Harry Styles sweeps Brit Awards

The Brit Awards wrapped up in London on Saturday night, with singer Harry Styles taking out four of the top accolades.

The former One Direction member won artist of the year. He also won album of the year with "Harry's House," song of the year with "As It Was," and best pop/R&B act.

"I'm so so proud to be a British artist in the world out there," Styles said.

Styles acknowledges 'privilege'

The category for best artist was made gender-neutral last year after non-binary singer Sam Smith was automatically excluded from previously gendered categories in 2021.

But the new gender-neutral category controversially had an all-male shortlist this year, with no female or non-binary artists in the mix.

Styles acknowledged this in his acceptance speech, naming women who had made the longlist but not the final shortlist.

"I'm really really grateful for this and I'm very aware of my privilege up here tonight so this award is for Rina, Charli, Florence, Mabel and Becky," he said, referring to pop stars Rina Sawayama, Charli XCX, Florence + the Machine, Mabel and Becky Hill.

Artists lament 'boys' club'

Brit Awards chair Damian Christian previously said it was disappointing to see an all-male shortlist for best artist, but blamed this on a lack of eligible 2022 releases by major female acts.

On Saturday, other artists spoke out about the lack of recognition for women at the Brit Awards.

"There is a lot of diversity in artists but there is not enough diversity in record labels," said Rina Sawayama, who was nominated for newcomer of the year.

Rhian Teasdale, the lead singer for alt rock band Wet Leg, which won group of the year and best artist, thanked all the women involved in helping make the band's self-titled debut album.

"This is so scary because being on the telly can feel like a real boys' club thing," she said.

zc/ar (Reuters, AFP, AP)