Brit Billion Award Winners 2023
Lewis Capaldi, Rita Ora, and Sam Smith are the First Winners of the Brit Billion Award
The Brit Awards might have taken place in February, with winners including Harry Styles and The 1975, but there's one brand new award that has been announced three months later. The Brit Billion award is a new category which celebrates those who have surpassed the huge milestone of one billion UK streams in their career, both as solo and featured artists. As calculated by the Official Charts Company, the BPI — the voice of record labels in the UK — announced the first 13 recipients to win the prestigious accolade on 4 May and Lewis Capaldi, Rita Ora, and Sam Smith are among them.
"A billion streams in the UK, which is wild," Capaldi said in a video as he showed his glass B-shaped statue off. "It's mad to have a stream for each time I've slept with one of your mothers," he added in typical jokey Capaldi form. The "Forget Me" singer is recognised for this huge achievement as the award aims to reflect the impact of streaming, which now makes up more than 85 percent of the UK's music consumption, according to the Official Chart.
Other recipients include Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, Coldplay, George Ezra, Anne Marie, AJ Tracey, and Headie One. Independent artist, Raye, also received the award which is particularly impressive after she publicly left her record label in 2021. And Abba and Mariah Carey round off the list. Carey added, "I'm really honoured to be one of the recipients of the BRIT Billion Award. I'm so grateful to my fans for their endless and enduring support. I love you UK lambily and cannot wait to come back to your side of the pond and create more magical moments together."
