n\n3\n\nAlbum of the Year\n\n2\n\n2\n\n1\n\nPop Act\n\n5\n\nR&B Act\n\n3\n\n1\n\n1\n\nAlt / Rock Act\n\n1\n\n2\n\n2\n\nDance Act\n\n2\n\n3\n\nHip-Hop / Rap / Grime\n\n1\n\n4\n\nBreakthrough\n\n2\n\n3\n\nInternational & Group\n\nInternational Artist\n\n8\n\n2\n\nInternational Group\n\n1\n\n3\n\n1\n\nBritish Group\n\n2\n\n2\n\n1\n\nCritics' Choice\n\n2\n\n1\n\n**Pop is 100% women. Hip-Hop is 80% men.** International Artist is 80% women — International Group is 60% men. The genre silos and the solo/collective split tell a more complicated story than the headline numbers.\n\n### What the culture war ignores entirely\n\nAll of this culture-war noise focuses on the most visible categories i.e. the ones with famous names and red-carpet moments. Behind the scenes, the picture is almost entirely different. Of the 49 times the Producer of the Year award has been given, 48 went to men. One woman, **PinkPantheress** , this year, has ever won it.\n\nARE WOMEN WINNING? | DROWNED IN SOUND\n\n1\n\nfemale\nProducer of\nthe Year\n\nIn **49 years** of the award\n\n**PinkPantheress** won Producer of the Year at the 2026 BRITs — the first woman ever to do so. Before her, the only woman ever nominated as a solo producer was Kate Bush in 1990. The Grammy equivalent has also never been won by a woman. At 24, PinkPantheress is also the youngest ever winner of the award.\n\nMale winner\n\nFemale winner\n\nNo award given\n\n77\n\n78\n\n79\n\n80\n\n81\n\n82\n\n83\n\n84\n\n85\n\n86\n\n87\n\n88\n\n89\n\n90\n\n91\n\n92\n\n93\n\n94\n\n95\n\n96\n\n97\n\n98\n\n99\n\n00\n\n01\n\n02\n\n03\n\n04\n\n05\n\n06\n\n07\n\n08\n\n09\n\n10\n\n11\n\n12\n\n13\n\n14\n\n15\n\n16\n\n17\n\n18\n\n19\n\n20\n\n21\n\n22\n\n23\n\n24\n\n25\n\n26\n\nEach dot = one ceremony. Grey = award not given that year. Pink = female winner.\n\nThe biggest culture-war claims are about the most visible categories. **Behind the scenes, the industry remains overwhelmingly male.** One female producer winner in 49 years isn't a sign of reverse discrimination — it's a sign of how much further there is to go.\n\nTL;DR - The right-wing outrage about women winning BRITs isn't protecting women when it sparks outrage. And women will keep winning, regardless.\n\n### Read Emma Wilkes' full investigation\n\nBRITS and Grammys galore! But are women winning when they’re not winning?British women like Olivia Dean and Lola Young keep winning awards, however, it doesn’t equate to a better music industry for all women…Drowned in SoundEmma Wilkes\n\n### Related Read\n\n‘We’re going into a dark place’: Brit awards artists voice alarm over Reform UK’s riseCMAT, Wolf Alice, Wet Leg, Self Esteem and Loyle Carner say musicians should not shy away from politics – with several warning of ‘scary times’ as the far right gains groundThe GuardianRobyn Vinter",
  "title": "Predictably, the right-wing culture war is wrong about the BRITs",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-02T10:45:41.208Z"
}