Brit Awards 2024: Raye makes history with record-breaking seven nominations

The nominations for the 2024 Brit Awards have been announced, and it's fantastic news for Raye.

The singer-songwriter has received a total of seven nominations, including a nod for Artist of the Year, two entries in the Song of the Year category, and recognition for Album of the Year for her brilliantly ambitious debut record, "My 21st Century Blues."

She triumphs over Craig David, Gorillaz and Robbie Williams, each of whom held the previous joint record with six nominations.

This achievement marks a remarkable career turnaround for Raye, who topped the charts at the beginning of 2023 and was previously shortlisted for the prestigious Mercury Prize, after a lengthy battle with her former label, Polydor.

Following behind Raye, rappers Central Cee and J Hus each have four nominations this year. Blur, Calvin Harris, Dave, Little Simz, Olivia Dean, Young Fathers, and the four-time winner Dua Lipa are all contenders for three awards.

In the international categories, solo artists like Burna Boy, Kylie Minogue, Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Swift are contenders, while bands such as Foo Fighters, Paramore, and Gabriel have been shortlisted for the international group of the year.

This year also marks The Rolling Stones' first Brit Award nomination in over a decade, in the best alternative/rock act category for their chart-topping comeback in October.

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Is there a notable improvement in gender balance this year?

This year marks a significant improvement in gender representation, with women comprising 57% of the total nominees when considering mixed-gender groups.

The progress follows last year's controversy, where no women were nominated for the Brit Awards' Best Artist category. All five nominees for the prize were men: Stormzy, Central Cee, Fred Again, George Ezra and Harry Styles.

In a notable shift this year, the Artist of the Year category has expanded to include 10 nominees, and six female artists secured nominations.

Among the female nominees are Arlo Parks, Jessie Ware, Lil Simz, Olivia Sims, and Dua Lipa, while Central Cee, Dave, J. Hus, and Fred Again... represent the male nominees.

This year's International Artist of the year category has also seen improvement for female representation, with eight out of 10 nominees being female.

Here is the full list of nominations:

Artist of the year

Arlo Parks

Central Cee

Dave

Dua Lipa

Fred again..

J Hus

Jessie Ware

Little Simz

Olivia Dean

Raye

Group of the year

Blur

Chase & Status

Headie One & K-Trap

Jungle

Young Fathers

Album of the year

Blur - The Ballad of Darren

J Hus - Beautiful and Brutal Yard

Little Simz - No Thank You

Raye - My 21st Century Blues

Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy

Song of the year

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding - Miracle

Cassö, Raye and D-Block Europe - Prada

Central Cee - Let Go

Dave & Central Cee - Sprinter

Dua Lipa - Dance The Night

Ed Sheeran - Eyes Closed

J Hus ft Drake - Who Told You

Kenya Grace - Strangers

Lewis Capaldi - Wish You The Best

PinkPantheress - Boy's a Liar

Raye featuring 070 Shake - Escapism

Rudimental, Charlotte Plank and Vibe Chemistry - Dancing Is Healing

Stormzy ft Debbie - Firebabe

Switch Disco and Ella Henderson - React

Venbee & Goddard - Messy In Heaven

Best new artist

Mahalia

Olivia Dean

PinkPantheress

Raye

Yussef Dayes

International artist of the year

Asake

Burna Boy

Caroline Polachek

CMAT

Kylie Minogue

Lana Del Rey

Miley Cyrus

Olivia Rodrigo

SZA

Taylor Swift

International group of the year

Blink-182

Boygenius

Foo Fighters

Gabriels

Paramore

International song of the year

Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For?

David Kushner - Daylight

Doja Cat - Paint The Town Red

Jazzy - Giving Me

Libianca - People

Meghan Trainor - Made You Look

Miley Cyrus - Flowers

Noah Kahan - Stick Season

Oliver Tree & Robin Schulz - Miss You

Olivia Rodrigo - Vampire

Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana

Rema - Calm Down

SZA - Kill Bill

Tate McRae - Greedy

Tyla - Water

Best alternative/rock act

Blur

Bring Me The Horizon

The Rolling Stones

Young Fathers

Yussef Dayes

Best hip-hop/grime/rap act

CasIsDead

Central Cee

Dave

J Hus

Little Simz

Best dance act

Barry Can't Swim

Becky Hill

Calvin Harris

Fred again..

Romy

Best pop act

Calvin Harris

Charli XCX

Dua Lipa

Olivia Dean

Raye

Best R&B act

Cleo Sol

Jorja Smith

Mahalia

Raye

Sault