The BRIT Awards 2017 with Mastercard announce that global superstar Bruno Mars and UK grime sensation Skepta will join Robbie Williams, Little Mix, The 1975 and Emeli Sandé to perform at the UK’s biggest night in music in February at The O2.
BRITs Chairman and Chairman of Sony Music Jason Iley said: “The BRIT Awards is proud to attract international artists and we’re excited to welcome Bruno Mars back to the stage. Skepta is a homegrown talent who’s had an incredible year including three nominations and I can’t wait to see what he’ll bring to the event.”
Bruno Mars is no stranger to the BRITs having previously received three BRIT Awards. He recently released his third album ‘24K Magic’ to success on both sides of the atlantic, following his two previous releases which topped the charts in both the UK and US. Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, Bruno has landed six number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, achieving the first five faster than any male artist since Elvis Presley. He also became the first performer under the age of 30 to headline the Super Bowl drawing millions of viewers from across the globe.
Skepta leads the BRIT Award nominees this year, receiving three including ‘Album Of The Year’ for his groundbreaking fourth album ‘Konnichiwa’, which has been praised for leading the grime movement into the mainstream in 2016. The Tottenham-native enjoyed commercial and critical success with ‘Konnichiwa’, reaching Number 2 on the UK Album Chart and dominating end-of-year lists across the board. The rapper, writer and producer has also paved the way for grime music internationally, having signed global superstar and fellow BRIT Award-nominee Drake to his own label, Boy Better Know, and performed alongside hip-hop icon Kanye West at the BRIT Awards in 2015.
This year’s awards will be hosted by Dermot O’Leary and Emma Willis at The O2 on the 22nd February with performances from Robbie Williams, Little Mix, The 1975 and Emeli Sandé. Following an incredible year in music this year’s ceremony has been extended by half an hour and exclusively broadcast on ITV. This year will also see Clara Amfo, Laura Jackson and Alice Levine host The BRIT Awards 2017: Red Carpet and Backstage on ITV2, either side of the main awards show.
