Harry Styles was the big winner at the 2023 BRIT Awards, the UK pop music industry’s main event, after winning all four categories he was nominated for on Saturday night, a week after his success at the Grammys, Reuters reported.

The singer won in the categories “Album of the Year” thanks to the discography material “Harry’s House”, “Song of the Year” with the synth-pop hit “As It Was”, “Best Pop/R&B Artist” and “Artist”. of the Year’, one of two gender-neutral categories introduced last year after organizers of the BRIT ceremony decided to abandon the distinction between men and women.

In 2023, the nominees in the category “artist of the year” were exclusively male, which caused a wave of criticism in the industry and on social networks.

“I’m very, very grateful and aware of my privilege tonight,” Styles said in his acceptance speech, dedicating the Female Artist of the Year trophy to a number of female singers.

Styles, who rose to fame thanks to his participation in the talent competition “The X Factor” as part of the band One Direction, was awarded two Grammy trophies last week, including “album of the year”.

“Tonight was really special for me… Thank you so much for the reception you gave me,” Styles said on Saturday after being announced as the album of the year winner.

“I am very, very proud to be a British artist around the world. I’m very proud to be here tonight to celebrate British artists and British music,” added the singer.

According to a statement posted on the BRIT Awards website, the gender-neutral categories were introduced to ensure that artists are judged “solely on the quality and popularity of their work, not on who they are or how they identify”.

Organizers “recognize and share the disappointment” caused by the lack of women on the nomination list, the statement also said. “Unfortunately, the relatively small number of commercially successful releases by some female artists in 2022 compared to male releases was a deciding factor,” the statement said.

“Among the 71 eligible artists on the long list, only 12 (17%) are women. We recognize these issues as part of a broader issue of women’s representation in music that also needs to be addressed.”

Singer Rina Sawayama praised the decision to establish gender-neutral categories, but said the list of nominees should be longer.

“If there are more nominees, it will be a kind of cross-section of the year’s output and the artists who influenced it,” the artist told Reuters while on the gala’s red carpet.

Indie rock group Wet Leg won the award in the nominations “best band of the year” and “best debutant”.

American singer Beyoncé was named “best international artist” and her hit “Break My Soul” became “international song of the year”.

The winners were announced at a gala concert held on Saturday night at London’s O2 Arena and presented for the second year in a row by British stand-up artist Mo Gilligan.

The BRIT Awards are presented by the British Phonographic Industry and honor the most popular works released by the British music industry during the previous year (Agerpres).