BRIT Awards: Ezra Collective and Jorja Smith Join Performer Lineup After Shaboozey Withdraws
UPDATE (Feb. 27): The BRIT Awards has confirmed a surprise final performer addition to this Saturday’s ceremony, with Ezra Collective and special guest Jorja Smith set perform live on the night (Mar. 1)
The news comes as Shaboozey withdraws from performing on the night. He shared the news to his Instagram Stories writing, “For reasons beyond my control I sadly won’t make my planned appearance at The BRIT Awards in London on March 1st. I want to say good luck to all the nominees and to all the performers on the night. I’ll be watching from home with the rest of you, wishing I was there.”
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Smith featured on the jazz group’s 2019 debut album You Can’t Steal My Joy on the song “Reason in Disguise,” and the pair both appeared on separate tracks on 2020 compilation Blue Note Re:imagined. The song that will the pair will duet on during the performance is yet to be confirmed.
Ezra Collective are up for four awards on the night – album of the year, group of the year, best new artist and alternative/rock act – while Smith is up for r&b act. Smith has won two awards prior: In 2018 she won the critics choice’ prize which spotlights emerging artists; in 2019, Smith collected best solo act.
PREVIOUSLY (Feb. 17): The BRIT Awards has finalized its performer lineup for the 2025 ceremony with two new additions. Sam Fender and Lola Young will both play live during the broadcast on March 1 at The O2 Arena in London. They join a stacked bill of performers including Sabrina Carpenter, Shaboozey, Teddy Swims, JADE, The Last Dinner Party and Myles Smith on the night.
The performances will be well-timed for both Fender and Young. The former is due to release his highly-anticipated new LP People Watching this Friday (Feb. 21) ahead of his huge outdoor shows throughout the U.K. this summer, including at the London Stadium and St. James’ Park in Newcastle.
Young currently sits at No. 1 for the fourth week on the U.K. Singles Chart with her song “Messy.” The song, which featured on her second album This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway, capitalised on a viral moment to vault up the charts both in the U.K. and on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 14. Young’s month-long reign on the U.K. charts is the longest by a British female since Adele’s seven-week run at the top with “Easy on Me” in 2021.
Both Fender and Young are nominated on the night; the former is up for best rock/alternative act, while the latter is competing in the best pop act field. Genre categories are fan-voted with the general fields decided by the BRITs Voting Academy.
Speaking on the news, Young said: “I am super excited and grateful to be performing at The BRIT Awards this year. It’s a dream come true and an absolute honour to share this moment alongside so many incredible artists. To be nominated is a huge achievement for me and I’m so thankful for all the support I’ve received.”
Charli XCX leads all nominees at this year’s BRITs with five nominations in a plethora of categories, including album of the year and artist of the year. The Last Dinner Party, Ezra Collective and Dua Lipa close behind with four each. The ceremony will be broadcast on ITV and streaming service ITV X, and will be hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall for a fifth time.
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