We have invited star guests to the party. Remember to mind your manners as you pose for photos. Someone who looks a lot like The Queen… or is that William… or Kate? National treasure Vivienne Westwood accepted the first invitation to transform Britannia in her own signature style. The new Vivienne Westwood Britannia has shed her trident and shield in favour of a Union Jack draped toga dress, revealing her feminine curves.
She is sexy, confident and powerful. Dressed in Vivienne Westwood, she now leads the fight against Climate Change. She continues to be unique, innovative and not to mention massively inspired by music and vice versa. So I immediately felt sick. Alongside his mucker Mat Horne and a certain Ms Kylie Minogue he added spice to proceedings as he took charge in Take That always put on an amazing show, and Adele is already one of my favourite British female singers ever.
I feel privileged to be part of the same show. I hope people will be happy with that — we will see on February the 15th. Were you there, when it happened the rebirth of a nation? First, a flag-wearing trophy, designed by fashion heroine Vivienne Westwood, was unveiled.
Britannia made over? Next, there was news of a change of location. And with that change in musical landscape comes something to celebrate. In contrast to the red carpet pizzazz, the flashbulbs, the glitz, gloss, and the glitter, the inside of the venue was understated: just right.
Lady Gaga, complete with lace face, swept the board, winning three trophies. Pop fans were delighted. But for now; back to the BRIT launch - to live in the moment.
The first act of the evening took a bound forward. They were in so much dry ice they climbed some handy, stage scaffolding steps to escape it, finishing their breathless number in a perfect photo finish A-shape.
Lads, way to go! If the single Do It Like A Dude is a stylised dance track, all strong beats and attitude, this live version was a voice box workout with front; a calling card for America and the world. And then Ellie Goulding and Tinie Tempah, who have both made a huge impact on music this year, sat down to chat.
And to bring the curtain down on our launch celebrations, Tinie Tempah took to the stage, with Ellie Goulding joining in. The air was vibrating as they started upon the first-ever TV performance of Wonderman, their collaboration. The BRITs kids screamed in appreciation. And while his words describe his own incredible rise, they also speak for the fans - and they speak for the future of music.
Enjoy tonight. And enjoy the hope and glory of an all-new BRITs celebration. Nominees, do you have your acceptance speech ready? The man who - statistically speaking - may have most need for a pre-prepared speech is Tinie Tempah. However, a host of other acts will have something to say about that! A trio of artists are in the running for three awards each.
While Robert Plant and Paul Weller make their mark for the older gent, the newcomers in both Breakthrough categories also make a strong showing elsewhere. Of course, our artists have their ear to the ground, often hearing new acts while they are still in the studios. Awards for the British and International Breakthrough acts, as well as British Single, have been put to public vote via our media partners.
Which acts hold the best hope for the future of music? Only you can decide…. Identified by a panel made up of media music critics. The support of my British fans means the world to me! Mixing the moods of Motown, Stax and Northern Soul with East End rap and grime is an odd prospect, but it works oh so well; Sir Elton John has proclaimed it his album of the year.
Plan B is the alter ego of 26 year-old rapper Ben Drew. Here, a sweet falsetto, James Brown groove, and blue-eyed soul voice are offset by spoken word interjections — but the melodies are sublime. That all of these voices are inside one man is unsettling, but wow! What an exciting prospect for all that is still to come.
Ben Drew plans to direct his first feature film Ill Manor in with a soundtrack album to follow. We are going to bring the Strickland Banks saga to life and hint at what you can expect on our upcoming arena dates in March. To get nominated means that we as a band, in the eyes of the powers that be, have had a good year! Excitement about the reunion caused huge excitement among pop fans — and in the band itself.
I was dying to get in every morning. It was a lot of fun. We are really proud of the record. Electronic, hook heavy, and with a definite groove, tracks include the stomping single The Flood and Kidz, which is out in a fortnight.
Between them, Take That and Robbie have sold in excess of 80 million albums. Over one million tickets were released for The Progress Live Tour in In 90 minutes, they were sold out. Welcome back guys. From watching my idols pick up these awards to being nominated for four AND performing!? Boasting no less than five UK hit singles, and selling almost half a million copies to date, the October-released Disc-Overy charts new ground for British hip hop.
The first single off the album, Pass Out, made UK. A second No. Kelly Rowland, followed. The track Miami 2 Ibiza was released from the album of its producer, Swedish House Mafia, while a fifth stand-alone song, Wonderman featuring Ellie Goulding, is on the way. Disc-Overy is an album of collaborations, with a plethora of guest stars getting involved, and the bulk of production duties split between Labrinth and Ishi. Just having a nice time, dropping the pretence and having fun.
