Mercury Prize 2020

Another ceremony that we neglected on this blog last year was the Mercury Prize. The one award where being nominated is nearly as exciting as winning the award itself, it’s always worth a brief pause to look at who’s done well. Here were the nominees for last year’s prize:

• Anna Meredith – FIBS
• Charli XCX – How I’m Feeling Now
• Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
• Georgia – Seeking Thrills
• Kano – Hoodies All Summer
• Lanterns on the Lake – Spook the Herd
• Laura Marling – Song for Our Daughter
• Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka
• Moses Boyd – Dark Matter
• Porridge Radio – Every Bad
• Sports Team – Deep Down Happy
• Stormzy – Heavy is the Head

Thanks to one of the many lockdowns, there was no award ceremony, but the winner was announced on 24 September, and turned out to be Michael Kiwanuka. Well deserved.

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NME Awards 2020

For reasons that I don’t entirely remember, NME decided to take the year off from their awards ceremony in 2019, so returned on 12 February 2020, just weeks before the lockdown started in the UK. Due to other commitments, we didn’t manage to cover it here at the time, so here we are, a year late! The ceremony was held at the O2 Academy Brixton, a year ago last week.

Godlike Genius

Winner: Emily Eavis

Best British Album

Nominees:

• FKA twigs – Magdalene
• Foals – Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, Pt. 1
• Little Simz – GREY Area
• Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka
• Slowthai – Nothing Great About Britain

Winner: Little Simz

Best Album in the World

Nominees:

• Billie Eilish – When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
• FKA twigs Magdalene
• Foals – Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, Pt. 1
• Lana del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell
• Little Simz – GREY Area
• Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka
• Slipknot – We Are Not Your Kind
• Slowthai – Nothing Great About Britain
• Stella Donnelly – Beware of the Dogs
• Tyler, the Creator – IGOR

Winner: Lana del Rey

Best British Song

Nominees:

• AJ Tracey – Ladbroke Grove
• Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
• Georgia – About Work the Dancefloor
• Mura Masa feat. Slowthai – Deal Wiv It
• The 1975 – People

Winner: AJ Tracey

Best Song in the World

Nominees:

• AJ Tracey – Ladbroke Grove
• Billie Eilish – Bad Guy
• Clairo – Bags
• Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
• Georgia – About Work the Dancefloor
• Lil Nas X – Old Town Road (Remix)
• Lizzo – Juice
• Mura Masa feat. Slowthai – Deal Wiv It
• Post Malone – Circles
• The 1975 – People

Winner: Billie Eilish

Best British Solo Act

Nominees:

• AJ Tracey
• Charli XCX
• FKA twigs
• Slowthai
• Yungblud

Winner: FKA twigs

Best Solo Act in the World

Nominees:

• AJ Tracey
• Beck
• Billie Eilish
• Charli XCX
• FKA twigs
• Lana del Rey
• Lizzo
• Slowthai
• Taylor Swift
• Yungblud

Winner: Taylor Swift

Best British Band: Supported by Pizza Express

Nominees:

• Bring Me The Horizon
• IDLES
• Krept & Konan
• The 1975
• The Big Moon

Winner: The 1975

Best Band in the World

Nominees:

• Bring Me the Horizon
• Brockhampton
• BTS
• HAIM
• IDLES
• Krept & Konan
• Slipknot
• Tame Impala
• The 1975
• The Big Moon

Winner: Slipknot

Best New British Act: Supported by Nordoff Robbins

Nominees:

• Celeste
• D-Block Europe
• Easy Life
• Jade Bird
• Sam Fender

Winner: Easy Life

Best New Act in the World

Nominees:

• Celeste
• Clairo
• D-Block Europe
• DaBaby
• Dominic Fike
• Easy Life
• Fontaines DC
• Girl In Red
• Jade Bird
• Sam Fender

Winner: Clairo

Best Live Act: Supported by Copper Dog Whiskey

Nominees:

• Amyl + The Sniffers
• Foals
• Iggy Pop
• Lizzo
• Slowthai

Winner: Foals

Best Collaboration

Nominees:

• BTS + Halsey
• Charli XCX + Christine and the Queens
• Megan Thee Stallion + DaBaby
• Slowthai + Mura Masa
• Yungblud + Dan Reynolds

Winner: Slowthai + Mura Masa

Best Music Video

Nominees:

