First BRITs performers announced!
The BRIT Awards with Mastercard announce the first wave of performers for this year’s BRIT Awards ceremony, taking place Tuesday 8th February, live from The O2 arena, broadcast exclusively on ITV and ITV Hub, and streamed for non-UK viewers via The BRITs’ YouTube channel.
Performing to millions of fans and viewers will be Dave, Ed Sheeran, Holly Humberstone, Liam Gallagher and Little Simz, in what is set to be another monumental show to celebrate the best of British and international music.
With Omicron continuing to present many challenges in terms of planning, organisers are working around the clock to pull together the best possible show and The BRITs will continue to lead the way in terms of putting on a live music event safely as the UK navigates the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Artists, Nominees and all guests will be asked to show a negative LFT test on arrival to the venue, and fans will this year be offered to purchase stall seats on the arena floor, where nominated artists will also take their seat in an exclusive area. The BRITs are this year working with Blue Light Tickets where the emergency services are invited to enter a ballot to come to the show, following the gifting of tickets to NHS front-line workers in 2021.
Audience members will not be socially distanced but will be asked to wear their masks when not eating or drinking, or in their seats. They will be required to follow existing Government guidance when travelling to the venue and adhere to rules set out by the event organisers.
Audience tickets are now on sale to the public via the AXS website HERE.
The livestream, which will be hosted exclusively on YouTube for the 9th year in a row, will give non-UK viewers a front row seat to all the performances as they happen, as well as giving them access to the red carpet and backstage, with hosts to be announced soon.
About the Performers…
Nominated for Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act, Dave returns to the BRITs following his win at the 2020 show for Mastercard Album of the Year (for his debut no1 album ‘Psychodrama’) and a spell-binding performance of ‘Black’. The multi-talented rapper, performer, songwriter, producer and actor released his second album We’re All Alone In This Together last year to universal critical acclaim, becoming the biggest selling week 1 in 2 years (Oct 2019-Oct 2021), sitting at the #1 spot for 2 weeks and becoming the biggest seller of Q3. Dave recently surpassed 1 Million album sales worldwide and 3 Billion streams.
Another world-dominating British act with four nominations this year, Ed Sheeran will be performing at the ceremony, following another record-breaking year on the UK and international charts. His fifth studio album, = , was released last year along with chart topping singles ‘Bad Habits’, ‘Shivers’ and ‘Merry Christmas’, the Christmas collaboration with Elton John. Ed’s fourth BRITs performance will be followed by a UK & Ireland stadium tour in the Spring/Summer, including five nights at London’s Wembley Stadium.
BRITs 2022 Rising Star winner Holly Humberstone will premiere her music to her biggest audience yet, having won the prestigious prize late last year and following in the footsteps of Griff and Celeste who performed on the BRITs after winning the Rising Star award previously. Beating off competition from Bree Runway and Lola Young, over the past year the alt-pop star has garnered over 200M global streams to date as well as being shortlisted for BBC Sound of 2021 and the Ivor Novello Rising Star award.
Following his emotional performance at the 2018 BRITs, Rock’n’Roll royalty Liam Gallagher will be back for what is bound to be another memorable moment, ahead of his third studio album release coming late Spring and two huge Knebworth headline shows in June. His first two solo albums both went to No. 1 in the UK upon release.
London based Simbiatu Ajikawo, aka Little Simz had already been slowly and steadily building a reputation as one of the best and brightest talents of her generation until last year’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert came along and changed the game completely. Hailed as an instant classic, it rocketed Simz from cult hero to international superstar overnight, landing at No. 4 in the UK Official Albums Chart, earning her four BRIT nominations, with nods for Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of the Year, Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act and Best New Artist, and making her the first female to sell out three headline shows at the legendary Brixton Academy.
Little Simz: “Thank you BRITs. It's an honour to be nominated for 4 BRIT Awards and I can’t wait to be performing on the night too. I'm so happy and grateful the music has connected and resonated. Congratulations to everyone nominated. Simz x”
Global superstar Doja Cat will not be performing at next week’s ceremony as planned. In a statement, the US singer said:
“Unfortunately due to cases of COVID within my crew, I will no longer be performing at the BRITs. My team and I have been in rehearsals for weeks and despite taking the utmost caution, numerous members of my crew (both on and off stage) have tested positive for COVID. It’s simply not safe for us to continue to rehearse together and put each other in harm's way. I can’t wait to perform for my UK fans as soon as I can. Take care of yourselves.”
Nominations for this year’s BRIT Awards were unveiled before Christmas, with the above names joined by artists including Coldplay, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Central Cee and Little Mix who will battle it out for a prestigious BRIT. The 2022 BRIT Awards will be hosted by Mo Gilligan, with Clara Amfo and Maya Jama set to present The BRIT Awards Red Carpet show on ITV2.
Mastercard return as headline partner for the 24th year having supported The BRITs for over two decades, bringing cardholders closer to music through a range of Priceless BRITs experiences. This year, Mastercard will continue to sponsor the much sought after Mastercard Album award, as well as Song of the Year with Mastercard for the second time and is proud to carry on connecting people to priceless possibilities.
YouTube Shorts is the Official Digital Music Partner and will bring fans closer to the BRITs than ever before. As the home of the official livestream on YouTube, audiences around the world will be able to watch the whole journey of the BRITs unfold, from the nominations, through the run-up, to the awards themselves and the performances on demand afterwards. In an exciting first, fans will also be able to watch exclusive behind-the-scenes footage on the night on YouTube Shorts, a new short-form video experience right on YouTube, as well as listening to their favourite artists' playlists on YouTube Music. YouTube Shorts sponsors the 2022 Artist of the Year award.
The BRIT Awards 2022 with Mastercard take place Tuesday 8th February at The O2 arena, exclusively broadcast on ITV and ITV Hub and hosted by Mo Gilligan.
