Brit Awards 2025: Ezra Collective and Jorja Smith replace Shaboozey as performer
Mercury Prize-winning band Ezra Collective have been announced as a last-minute addition to the performance at this year’s Brit Awards ceremony. Special guest Jorja Smith is set to join the group on the night.
This comes after American pop star Shaboozey withdrew from the bill, which is due to take place on March 1st, 2025, at London’s O2 Arena.
Shaboozey posted to Instagram to confirm his withdrawal, stating: “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.”
Ezra Collective have been nominated for a total of four awards at this year’s ceremony, receiving a nod for ‘Album of the Year’ for their 2024 album Dance, No One’s Watching, ‘Group of the Year’, ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘Best Alternative/Rock Act’. Smith has been nominated in one category – ‘Best R&B Act’ – having previously won awards at the ceremony in 2018 and 2019.
It has yet to be announced what song the two artists will perform on the night, but they have previously collaborated on Ezra Collective’s 2019 song, ‘Reason in Disguise’. They also both contributed to the Blue Note Re:imagined compilation in 2020, which saw contemporary artists deliver covers of music from the iconic jazz record label.
Among the other performers at the ceremony are Sam Fender, Lola Young, Sabrina Carpenter, The Last Dinner Party, Teddy Swims, Jade and Myles Smith. Comedian Jack Whitehall will take on hosting duties for a fifth time.
Charli XCX leads the charge this year with five nominations in ‘Song of the Year’ for ‘Guess (feat. Billie Eilish)’, ‘Album of the Year’ for Brat, ‘Best Pop Act’, ‘Best Dance Act’ and ‘Artist of the Year’. Just behind her on four nominations apiece are Ezra Collective, The Last Dinner Party and Dua Lipa.
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