Belfast duo nominated for two Brit awards
Delight as Belfast disc jockeys Bicep nominated for two awards at this year’s prestigious music event
BELFAST electronic duo Bicep are up for two gongs at this year’s Brit Awards.
The pair, Andy Ferguson and Matt Mcbriar, have been nominated in the Breakthrough Artist and Best British Group categories.
The double whammy for the DJS follows their recent success in the album charts when their second offering, Isles, went to number two.
Posting on their social media, the London-based pair wrote: “We both grew up watching the Brit Awards as kids so it’s just a bit surreal to now have two nominations.
“It really is a huge honour. Big thanks to everyone that’s helped make it happen.”
Bicep are up against four other nominees in both categories, including singer/songwriters Celeste and Arlo Parks in Breakthrough, and in the Best British Group category, they face competition from acts such as Little Mix and Biffy Clyro.
Dua Lipa once again leads the nominations, with the coveted album category dominated by women for the first time.
The 25-year-old was among the stars who secured three nods — best female solo act, best single for Physical and best album for Future Nostalgia.
Lipa earned four nominations in 2019 and the previous year scored five — one more than Ed Sheeran received that year.
Rising stars Arlo Parks and Celeste, rap duo Young T & Bugsey and DJ and producer Joel Corry all also received three nods.
Singer and poet Parks (20), whose debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams was released in January to critical acclaim, was nominated for female solo artist, breakthrough artist and best album.
Soul singer Celeste (26), who was crowned the winner of BBC Music’s Sound Of 2020, is tapped in the same three categories. Jessie Ware, Bicep and rappers AJ Tracey, J Hus and Headie One all scored two nominations apiece.
For the first time, the album of the year category was dominated by female acts, with four of the five slots taken by women.
Collapsed In Sunbeams by Parks, Not Your Muse by Celeste, Future Nostalgia by Lipa and Ware’s What’s Your Pleasure? all received nods.
Rapper J Hus was the only male act to feature, with his critically acclaimed second album Big Conspiracy.
Rap, grime and drill artists also feature heavily on the 2021 shortlist, with artists such as Headie One, who has been referred to as the King Of Drill, J Hus and Young T & Bugsey making strong entries.
Elsewhere, there is an especially strong international female solo artist category featuring Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift.
K-pop supergroup BTS also received their first Brit Award nomination in the international group category.
Harry Styles secured one nomination in the singles category for Watermelon Sugar, which also won the Grammy for best pop solo performance earlier this month.
The nominations were announced by Nick Grimshaw and this year’s rising star winner singer-songwriter Griff across the Brit Awards social media channels yesterday.
Jack Whitehall is returning for a fourth time to host the awards show, which is due to take place on May 11 at London’s O2 Arena with a live audience.
The awards are voted for by around 1,500 people from across the UK music industry including journalists, record label employees and musicians.