First released in October , its reputation has grown, though word-of-mouth, from friend to friend, and from town to town, until all are caught up in its magical feel and community spirit. Producer Markus Dravs was charged with transposing the joy and sadness of their live music sound onto record. The album includes four singles. Winter Winds is the pause in the seasons, before everything old becomes new again. At their core, Mumford and Sons create rousing songs with a sing-a-long slant.
But Sigh No More also chimes true for those who yearn for simpler days. The eponymous debut from the understated South London three-piece was made in a garage at XL Studios. Released in August , it received no pre-release hype.
The XX like to be mysterious. For the most part, they let the music speak for itself. Each track here is an intense pill of subtle disaffection. On Intro, guitars are spiky, vocals hushed.
Singles include Basic Space and Crystallised. The XX sound is morose, but underneath the surface there are hints of deep breathing and daring. This is not music with wild abandon. But the economical delivery from The XX focuses attention, and makes each tight-lipped lyric seem more profound.
It pretty much is a coming of age record. Just because we loved music. From home-grown festivals such as Wickerman and Rock Ness to global music events like the MOBO Awards and MTV Crashes… Glasgow, EventScotland has provided funding for an array of music events across the country and our ambition to develop, attract and host world-class music remains as strong as ever.
For more information about what we do, visit www. He and his grime-influenced, go-getting pals have set a new urban agenda for chart music today. Roles in Adulthood , Harry Brown and 4. Plan B also tours in Spring Plan B Warner Music. He also collected the Outstanding Contribution to Music award in Who would bet against that? Since leaving his Led Zeppelin days far behind him, and saying goodbye to the collaborations of Page and Plant, new fans have flocked to the country-tinged simplicity of his solo work.
Plant released Raising Sand, a collaboration with Alison Krauss, to rave reviews. He then formed Band of Joy to release a September album of the same name. Our fifth nominee and British Male Winner loves what happens when sound cultures clash. All of the acts nominated in the British Breakthrough category have seen their dreams come true in recent months.
For Tinie Tempah and Ellie Goulding it was a swift, almost overnight thing. Ellie Goulding Universal Music. This time around, the No. And maybe for the first time ever, all British Breakthrough hopefuls are recognised in multiple categories. Her stripped-back sound works well in an intimate setting — or in the enraptured rows of concert halls.
Paloma Faith Sony Music. Tracks by The XX also demand undivided attention. Join in with your voice and your heart. Last but by no means least is the English folk singer Laura Marling. Marlin released a collection Alas I Cannot Swim, at the age of just seventeen. She followed it up with I Speak Because I Can in March , which has received much acclaim for its songwriting style.
Radio 1 listeners have chosen the overall winner. Rumer Warner Music. But acclaim can be cherished all the more for that. The British Breakthough Act category boasts one of its strongest fields ever for — a sure sign of the creative verve at the roots of British music. Rumer counts Jools Holland and Burt Bacharach amongst her celebrity fans.
Since the TV talent show Popstars: The Rivals launched Girls Aloud, Cheryl and her band mates have celebrated five platinum-certified studio albums, a consecutive run of twenty top ten singles — but only one hard-fought-for BRIT Award — for the single The Promise in Who gets your vote in the British Group category? Sales of singles rose to record levels in so each artist here has achieved just that little bit more to make it into the British Single shortlist this year.
Last year four out of five groups up for this award were rock bands. In more diverse choices make sure folk, hip hop and pop are all on the list.
Everyone loves a happy ending and Take That have, of course, enjoyed a spectacular After proving their significant worth as a four-piece, it was time to build on the success of Beautiful World and The Circus The return of prodigal son and BRITs favourite Robbie Williams for Progress ensured a fever pitch of excitement, a new dynamic and a clutch of tracks like The Flood displaying a fresh, stompier sound for the group.
The Gary Barlow ballads are on the back burner. But will they stay back there for good? Still holding strong are cartoon heroes Gorillaz — would you expect anything less of a band of the future?
It has so far produced six singles — including the hit Mountains. The two bands released debut albums as far back as , but they have gained word-of-mouth recommendation and critical acclaim in an oldfashioned, slow burn sort of way.
The XX are a three-piece team of former school friends from South London. While Matt Cardle celebrated the biggest-selling song of , it fell to Tinie Tempah, who officially released four tracks during the year, to sell the most singles overall.
Fans bought more than one and a half million individual Tinie Tempah tracks in our twelve month window; he hit another landmark when his debut hit, the No. The top ten British singles, based on figures collated from commercial radio airplay and sales in the calendar year, are automatically nominated in this category. Capital FM listeners and iTunes users vote for their favourite single of the year.
