The Brit Awards 2023 take place tomorrow (11 February) at London’s O2 Arena, but the winners of two of the prizes - Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year - have already been announced.
In what might be considered a surprise, the Producer of the Year is David Guetta. He’s certainly a high-profile choice but, according to credits database Jaxsta, wasn’t even among the top 10 most successful producers of 2022.
Based on Jaxsta's metrics, Tyler Johnson was the most successful producer, with other big hitters on the list including Kid Harpoon, Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Greg Kurstin and Jack Antonoff, who took home the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year for the second year in a row last week.
The Brit Award for Producer of the Year was voted for by a panel of A&R executives drawn from across the recorded music sector.
Commenting on his win, David Guetta - who’ll also be performing at tomorrow night’s ceremony - said: “I am very honoured to receive Producer of the Year. I have always felt a strong connection to British music and culture. The UK music scene is full of world-class artists and producers so to be recognised like this means a lot to me. Thank you so much!”
More predictably, the Songwriter of the Year award goes to British musician Kid Harpoon (AKA Thomas Hull), who has recently scored huge success with Harry Styles. He co-wrote all but one of the tracks on Styles’ 2022 album Harry’s House (including the all-conquering As It Was). He also co-produced Miley Cyrus’s recent smash hit Flowers with - you guessed it - Tyler Johnson.
“To be acknowledged by the Brits this year for songwriting, a beautiful and complex craft, is unbelievable,” said Kid Harpoon. “It’s a dream come true to create for a living; I cannot wait to celebrate with everyone on Saturday.”
The recipient of the Songwriter of the Year award was decided by a panel of publishers from the recorded music sector.
The Brit Awards will be broadcast in the UK tomorrow on ITV1 and ITVX from 8.30pm and shown outside the UK on the Brits YouTube channel.