• Brockhampton – I Been Born Again
• Easy Life – Nice Guys
• Normani – Motivation
• Stormzy – Vossi Bop
• Yungblud – Original Me

Winner: Yungblud

Best British Festival

Nominees:

• All Points East
• Glastonbury
• Parklife
• Reading & Leeds
• Wireless

Winner: Glastonbury

Best Small Festival: Supported by Cano Water

Nominees:

• Bluedot
• End of the Road
• Iceland Airwaves
• Kendal Calling
• Øya

Winner: End of the Road

Best Festival in the World

Nominees:

• All Points East
• Coachella
• Fuji Rock
• Glastonbury
• Mad Cool
• Parklife
• Reading & Leeds
• Rock In Rio
• Sziget
• Wireless

Winner: Glastonbury

Best Festival Headliner

Nominees:

• Cardi B
• Lana Del Rey
• Stormzy
• The 1975
• The Cure

Winner: The Cure

Best Film

Nominees:

• Blue Story
• Hustlers
• Joker
• Midsommar
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Winner: Blue Story

Best Film Actor

Nominees:

• Florence Pugh
• Joaquin Phoenix
• Lupita Nyong’o
• Micheal Ward
• Taron Egerton

Winner: Taron Egerton

Best TV Show: Supported by 19 Crimes

Nominees:

• The End of the Fucking World
• Fleabag
• Peaky Blinders
• Stranger Things
• Top Boy

Winner: Peaky Blinders

Best TV Actor

Nominees:

• Asa Butterfield
• Jessica Barden
• Jodie Comer
• Kano
• Zendaya

Winner: Jessica Barden

Best Music Film

Nominees:

• Beyoncé – Homecoming
• BTS – Bring the Soul
• Liam Gallagher – As It Was
• Michael Hutchence – Mystify
• Rocketman

Winner: Liam Gallagher

Best Book

Billed as ‘Best Book’ by NME themselves, the name was corrected by some online to ‘Best Music Book’. Nominees:

• Brett Anderson – Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn
• Debbie Harry – Face It: A Memoir
• Elton John – Me
• Prince – The Beautiful Ones
• Tegan & Sara – High School

Winner: Debbie Harry

Best Reissue

Nominees:

• Aretha Franklin – Amazing Grace
• Muse – Origin of Muse
• Prince – 1999
• R.E.M. – Monster 25
• The Beatles – Abbey Road

Winner: Muse

Best Podcast: Supported by Dax

Nominees:

• Have You Heard George’s Podcast?
• My Dad Wrote A Porno
• Sex Power Money
• Stay Free: The Story of The Clash
• The Missing Cryptoqueen

Winner: Have You Heard George’s Podcast?

Best Game

Nominees:

• Death Stranding
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• The Outer Worlds

Winner: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Songwriter of the Decade

Winner: Robyn

Band of the Decade

Winner: The 1975

Under the Radar Award

Winner: Beabadoobee

NME Icon

Winner: Courtney Love

BRIT Awards 2020

The 2020 BRIT Awards were hosted by Jack Whitehall, sadly without his dad in tow, and took place at the O2 Arena in London on Tuesday night (February 18th). Here are the winners of those new-fangled award categories.

British Album of the Year

Presented by Billie Eilish and Finneas. The nominees:

• Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
• Dave – Psychodrama
• Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka
• Harry Styles – Fine Line
• Stormzy – Heavy is the Head

Winner: Dave

Song of the Year

The award formerly known as Best British Single was presented by the rubbery Tom Jones. Nominated were:

• Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
• Dave feat. Burna Boy – Location
• Calvin Harris and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man – Giant
• Mabel – Don’t Call Me Up
• Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like a Heart
• Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber – I Don’t Care
• Sam Smith and Normani – Dancing with a Stranger
• Stormzy – Vossi Bop
• AJ Tracey – Ladbroke Grove
• Tom Walker – Just You and I

Winner: Lewis Capaldi

British Male Solo Artist

Presented by the also-rubbery Ronnie Wood. The nominees:

• Lewis Capaldi
• Dave
• Michael Kiwanuka
• Stormzy
• Harry Styles

Winner: Stormzy

British Female Solo Artist

Presented by Ellie Goulding and Jorja Smith. The nominees were:

