Brit Awards: The main talking points, from Pink’s performance to The 1975’s feminist speech

Think of the Brit Awards these days and it’s easy to forget they were once a hotbed of boozy buffoonery and no-holds-barred political activism.

Save for last year’s staggeringly potent and incendiary performance by Stormzy – who unleashed a rain-soaked diatribe on the British prime minister in light of the Grenfell disaster – the Brit Awards of this millennium have become a fairly safe affair, filled with back-slapping bonhomie.

This year was no different. While Dua Lipa and Little Mix gave exceptional performances, there was still an air of inevitability to proceedings – so inevitable, in fact, that an advert declaring The 1975 winners of Best British Group and Best British Album ran before either award had been announced.

There were *some* talking points, however.

Try as they might, the Brits just can’t compete, in size, stature or reputation, with their American counterparts the Grammys. Never was that more apparent than during the politely rushed international awards “package”, during which none of the international winners – The Carters, Ariana Grande and Drake – bothered to turn up. Each sent a quick, indifferent video message, with Grande in particular giving the distinct impression she’d be tossing the award in the nearest bin as soon as the cameras stopped rolling. Still, at least American teen superstar Shawn Mendes turned up to lose in his category, gamely putting up with Whitehall’s relentless ribbing.

Perhaps in an attempt to make up for his recent, ill-thought-out claims that “misogyny doesn’t happen in rock and roll anymore”, Matty Healy used his acceptance speech for Best British Group to read a quote from a recent article by “our good friend Laura Snapes”. Writing of recent allegations of emotional abuse against the musician Ryan Adams, Snapes wrote: “Male misogynist acts are examined for nuance and defended as traits of ‘difficult’ artists, [while] women and those who call them out are treated as hysterics who don’t understand art.” It was one of the night’s few overtly political moments.

While she was on stage, Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac noted, with delight, that there were “as many females are nominated as males! Imagine that”.

Imagine that, indeed. Just like many awards shows, the Brits don’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to recognising female talent – but recently, they’ve started to get their act together. For one thing, they’ve changed the demographic of the “Academy” of voters, from 30 per cent female before 2016, to 48 per cent female afterwards. With Dua Lipa and Anne-Marie both earning four nominations, and Pink winning the Outstanding Contribution award, this year is the most “female-friendly” Brit Awards ever, according to the British Phonographic Industry.

Last week, with her fifth album, Avril Lavigne proved once again how difficult it is for pop stars to evolve beyond their first flurry of fame. But her one-time peer Pink has been a staple of the pop landscape for nearly two decades, never even dropping off for more than a few years between her brilliant, spiky 2001 album Missundaztood and now. And every record in that time has reached the top 10 to boot. She’s never quite been the biggest popstar on the planet, though, and as such has often been sidelined when it comes to awards. On Wednesday night, she got the recognition she deserved, following in the footsteps of Paul McCartney and Fleetwood Mac to win the Outstanding Contribution award. She closed the ceremony with a fiery (literally) medley of her greatest hits, as choppy images of protest signs – “Black lives matter”, “Racism is not patriotism” – flashed up on the screen behind her. Long may her reign continue.

Brit awards 2019: Pink performs ‘What About Us’

Rather than play lip service to the stars, Whitehall should be applauded for his takedowns, delivered in the disarming posh-boy shtick that is his signature. “The Prius of pop”, he called George Ezra. “Australia’s answer to Bradley Walsh”, was his verdict on Hugh Jackman. There was a good “international package” joke made about Shawn Mendes (the singer recently launched an underwear range), but his skewering of Little Mix was a hilariously awkward highlight. Asking them about their “beef” with Piers Morgan, who criticised them for a recent shoot, he said, “Voluptuous breasts, four chins, it must have been like looking in the mirror for him.”

There were a few misfires, including a slightly sleazy quip after Little Mix performed earlier in the night – “Dads up and down the country are reaching awkwardly for a scatter cushion right now” – but for the most part, Whitehall got it right.

It’s a tough gig – just look at the Oscars’ inability to find a host this year – but Whitehall is a good fit.