Get Excited For The BRITs With These Iconic Performances!

The nominees have just been announced, and we have less than two months until the 44th BRIT Awards take place, and we’re so hyped! Known as the most prestigious music awards in Britain. This year’s nominations have just been announced, with RAYE leading with a record-breaking seven nominations, including Artist of the Year and Mastercard Album of the Year, giving her the most amount of nominations for a single artist in any one year. We feel so proud!

Other nominees include Central Cee and J Hus, with four nominations, while Dua Lipa, Blur, Calvin Harris, Dave, Little Simz, Olivia Dean, and Young Fathers are all triple nominees. This year’s awards see more than half of the nominees featuring women – either as a solo artist or part of an all-woman group. We love to see it!

As we gear up for this year’s awards, we’ve been reminiscent of past ceremonies. There’s been so many incredible performances over the years and we just know that 2024 will deliver. So, to get you in the mood, we’re sharing some of our favorite performances from BRITs history.

‘Black Magic’ – Little Mix, 2016

Little Mix has blessed us with three incredible BRITs performances over their decade-long career, so it was pretty difficult to make a decision. However, we will never get over that feeling from watching them make their BRITs performance debut in 2016 with ‘Black Magic.’ It was dramatic, it was grand, and it was brilliant. We still have the performance version of the song in our heads every now and then, and don’t lie, we know you’ve tried to ace this choreography with a broom or mop! This performance lives in our heads rent-free, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

‘Someone You Loved’ – Lewis Capaldi, 2020

Lewis Capaldi is no stranger to the BRITs, but our favorite performance has to be when he performed his smash hit single ‘Someone You Loved’ back in 2020. Lewis skyrocketed to fame with this song, truly making a name for himself, and he rounded off his debut album era with two wins for Best New Artist and Song Of The Year and this stunning performance that really was a highlight of the show. It’s proof that a stripped-down performance can be just as powerful as one with high production, choreography, and outfits. We love both, and Lewis truly delivered!

‘One Way Or Another (Teenage Kicks)’ – One Direction, 2013

One Direction has had phenomenal success at the BRITs in their five-year career, so we’re a little baffled about how they only performed one time at the awards. Still, if they were only going to perform just once, they made sure it was a spectacular performance! Promoting their Comic Relief charity single, they performed ‘One Way Or Another (Teenage Kicks)’ and it was everything. Springing out of a gigantic pinball machine in cohesive smart-casual black and white outfits, the five boys truly brought their signature 1D charm with them. And what we would have given to be in the audience when they bounced down the runway to the b stage! *Harry Styles voice* Those were the days, man.

‘Blinded By Your Grace PT.2’ & ‘Big For Your Boots’ – Stormzy, 2018

Stormzy is another well-known artist at the BRITs and has blessed us with some incredible performances over the years, but we really feel like his performance at the 2018 BRITs really did cement itself in BRITs history and in our memories. The emotions of ‘Blinded By Your Grace PT.2,’ from the raw vocals, the spine-tingling harmonies from the choir, and the vulnerability of standing in the rain, truly gave us goosebumps. Then, to switch it up to a shirtless performance of the pure banger that is ‘Big For Your Boots’ and getting up close and personal with the audience, it was a full 180 on performances, and yet it worked so brilliantly. Definitely one to remember!

‘We Found Love’ – Rihanna, 2012

Back in 2012, Rihanna graced us with her presence at the BRITs awards as she performed her banger single ‘We Found Love’ featuring Calvin Harris, and of course, she delivered like a true pop queen! Starting the song in a glass box surrounded by dancers who begin splattering paint on the walls, she emerges onto a red-lit stage with more dancers and delivers a high-energy performance that turns the awards into what felt like a festival. The entire thing felt electric to watch on screen, so we can’t begin to imagine what it was like to witness in person! Rihanna performances are more of a rarity these days so we don’t think we truly appreciated just how phenomenal this was. We’re longing for the days for RiRi to return to the BRITs and blow our minds once more!

‘Beat Again’ – JLS, 2010

JLS truly embodied the essence of a classic boyband when they performed at the BRITs with their debut single ‘Beat Again.’ The quartet floated down to a laser-filled stage in coordinating outfits, and it was truly giving nightclub energy. Just new to the scene themselves, all fresh-faced, they performed their hearts out, synchronized choreography that was amplified by accompanying dancers and topped off with Aston’s famous backflip. They truly made our hearts beat non-stop with adrenaline and pure lust! We’re feeling so nostalgic right now.

‘Valerie’ – Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse, 2008

Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson absolutely dominated with their collaboration of ‘Valerie.’ The pair had given a new lease of life to the song originally released by English indie rock band The Zutons which gained major chart success the year prior. Accompanied by an orchestra, Winehouse and Ronson dazzled at the 2008 BRITs with their rendition of the song, where the late singer’s soulful vocals truly shone through in this brilliantly energetic performance. It’s performances like these that truly solidify Amy’s legacy as a musical legend whom we will forever treasure and celebrate for years to come.

‘Falling’ – Harry Styles, 2020

Harry Styles made his solo debut Brit Awards performance back in 2020 and this may very well be our BRITs Roman Empire. Famously known for his lively and energetic performances, Harry stripped it back for his ballad ‘Falling’ from his sophomore album Fine Line and all we can say is thank God for waterproof eye makeup because we were a wreck! We were truly able to appreciate his angelic vocal talents with this melancholic performance. The stage resembled the music video for the single and was full of water with waterfalls and even a flooding piano. Even watching back four years on, we have goosebumps!

‘Drivers License’ – Olivia Rodrigo, 2021

Olivia Rodrigo made her awards show debut at the BRITs with her viral debut single, ‘Drivers License,’ and honestly, it was everything. Donning a stunning red dress, Olivia stood under a single spotlight with butterflies and handwritten lyric projections behind her, accompanied by only a harp and piano to really give her stunning vocals the center stage. Only a year into her music career, Miss Rodrigo truly made an impact and an incredible first impression on British viewers with this stunning performance! This was such a strong performance for a young new artist and has set the bar for those who will follow in her footsteps.

‘Bad Habits’ – Ed Sheeran ft Bring Me The Horizon, 2022

Mr Sheeran frequents the BRITs and has given us a number of memorable performances, but after much consideration (read: indecisive pondering that lowkey made us want to pull our hair out), we had to pick his 2022 performance of ‘Bad Habits.’ Ed enlisted Bring Me The Horizon for this performance, giving the Minus (-) single a rock rendition that had us truly headbanging and just living our best lives, really. Joined by acrobatics and pyrotechnics, the whole performance was simply show-stopping, and the energy was pure electric. Leave it to our boy Ed to keep us on our toes!

Are you hyped for this year’s BRITs awards? Who are you hoping will be on the performance lineup? Let us know by tweeting us at @TheHoneyPOP or visiting us on Facebook and Instagram.