• Charli XCX
• FKA Twigs
• Mabel
• Mahalia
• Freya Ridings

Winner: Mabel

British Group

Presented by an unnecessary large group consisting of Anne-Marie, Courtney Love, and Hailee Steinfeld. Nominees:

• Bastille
• Bring Me the Horizon
• Coldplay
• D-Block Europe
• Foals

Winner: Foals

Best New Artist

The now-elderly Best British Newcomer and subsequently Best British Breakthrough Act award was presented by Clara Amfo and Niall Horan. Nominees:

• Aitch
• Lewis Capaldi
• Dave
• Sam Fender
• Mabel

Winner: Lewis Capaldi

International Male Solo Artist

Improbably presented by Kiefer Sutherland and Paloma Faith, with the following nominees:

• Burna Boy
• Dermot Kennedy
• Post Malone
• Bruce Springsteen
• Tyler, the Creator

Winner: Tyler, the Creator

International Female Solo Artist

Presented by Melanie C. Nominated were:

• Camila Cabello
• Lana Del Rey
• Billie Eilish
• Ariana Grande
• Lizzo

Winner: Billie Eilish

Rising Star Award

This one used to be the Critics’ Choice Award. Nominated were:

• Beabadoobee
• Celeste
• Joy Crookes

Winner: Celeste

British Producer of the Year

Winner: Fred Again

So that’s it for another year!

BRIT Awards 2020 – Nominations

Well, someone has been meddling with the categories this year, but the BRIT Awards nominations are finally among us!

British Album of the Year

• Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
• Dave – Psychodrama
• Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka
• Harry Styles – Fine Line
• Stormzy – Heavy is the Head

Song of the Year

That’s the award formerly known as Best British Single.

• Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
• Dave feat. Burna Boy – Location
• Calvin Harris and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man – Giant
• Mabel – Don’t Call Me Up
• Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like a Heart
• Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber – I Don’t Care
• Sam Smith and Normani – Dancing with a Stranger
• Stormzy – Vossi Bop
• AJ Tracey – Ladbroke Grove
• Tom Walker – Just You and I

British Male Solo Artist

• Lewis Capaldi
• Dave
• Michael Kiwanuka
• Stormzy
• Harry Styles

British Female Solo Artist

• Charli XCX
• FKA Twigs
• Mabel
• Mahalia
• Freya Ridings

British Group

• Bastille
• Bring Me the Horizon
• Coldplay
• D-Block Europe
• Foals

Best New Artist

This one used to be called Best British Newcomer, and then became Best British Breakthrough Act.

• Aitch
• Lewis Capaldi
• Dave
• Sam Fender
• Mabel

International Male Solo Artist

• Burna Boy
• Dermot Kennedy
• Post Malone
• Bruce Springsteen
• Tyler, the Creator

International Female Solo Artist

• Camila Cabello
• Lana Del Rey
• Billie Eilish
• Ariana Grande
• Lizzo

Rising Star Award

This one used to be the Critics’ Choice Award. The new name makes sense, to some degree. The fact that they tell us who’s going to win ahead of time does not.

• Beabadoobee
• Celeste
• Joy Crookes

Winner: Celeste, which I’m sure will upset Daphne. Ooh, stick you.

NME Award Winners 1994-2018 (Part One)

The final step we need to take with the NME Awards is to summarise all the winners in one single, easy-to-digest place. So, continuing with the part one of two-part NME Poll Winners 1952-1992, let’s do that!

Best and Worst Single, Video and Album Categories

Here are all the winners for specific singles, videos, albums, films, and books!

Best Single / Track

• 1994 – Radiohead – Creep
• 1995 – Oasis – Live Forever (Best Single), Blur – Girls and Boys (NME Single of the Year)
• 1996 – Oasis – Wonderwall (Best Single), Black Grape – Reverend Black Grape (NME Single of the Year)
• 1997 – Manic Street Preachers – A Design for Life (Best Single), Underworld – Born Slippy (NME Single of the Year)
• 1998 – The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony
• 1999 – Manic Street Preachers – If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
• 2000 – Blur – Tender (Best Single), Aphex Twin – Windowlicker (NME Single of the Year)
• 2001 – Coldplay – Yellow
• 2002 – Ash – Burn Baby Burn
• 2003 – The Vines – Get Free (Best Single), Doves – There Goes the Fear (NME Single of the Year)
• 2004 – The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
• 2005 – Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
• 2006 – Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
• 2007 – The View – Wasted Little DJs
• 2008 – Arctic Monkeys – Fluorescent Adolescent
• 2009 – MGMT – Time to Pretend
• 2010 – The Big Pink – Dominos
• 2011 – Foals – Spanish Sahara
• 2012 – Florence + the Machine – Shake it Out
• 2013 – Foals – Inhaler
• 2014 – Disclosure – White Noise
• 2015 – Jamie T – Zombie
• 2016 – Wolf Alice – Giant Peach
• 2017 – Christine and the Queens – Tilted
• 2018 – Charli XCX – Boys