All of a swagger is former titleholder Kanye West, whose legendary self-assuredness is backed by his track record here. Already under his belt are wins in , and ; can the November release of his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, up his parade of beautiful BRITs trophy girls to four? An early run of form brought wins in , and Two unmistakeable voices complete the International Male line-up. The debut album Robyn is Here launched the sixteen-year-old one-time actress into the pop chart, but it was her fourth album Robyn , and the release of the hard, hypnotic With Every Heartbeat that proclaimed her world-class.
Our other three nominees all hail from lands across the pond. Let the women of the world unite! The shortlist in the International Female category brings together a group of artists who have set the music world alight.
Previously nominated in this category in and , Rihanna seems unstoppable. Back then, she was celebrating her first UK, No. Finally, Katy Perry may have been making headlines for her October marriage to Russell Brand, but her music spoke for itself.
Perry won the International Female title in in recognition of her breakthrough single I Kissed a Girl and debut album One of The Boys , so her second collection Teenage Dream, out last July, had a lot to live up to. California Gurls, a tongue-in-cheek, summer time single featuring Snoop Dogg and a cream-pie laden video, provided the perfect taster.
Eminem is the only one of our five to have an International Album award already at home. It was given in for The Eminem Show, and his collection Recovery is hailed as an impressive return to form.
The UK No. Yes, the genres collide in this category, but the artists have common ground too. Each is well established in his or her field; and all have won or been nominated for BRITs trophies before. Perhaps there is no such thing as a difficult second or third, fifth or seventh… album. More likely the nominees here have a talent that sails though work with ease. The BRITs celebrates five of the most perfectly formed collections of late. But Arcade Fire and Kings of Leon may feel their time has come.
Again, both showcase strong collections. Moody textures and immense riffs pepper throughout. In a repeat of , the two hope for success here as well as in the list for International Album. This could be their year. Kings of Leon ended two years of touring with a spring in their step and their star shining bright — Sex on Fire ruled student discos and worldwide radio waves, Use Somebody was huge and Only By The Night, the album that spawned them, was certified platinum in twelve different places.
The Followills made the most of their creative buzz, dreaming up the UK No. Black Eyed Peas Universal Music. Cee Lo Green was nominated as part of Gnarls Barkley in , but this nod comes for his solo collection. Katy Perry, nominated on the strength of her second collection Teenage Dream, is the only woman named as an International Album nominee. A silly sense of fun and the sound of the summer add atmosphere to an expertly crafted pop record.
Also a little off-the-wall — or should that be hanging from the ceiling, are New Yorkers Vampire Weekend, who spread their wings by adding hints of punk rock, orchestral classics, and African beats to their sound. Formed in at Columbia University, Vampire Weekend honed a ten-song collection, which formed the bones of their first self-titled record.
The follow-up, Contra, reached UK No. The September release Science and Faith sees The Script move up to the next level; in their sold-out shows will be in arenas rather than theatres; apart from a headlining stadium gig in their home town. Of course, the odd ones out on this list are Black Eyed Peas. The band declare the November release of The Beginning, their sixth studio album, heralds a new chapter in their ground-breaking career.
His stats make your eyes water; one billion YouTube views, four million albums shifted in under a year, a two-part album, My World, and a Prince of Pop mentor in Usher. All this and not yet seventeen years old. Many fans with Bieber fever also caught the bug for Glee-style show tunes. After winning the award for best group, Mark Owen tear-jearkingly turned to Williams. Williams response was fittingly a throw back to the 90s, as he shouted "shabba!
Gary Barlow, the main songwriter of the band, recently turned 40, joining Jason Orange who is the same age, and Howard Donald, 42, in the realm of fortysomethings. Williams and Owen are not far behind at 37 and Take That's award — the first time they have been crowned best British band despite three previous nominations — comes eight months after Williams announced he was rejoining the band.
Plan B, real name Ben Drew, whose concept album The Defamation Of Strickland Banks went to No 1 in the UK, was named best British male solo artist for his blend of rap-punctuated soul, while Jessie J, who has exploded on to the pop scene in , going to No 1 with Price Tag this month, took home the prize for best newcomer.
Canadian indie rockers Arcade Fire continued their good run, winning best international group and best international album, after taking home a Grammy on Sunday for album of the year for The Suburbs.
Accepting the awards the band paid tribute to the British bands that had changed their lives. Thank you Britain, thank you so much. American rapper Cee Lo Green, singer of the hugely popular, if not charmingly titled, Fuck You or Forget You, depending on your radio station , took home the award for best international male solo artist while Rihanna won best international female solo artist. The Brits may have been all about the music, but proof that the awards still enjoy a little unadulterated bubble-gum pop came in the perfectly coiffed form of the teen idol Justin Bieber, who took home the award for best international breakthrough act.
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