Brit Awards 2022: Predictions for winners of each award at this year’s Brits

The Brit Awards are almost upon us, and with that comes speculation over who will win each prize.

The 2022 awards ceremony is the first to ditch gender-based awards, and so prizes such as Best Male Solo and Best Female Solo have been replaced with Artist of the Year.

Despite fears that this would negatively impact the representation of women at the Brits, this year’s nominations include the biggest number of women or female-fronted acts in over a decade.

Among the female and female-fronted acts nominated this year are groups Little Mix, Wolf Alice and London Grammar, rappers Little Simz and Doja Cat, and singers Adele, Dua Lipa, Joy Crookes, Griff and Self Esteem.

Grime, rap and hip-hop artists have also fared well in this year’s set of nominations, with nods for Little Simz, Ghetts, AJ Tracey, Dave and newcomer Central Cee.

Here are our predictions for each category:

Artist of the Year

Adele – WILL WIN

Dave

Little Simz

Ed Sheeran

Sam Fender

Reason: While each of these artists is a strong contender in their own right, Adele’s comeback was without a doubt the biggest event for the music industry since the 2021 Brits. The fact she’s attending the ceremony also suggests the Brits organisers don’t plan on sending her home empty-handed...

Album of the Year

30 – Adele

We’re All Alone In This Together – Dave

Sometimes I Might Be Introvert – Little Simz – WILL WIN

= (Equals) – Ed Sheeran

Seventeen Going Under – Sam Fender

Reason: Again, any of these albums could win, so then you think about who really deserves it... Little Simz has been snubbed by the Brits until now, so they have some making up to do. Also, ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ is an extraordinarily accomplished, ambitious album, which The Independent picked as its 2021 Album of the Year.

Best Group

Little Mix

Coldplay

D-Block Europe

Wolf Alice – WILL WIN

London Grammar

Reason: Wolf Alice’s latest album ‘Blue Weekend’ is a spectacular record that earned them a second run at the Mercury Prize last year, along with five-star reviews across the board. With some exceptions, this category tends to favour rock-based acts – previous winners have included Arctic Monkeys, Royal Blood and Foals... it would be great to see a female-fronted act win this time round.

Song of the Year

“Latest Trends” – A1 and J1

“Easy on Me” – Adele

“Don’t Play” – Annie-Marie, KSI, Digital Farm Animals

“Remember” – Becky Hill with David Guetta

“Obsessed With You” – Central Cee

“Clash” – Dave ft Stormzy

“Bad Habits” – Ed Sheeran

“Cold Heart” (PNAU Remix) – Elton John, Dua Lipa

“Heat Waves” – Glass Animals – WILL WIN

“Bed” – Joel Corry, Raye, David Guetta

“Holiday” – KSI

“Wellerman” (220 Kid and Billen Ted Remix) – Nathan Evans

“Friday (Dopamine Re-edit)” – Riton x Nightcrawlers ft Mufasa and Hypeman

“Body” – Tion Wayne and Russ Millions

“Little Bit of Love” – Tom Grennan

Reason: Ed Sheeran and Adele might be the heavyweights in this category, but Glass Animals did what neither one of them could when sleeper hit “Heat Waves” broke the record for the longest climb to the Top 5 in the history of the US Hot 100, after 51 weeks. It’s also a fantastic song...

Best New Artist

Central Cee – WILL WIN

Griff

Joy Crookes

Little Simz

Self Esteem

Reason: Self Esteem has a good shot at this, after her debut topped a number of critics’ lists in 2021 as the album of the year. But Central Cee is the rising star of UK rap; his debut mixtape Wild West debuted at No 2 on the UK Albums Chart, with his second scheduled for release later this month. Meanwhile, his single “Obsessed with You”, which sampled fellow up-and-comer PinkPantheress, went viral on TikTok and currently has more than 90 million streams on Spotify.

Rock/Alternative

Coldplay

Glass Animals

Sam Fender – WILL WIN

Tom Grennan

Wolf Alice

Reason: Sam Fender’s second album ‘Seventeen and Going Under’ was a superb follow-up to his 2019 debut ‘Hypersonic Missiles’, and topped the UK charts to boot. He’s demonstrated a songwriting ability like few others his age, while his sound revels in the Americana stylings of artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty – a real breath of fresh air for the UK.

Hip hop/grime/rap

Dave – WILL WIN

Little Simz

AJ Tracey

Central Cee

Ghetts

Reason: Dave has fared well at the Brits in the past, winning Best British Album for his debut ‘Psychodrama’ in 2020. The classically trained pianist is also performing at this year’s ceremony – it would be a real surprise if he doesn’t get to walk out onto that stage more than once.

Dance

Becky Hill

Calvin Harris

Fred Again

Joel Corry

Raye – WILL WIN

Raye experienced a tumultuous 12 months after revealing difficulties with her former label, Polydor, before announcing she’d gone solo. She’s done exceedingly well in the dance-pop world, with hit singles including “Bed” with Joel Corry and “Secrets” with Regard. It seems about time she gets some recognition.

Pop/R&B

Adele

Dua Lipa

Ed Sheeran – WILL WIN

Griff

Joy Crooks

Reason: Adele might be serious competition, but it seems highly unlikely that the Brits organisers would see one of its most successful artists walk away without a single prize – particularly after releasing a new album, ‘= (Equals)’.

International Artist

Billie Eilish

Doja Cat

Lil Nas X – WILL WIN

Olivia Rodrigo

Taylor Swift

Reason: We were tempted to pick Billie Eilish for this prize, but she won last year. Instead, we reckon Lil Nas X could get the award after releasing his resplendent debut album ‘Montero’ – which hit No 2 in the US and the UK – in September last year.

International Group

Abba

BTS

Maneskin – WILL WIN

Silk Sonic/ Bruno Mars/ Anderson. Paak

The War on Drugs

Reason: Plenty of strong contenders, including K-pop titans BTS, but Maneskin had a huge 2021 including their Eurovision triumph, touring with the Rolling Stones, and becoming the first Italian act to have two songs in the UK Top 10 at the same time. They’ve been credited with helping revive the rock scene in the US, and appeared on late-night shows including Jimmy Fallon. They’re also loads of fun, so we can see them causing a stir on Brits night.

International Song of the Year

“Your Love (9pm)” – ATB x Topic x A7S

“Happier Than Ever” - Billie Eilish

“Love Nwantiti (ah ah ah)” – Ckay

“Kiss Me More” – Doja Cat ft Sza

“Girls Want Girl” – Drake ft Lil Baby

“Heartbreak Anthem” – Galantis, David Guetta, Little Mix

“Black Magic” – Jonasu

“Stay” – Justin Bieber, Kid Laroi – WILL WIN

“Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” – Lil Nas X

“Calling My Phone” – Lil Tjay ft 6lack

“Wanna Be Your Slave” – Maneskin

“Good 4 U” – Olivia Rodrigo

“Rap Star” – Polo G

“The Business” – Tiesto

“Save Your Tears” – The Weeknd

Reason: Really, it could be any of them, but the strongest contenders are Bieber with Kid Laroi, The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, Maneskin and Lil Nas X. We’re going with Biebs simply because it’s the biggest, with more than 1.4 billion streams on Spotify.

The Brit Awards 2022 take place on Tuesday 8 February – everything you need to know about the ceremony is here