Best Single Ever

• 2000 – Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit

Best Dance Single / Dancefloor filler / Anthem

• 1998 – The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up
• 1999 – Fatboy Slim – The Rockafeller Skank
• 2008 – The Wombats – Let’s Dance to Joy Division
• 2009 – Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris – Dance Wiv Me
• 2010 – La Roux – In for the Kill (Skream Remix)
• 2011 – Professor Green – Jungle
• 2012 – Katy B – Broken Record
• 2013 – Calvin Harris feat. Florence Welch – Sweet Nothing
• 2015 – Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX – Fancy

Worst Single

• 1994 – Meat Loaf – I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)
• 1995 – Whigfield – Saturday Night
• 1996 – Robson Green and Jerome Flynn – I Believe
• 1997 – Spice Girls – Wannabe
• 1998 – Aqua – Barbie Girl
• 1999 – Billie Piper – Because We Want To
• 2000 – The Vengaboys – We’re Going to Ibiza
• 2003 – Robbie Williams – Feel
• 2004 – Fast Food Rockers – Fast Food Song

Best Music Video

• 1995 – Blur – Parklife
• 1996 – Pulp – Common People
• 1997 – The Prodigy – Firestarter
• 1998 – The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony
• 1999 – Manic Street Preachers – If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
• 2000 – Blur – Coffee and TV
• 2002 – Radiohead – Pyramid Song
• 2003 – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll (Punk Song)
• 2004 – Radiohead – There There
• 2005 – Green Day – American Idiot
• 2006 – Oasis – The Importance of Being Idle
• 2007 – The Killers – Bones
• 2008 – Arctic Monkeys – Teddy Picker
• 2009 – The Last Shadow Puppets – My Mistakes Were Made for You
• 2010 – Biffy Clyro – The Captain
• 2011 – My Chemical Romance – Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
• 2012 – Hurts – Sunday
• 2013 – Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine?
• 2014 – Eagulls – Nerve Endings
• 2015 – Jamie T – Zombie
• 2016 – Slaves – Cheer Up London
• 2017 – Slaves – Consume or Be Consumed
• 2018 – The Big Moon – Sucker

Best Album / LP

• 1994 – The Boo Radleys – Giant Steps
• 1995 – Blur – Parklife (Best Album), Oasis – Definitely Maybe (NME Album of the Year)
• 1996 – Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (Best Album), Tricky – Maxinquaye (NME Album of the Year)
• 1997 – Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go (Best Album), Beck – Odelay (NME Album of the Year)
• 1998 – Radiohead – OK Computer
• 1999 – Manic Street Preachers – This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours
• 2000 – The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin (Best Album and NME Album of the Year)
• 2001 – Primal Scream – XTRMNTR
• 2002 – The Strokes – This is It
• 2003 – Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head (Best Album and NME Album of the Year)
• 2004 – Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
• 2005 – Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
• 2006 – Kaiser Chiefs – Employment
• 2007 – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
• 2008 – Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future
• 2009 – Kings of Leon – Only by the Night
• 2010 – Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
• 2011 – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
• 2012 – The Horrors – Skying
• 2013 – The Maccabees – Given to the Wild
• 2014 – Arctic Monkeys – AM
• 2015 – Kasabian – 48:13
• 2016 – Foals – What Went Down
• 2017 – Bastille – Wild World
• 2018 – J Hus – Common Sense

