When the Brit Award categories for best artist and best international artist changed to gender neutral shortlists a few years ago, there was hope that this would signal a welcome change in music – promoting diversity and inclusivity.

However, the 2023 nominations for the best artist award featured no women on the shortlist.

This year’s Brits also attracted criticism for its combined best pop and R&B category, which was dominated by pop acts such as Harry Styles and Dua Lipa. The lack of R&B acts on the shortlist led to singer Mahalia expressing her disappointment via a Burberry jacket on the red carpet with the words “Long Live R’n’B” painted on her back.

When Harry Styles picked up the award for best artist, he dedicated his speech to the female artists who were overlooked: “I’m very aware of my privilege up here tonight, so this award is for Rina [Sawayama], Charli [XCX], Florence, Mabel and Becky [Hill] – thank you so much.”

It seems speaking up has paid off. Organisers of the Brits have now announced that not only will there be a dedicated R&B category for the awards but that the best artist and best international artist categories will be expanded from five nominations to 10.

The new R&B category will also have an eligibility period of 24 months (instead of 12), so that artists who were overlooked in the 2023 awards can qualify for next year’s ceremony.

Speaking to the BBC about the new category, Mahalia said: “For me, when the [combined] category got announced a couple of years ago, I was disappointed for the younger generation of R&B kids, who were going to think a Brit nomination was impossible… So my initial reaction to the change was just pure happiness and pride.”

The 2024 Brit Awards ceremony will take place on Saturday 2 March 2024.

Images: Getty