There are editions of the BRITs that celebrate what we already knew.<\/p>\n\n
And then there are those that mark a real relief<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n What happened last night at Manchester’s Co-op Live clearly belongs to the second category: Four awards:<\/p>\n\n It’s not just a victory. With The Art of Loving<\/em>, Olivia Dean has done something that British pop has long been looking for: And “Rein Me In” with Sam Fender is exactly that: a huge song that still sounds human.<\/p>\n\n The International Artist of the Year<\/strong> award confirms something that has long ceased to be debatable:<\/p>\n\n Rosal\u00eda does not compete in the “Latin” category. Her performance was one of the most talked about of the night and her presence at the BRITs has become something of a tradition: every time she appears, the spotlight shifts.<\/p>\n\n In accepting the award for Best International Group<\/strong>, Max Bassin did not give the usual speech.<\/p>\n\n He said:<\/p>\n\n “Free Palestine, fuck ICE, go Geese.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n And for a few seconds the BRITs stopped being a ceremony to become again what live music should be more often than not: an uncomfortable, live and real space.<\/p>\n\n The award for Best British Group<\/strong> is not a comeback.<\/p>\n\n It is the confirmation that, after years marking the alternative sound of the country, they are already in the category of epoch-defining names.<\/p>\n\n Winning Breakthrough Artist<\/strong> in the same year that you compete in several major categories means one thing:<\/p>\n\n is no longer the future.<\/p>\n\n It is the present.<\/p>\n\n His victory in the dance category proves that this was not a passing trend.<\/p>\n\n He is the producer who has changed the sound of mainstream British electronica.<\/p>\n\n She was named Producer of the Year<\/strong> a few days earlier:<\/p>\n\n A fact that explains where the industry is moving.<\/p>\n\n And in this context, Rosal\u00eda winning is no longer a surprise.<\/p>\n\n It is part of the landscape.<\/p>\n\n
\n\nOlivia Dean sweeps the board (and moves from promise to center stage)<\/h2>\n\n
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\n\nRosal\u00eda and when winning outside is no longer news, it is customary.<\/h2>\n\n
\n\nGeese and the most direct political moment of the gala<\/h2>\n\n
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\n\nWolf Alice and the change from generational band to institution<\/h2>\n\n
\n\nLola Young and the definitive leap<\/h2>\n\n
\n\nFred again… still in a league of his own<\/h2>\n\n
\n\nPinkPantheress had already made history before the gala began.<\/h2>\n\n
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\n\nWhat these BRITs have to say (beyond the awards)<\/h1>\n\n
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