Best Album Ever

• 2000 – The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses

Worst Album

• 2003 – Robbie Williams – Escapology
• 2005 – Insane Clown Posse – Carnival of Carnage
• 2006 – James Blunt – Back to Bedlam
• 2007 – Robbie Williams – Rudebox
• 2008 – Britney Spears – Blackout
• 2009 – Jonas Brothers – A Little Bit Longer
• 2010 – Jonas Brothers – Lines, Vines, and Trying Times
• 2011 – Justin Bieber – My World
• 2012 – Justin Bieber – Under the Mistletoe

Best Album Artwork

• 2004 – Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
• 2008 – The Good, The Bad & The Queen – The Good, The Bad & The Queen
• 2009 – Muse – HAARP
• 2010 – Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
• 2011 – Klaxons – Surfing the Void
• 2012 – Friendly Fires – Pala

Best Reissue

• 2012 – The Smiths – The Complete Re-issues
• 2013 – Blur – 21
• 2014 – The Clash – Sound System
• 2015 – Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible
• 2016 – David Bowie – Five Years (1969-1973)
• 2017 – Oasis – Be Here Now
• 2018 – Radiohead – OK NOT OK

Best DVD / Best Music DVD / Best Music Film

• 2005 – Oasis – Definitely Maybe
• 2006 – Various Artists – Live 8
• 2007 – Arctic Monkeys – Scrummy Man
• 2008 – Nirvana – MTV Unplugged in New York
• 2009 – Arctic Monkeys – Live at the Apollo
• 2010 – The Mighty Boosh Live – Future Sailors Tour
• 2012 – Foo Fighters – Back and Forth
• 2013 – The Rolling Stones – Crossfire Hurricane
• 2014 – The Stone Roses – Made of Stone
• 2015 – Pulp – A Film About Life, Death and Supermarkets
• 2016 – Blur – New World Towers
• 2017 – Oasis – Supersonic
• 2018 – Lady Gaga – Five Foot Two

Best Mixtape

• 2018 – Avelino – No Bullshit

Best Book

• 2011 – John Lydon – Mr. Rotten’s Scrapbook
• 2012 – Noel Fielding – The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton
• 2013 – Mike Skinner – The Story of the Streets
• 2014 – Morrissey – Autobiography
• 2015 – Viv Albertine – Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys
• 2016 – Patti Smith – M Train
• 2017 – Johnny Marr – Set the Boy Free
• 2018 – Wiley – Eskiboy

Media Categories

The group of media awards, for radio, TV, films, and venues.

Best Radio Show

• 1994 – John Peel (BBC Radio 1)
• 1996-1997 – The Evening Session (BBC Radio 1)
• 1998-1999 – Mark and Lard (BBC Radio 1)
• 2000-2002 – The Evening Session (BBC Radio 1)
• 2003 – The Evening Session / Lamacq Live (BBC Radio 1)
• 2005-2008 – Zane Lowe (BBC Radio 1)

Best TV Show

• 1995 – Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge
• 1996-1998 – Shooting Stars
• 1999 – South Park
• 2000 – The Royle Family
• 2001 – The League of Gentlemen
• 2002 – The Office
• 2003 – The Osbournes
• 2004 – The Office
• 2005 – Little Britain
• 2006 – Gonzo
• 2007-2009 – The Mighty Boosh
• 2010 – The Inbetweeners
• 2011 – Skins
• 2012-2013 – Fresh Meat
• 2014 – Breaking Bad
• 2015 – Game of Thrones
• 2016 – This is England ’90
• 2017 – Fleabag
• 2018 – Stranger Things

Worst TV Show

• 2009 – Big Brother

Best Film

• 1994 – Reservoir Dogs
• 1995 – Pulp Fiction
• 1996 – The Usual Suspects
• 1997 – Trainspotting
• 1998 – The Full Monty
• 1999 – Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
• 2000 – The Blair Witch Project
• 2001 – Gladiator
• 2002 – Moulin Rouge
• 2004 – The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King
• 2005 – Shaun of the Dead
• 2006 – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• 2007 – Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest
• 2008 – Control
• 2010 – Inglourious Basterds
• 2011 – Inception
• 2012 – Submarine
• 2013 – The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey
• 2015 – Northern Soul
• 2016 – Beasts of No Nation
• 2017 – My Scientology Movie
• 2018 – Baby Driver

Best Website

• 2000 – NME
• 2003 – NME
• 2004 – NME
• 2005 – NME
• 2006 – NME
• 2007 – YouTube
• 2008 – Facebook
• 2009 – YouTube
• 2010 – Muse

Best Band Blog / Twitter / Social Media

• 2008 – The Modern Age (Best Music Blog), Radiohead (Best Band Blog)
• 2009 – Noel Gallagher / Oasis
• 2010 – Radiohead
• 2011 – Hayley Williams
• 2012 – Lady Gaga
• 2013 – Alana Haim
• 2014 – Alana Haim
• 2015 – Liam Gallagher

People Categories

Continuing the odd and eclectic categories from 1954-1992, the NME Awards still give slightly odd awards out to individuals.

