As week five drew to a close, I escaped from my onslaught of essays to attend the BRIT Awards at the O2. It is touted as ‘the biggest night in British music’ and people are normally shocked when I say I’ve been, assuming only popstars and record label execs can attend. In reality, anyone can go and the tickets cost less than half the price of a ticket to many Cambridge May Balls.

I donned my brat t-shirt, which proved to be suitable attire for a night which saw Charli XCX triumph with five wins. She chose not to perform so that she could instead focus on getting drunk instead and was truly “bumpin’ that” as she appeared increasingly inebriated at each acceptance speech, though still maintaining more composure than me after a bottle of Kylie Minogue Rosé at formals.

“The nominations highlight musicians from across the UK who might otherwise struggle to be heard”

I first went to the event last year when I saw the tabloids were reporting that Kylie would be the main performer and I booked a ticket with little interest in the rest of the night. I had never really listened to artists like Rema and Raye before, who didn’t quite fit into the ‘Pink Pilates Princess Pop’ label with which Spotify Wrapped characterised my listening habits, but getting the chance to see them live introduced me to music I wouldn’t have otherwise added to my playlists. The BRITs are a great way to discover new artists since they give a platform to people who are just breaking into the mainstream through initiatives such as the Rising Star Award, and the nominations highlight musicians from across the UK who might otherwise struggle to be heard in a music scene often be dominated by American superstars.

This year’s BRITs catalysed a shift in my music tastes as the performance I was perhaps anticipating the least proved to be the one which stood out the most: Teddy Swims put on a powerful display which had us captivated by his seemingly effortless stage presence. He stole the show again on the red carpet, providing a plethora of eccentric outfits throughout the night. Another artist I had heard of but never really listened to was Sam Fender, much to the despair of my friend Clare (from Newcastle) whom I went with. Like Teddy Swims, Fender’s lyrics channelled his past life events into a rousing performance of his most recent single ‘People Watching,’ which touches on topical subjects, such as the strains on NHS nurses and what it means to dream a better life from the Gasworks, calling back to the working class roots which make him so relatable to many fans.

One behind-the-scenes secret you don’t see on the TV is that, during advert breaks, a guy comes onstage to hype up the audience. Although he seemed to be fighting a losing battle, the crowd needed no encouragement for any of the performances. Sabrina Carpenter and Myles Smith had the audience screaming along to their lyrics, while Lola Young and The Last Dinner Party both performed radio edit versions of their hits, leaving the crowd to (loudly) fill in the expletives. After last year’s Homerton fiasco, Clare was particularly happy to finally see The Last Dinner Party.

“What makes the event relevant is [...] its promotion of the importance of music within our daily lives, education and culture”

Many critics say the BRITs have become irrelevant. They can’t attract the biggest global superstars like the Grammys and despite online reports that Raye and Chappell Roan would perform, these stars, who both won awards, did not attend the event due to Oscars-related conflicts. While the BRITs may seem humble in the shadow of America, what makes the event relevant is not how it compares to its transatlantic counterparts, but its promotion of the importance of music within our daily lives, education and culture.

The show had partnered with the No Music on a Dead Planet movement for sustainability in the music industry and the Make it Fair campaign against AI stealing copyrighted material, but these issues received no mention during the ceremony. Instead, the acceptance speeches were dominated by rallying cries to protect youth groups, school music programmes and grassroots gig venues. Ezra Collective extolled the value of music education as a solution to many of the UK’s social problems. Myles Smith lambasted the government’s closure of music programmes and rang the alarm bell for the decimation of grassroots venues. The Last Dinner Party also called for expanding programmes where stadiums and arenas donate a part of ticket sales to grassroots venues. Notably, it was the artists who have all only recently become household names who used the platform provided to them by the BRITs to advocate for other artists trying to make it big.

Beyond all the glitz and glam, attending the BRITs was a reminder of the importance of live music and its power to bring people together. Despite references throughout the show to political challenges at home and abroad, and no doubt a swathe of incoming Ofcom complaints about Charli XCX’s see-through dress and Sabrina Carpenter’s raunchy rendition of ‘Bed Chem’, the night was a joyous celebration of a momentous year in British music. It was a poignant reminder that we need to support the foundations of the music industry in our schools and local communities to create the next generation of 365 party girls.

Want to share your thoughts on this article? Send us a letter to letters@varsity.co.uk or by using this form.