Taylor Swift named first female artist to win Global Icon Brit Award

Taylor Swift is set to become the first female artist to win the global icon Brit award, and will be presented with the prize during Tuesday's ceremony at London's O2 Arena.

The Grammy Award-winning folklore artist has been recognised for “her immense impact on music across the world and incredible repertoire and achievements to date”, according to the award organisers.

The 31-year-old musician will be the youngest person ever to win the Global Icon Award, which is the BRITs' highest accolade. Swift is also nominated in the international female solo artist category, marking her sixth Brit award nomination to date.

“Taylor’s career is unparalleled and her music and influence has resonated with millions of people all over the world,” the Brit award statement said.

“She’s used her platform to highlight many issues globally and recently has been applauded for her work promoting acceptance of the LGBTQ community.”

Previous recipients of the global icon award include Elton John, Robbie Williams and David Bowie.

The award will be the latest in a long line of wins for Taylor in her 17-year career, including three Album of the Year Grammy Awards. Swift scored her record-breaking seventh UK No 1 album with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) last month - her third chart-topping album in just 259 days. The project comes after Swift vowed to re-record her back catalogue of music after Scooter Braun sold the Big Machine Record rights. The talent has now sold over 114 million albums globally.

The 2021 Brit Awards will see audience of 4,000 people attend as part of the government’s live events pilot scheme.

Dua Lipa, Arlo Parks, Celeste, rap duo Young T & Bugsey and DJ and producer Joel Corry are all nominated for three awards this year. Jessie Ware, dance music duo Bicep and rappers AJ Tracey, J Hus and Headie One all earned two nominations each.