Genius/HERO of the Year

• 2000 – Ali G
• 2001 – Liam Gallagher
• 2003 – Ozzy Osbourne
• 2004 – Pete Doherty
• 2005 – John Peel
• 2006 – Bob Geldof
• 2007 – Gerard Way
• 2008 – Pete Doherty
• 2009 – Barack Obama
• 2010 – Rage Against the Machine
• 2011 – Lady Gaga
• 2012 – Matt Bellamy
• 2013 – Barack Obama
• 2014-2015 – Alex Turner
• 2016 – Dave Grohl
• 2017 – Beyoncé
• 2018 – Ariana Grande

Bastard/Git/Arse/Dickhead/Waster/Villain of the Year

• 1994 – John Major
• 1996 – Damon Albarn
• 1997-1999 – Liam Gallagher
• 2000, 2001, 2003 – Robbie Williams
• 2004 – George W. Bush, (Villain of the Year), Pete Doherty (Waster of the Year)
• 2005-2009 – George W. Bush
• 2010 – Kanye West
• 2011 – David Cameron
• 2012 – Justin Bieber
• 2013-2014 – Harry Styles
• 2015 – Nigel Farage
• 2016 – Donald Trump
• 2017 – Nigel Farage
• 2018 – Piers Morgan

Best Dressed / Most Stylish

• 1996 – Jarvis Cocker
• 2003 – The Hives
• 2005 – Brandon Flowers
• 2006 – Ricky Wilson
• 2007 – Faris Rotter
• 2008 – Noel Fielding
• 2009 – Alexa Chung
• 2010 – Lady Gaga
• 2011 – Brandon Flowers

Worst Dressed / Least Stylish

• 1996 – Jarvis Cocker
• 1997 – Liam Gallagher
• 2003 – Christina Aguilera
• 2005 – Jonathan Ross
• 2006 – Justin Hawkins
• 2007 – Jonathan Ross
• 2008-2009 – Amy Winehouse
• 2010 – Lady Gaga
• 2011 – Justin Bieber

Best Comedian

• 1995-1996 – Steve Coogan

Political and Real World Categories

Continuing some of the odder categories from the earlier NME Polls. For clarity, I’ve separated the “live” events from the other “musical” events, although I think the award category was sometimes the same.

Musical Moment / Event of the Year

• 1996 – Skinner, Baddiel and The Lightning Seeds – Three Lions
• 2012 – The Stone Roses reunite
• 2013 – Olympics opening ceremony
• 2014 – Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn come together for Teenage Cancer Trust
• 2015 – Jamie T’s comeback
• 2016 – The Libertines’ secret Glastonbury set
• 2017 – Coldplay’s Viola Beach tribute at Glastonbury
• 2018 – One Love Manchester

Greatest Musical Event Ever

• 2000 – Woodstock

Non-Musical Event of the Year

• 1994 – Unity March
• 1995 – Glastonbury Festival
• 1996 – French Nuclear Testing

Bummer / Disappointment

• 1995 – Kurt Cobain’s Suicide
• 1997 – The Stone Roses breaking up

Hype of the Year

• 1994 – Jurassic Park

Object of Desire / Most Desirable / Hottest / Sexiest Woman

• 1994 – Björk (Object of Desire)
• 1995 – Kylie Minogue (Object of Desire)
• 1997 – Louise (Most Desirable Human Being)
• 1998 – Louise (Most Desirable Human Being)
• 1999 – Natalie Imbruglia (Most Desirable Human Being)
• 2003 – Avril Lavigne
• 2004 – Brody Dalle
• 2005 – Barbara Knox
• 2006 – Madonna
• 2007 – Kate Moss
• 2008 – Kylie Minogue
• 2009 – Hayley Williams
• 2010 – Karen O
• 2011 – Alison Mosshart
• 2012 – Hayley Williams
• 2013 – Amy Lee

Most Desirable / Hottest / Sexiest Man

• 1996 – Liam Gallagher (Most Desirable Human Being)
• 2003 – Chris Martin
• 2004 – Har Mar Superstar
• 2005 – Brandon Flowers
• 2006 – Pete Doherty
• 2007 – Matt Bellamy
• 2008 – Noel Fielding
• 2009-2011 – Matt Bellamy
• 2012 – Jared Leto
• 2013 – Matt Bellamy

Best Haircut

• 2003 – Liam Gallagher
• 2004 – Caleb Followill

Worst Haircut

• 2003 – Jack Osbourne

Join us again next week, when we’ll finish this list off!

NME Awards – 2015-2017

Finally, by the current decade, NME seemed to have regained their taste. Several decades after being obsessed with guitars and the lower reaches of the charts, they finally even decided to associate themselves with acts such as Pet Shop Boys. Let’s complete our journey through the history of their awards, with the last few years.

NME Awards 2015

• Godlike Genius Award: Suede
• Best British Band: Kasabian. Also nominated: Alt-J, Arctic Monkeys, Chvrches, Royal Blood, The Libertines
• Best Album: Kasabian, for 48:13
• Also nominated: Jamie T, for Carry On The Grudge, La Roux, for Trouble In Paradise, Royal Blood, for Royal Blood, Run The Jewels, for Run The Jewels 2, St Vincent, for St Vincent
• Best International Band: Foo Fighters. Also nominated: Arcade Fire, Haim, Interpol, Queens Of The Stone Age, Tame Impala
• Best Live Band: Royal Blood. Also nominated: Arctic Monkeys, Fat White Family, Foo Fighters, Kasabian, The Libertines
• Best New Band: Royal Blood. Also nominated: Circa Waves, FKA Twigs, Jungle, Slaves, Superfood
• Best Solo Artist: Jake Bugg. Also nominated: Jack White, Jamie T, La Roux, Lana Del Rey, St Vincent
• Best Festival: Glastonbury. Also nominated: Bestival, Isle Of Wight Festival, Latitude, Reading & Leeds, T In The Park
• Best Track: Jamie T, for Zombie. Also nominated: Future Islands, for Seasons (Waiting On You), Jungle, for Busy Earnin, Kasabian, for Eez-Eh, Noel Gallagher, for In The Heat Of The Moment, Royal Blood, for Little Monster
• Best Video: Jamie T, for Zombie. Also nominated: Fat White Family, for Touch The Leather, FKA Twigs, for Two Weeks, Jungle, for Busy Earnin’, Peace, for Lost On Me, Royal Blood, for Figure It Out
• Best Music Film: Pulp, for A Film About Life, Death and Supermarkets. Also nominated: 20,000 Days On Earth, Finding Fela, Kasabian, for Summer Solstice, Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon, The Possibilities Are Endless
• Best Film: Northern Soul. Also nominated: Boyhood, Frank, Get On Up, God Help The Girl, The Inbetweeners 2
• Best TV Show: Game of Thrones. Also nominated: Girls, Foo Fighters, for Sonic Highways, Peaky Blinders, Sherlock, True Detective
• Best Dancefloor Filler: Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX, for Fancy. Also nominated: Jamie T, for Zombie, Kasabian, for Eez-Eh, Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars, for Uptown Funk, Metronomy, for Love Letters, SBTRKT feat. Ezra Koenig, for New Dorp. New York
• Worst Band: 5 Seconds of Summer. Also nominated: , Bastille, Blink 182, One Direction, The 1975, U2
• Villain of the Year: Nigel Farage. Also nominated: Bono, David Cameron, Harry Styles, Russell Brand, Taylor Swift
• Hero of the Year: Alex Turner. Also nominated: Dave Grohl, Kate Bush, Noel Gallagher, Russell Brand, Taylor Swift
• Music Moment of the Year: Jamie T‘s comeback. Also nominated: Alex Turner’s Brit Awards speech, Kasabian headline Glastonbury, Kate Bush returns, The Libertines reunite, Nirvana reunite at The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
• Best Fan Community: Muse. Also nominated: Jamie T, Kasabian, La Roux, Peace, Royal Blood
• Small Festival of the Year: Liverpool Psych Fest. Also nominated: End Of The Road, Festival No. 6, Field Day, The Great Escape, Tramlines
• Book of the Year: Viv Albertine, for Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys
• Also nominated: Bernard Sumner, for Chapter And Verse, Ian Curtis, Deborah Curtis and Jon Savage, for So This Is Permanence, Jesse Frohman, for Kurt Cobain: The Last Session, John Lydon, for Anger Is An Energy: My Life Uncensored, Steve Hanley, for The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall
• Reissue of the Year: Manic Street Preachers, for The Holy Bible. Also nominated: Led Zeppelin, for Led Zeppelin II, Oasis, for Definitely Maybe, Pixies, for Doolittle, Public Enemy, for It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Smashing Pumpkins, for Adore
• Best Band Social Media: Liam Gallagher‘s Twitter. Also nominated: Questlove’s Twitter, Alana Haim’s Twitter, Albert Hammond Jr’s Twitter, Fat White Family’s Facebook, Slaves’ Facebook

NME Awards 2016

• Godlike Genius Award: Coldplay
• Best British Band: The Maccabees. Also nominated: The Libertines, Foals, Wolf Alice, The 1975, Catfish and the Bottlemen
• Best International Band: Run the Jewels. Also nominated: Tame Impala, Foo Fighters, The Strokes, The Killers, Alabama Shakes
• Best New Artist: Rat Boy. Also nominated: Hinds, Halsey, Yak, Låpsley, Formation
• Best British Solo Artist: Charli XCX. Also nominated: Adele, Noel Gallagher, Ed Sheeran, Florence Welch, Skepta
• Best International Solo Artist: Taylor Swift. Also nominated: Kendrick Lamar, Lana Del Rey, Courtney Barnett, Kanye West, Grimes
• Best Live Band: Wolf Alice. Also nominated: The Maccabees, The Libertines, Foals, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Royal Blood
• Best Album: Foals, for What Went Down. Also nominated: Wolf Alice, for My Love Is Cool, The Maccabees, for Marks to Prove it, Kendrick Lamar, for To Pimp a Butterfly, Tame Impala, for Currents, Grimes, for Art Angels
• Best Track: Wolf Alice, for Giant Peach. Also nominated: Coldplay, for Adventure of a Lifetime, The Libertines, for Gunga Din, The Weeknd, for I Can’t Feel My Face, Skepta, for Shut Down, Foals, for What Went Down
• Best TV Show: This is England ’90. Also nominated: The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, American Horror Story, Peep Show, Gogglebox
• Best Film: Beasts of No Nation. Also nominated: Ex Machina, Spectre, Mad Max: Fury Road, Whiplash, Kill Your Friends
• Best Music Film: Blur, for New World Towers. Also nominated: Amy, Montage of Heck, Straight Outta Compton, What Happened, Miss Simone, The Reflektor Tapes
• Best Music Video: Slaves, for Cheer Up London. Also nominated: Rihanna, for Bitch Better Have My Money, The Libertines, for Heart Of The Matter, Wolf Alice, for You’re a Germ, Blur, for Ong Ong, Tame Impala, for The Less I Know The Better
• Best Actor: Idris Elba. Also nominated: Tom Hardy, Eddie Redmayne, Nicholas Hoult, Stephen Graham, Daniel Radcliffe
• Best Actress: Vicky McClure. Also nominated: Jennifer Lawrence, Emilia Clarke, Gemma Chan, Amy Schumer, Saoirse Ronan
• Best Reissue: David Bowie, for Five Years (1969–1973). Also nominated: A Tribe Called Quest, for People’s Instinctive Travels And the Paths Of Rhythm, The Velvet Underground, for Loaded, Rolling Stones, for Sticky Fingers, Tori Amos, for Under The Pink, Faith No More, for Angel Dust
• Best Book: Patti Smith, for M Train. Also nominated: Grace Jones, for I’ll Never Write My Memoirs, Elvis Costello, for Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, Carrie Brownstein, for Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl, Professor Green, for Lucky, Tom Jones, for Over The Top And Back
• Best Festival: Glastonbury. Also nominated: Reading & Leeds, V Festival, T in the Park, Bestival, Isle of Wight
• Best Small Festival: End of the Road. Also nominated: Sŵn, Festival No. 6, Green Man, Liverpool Sound City, Kendall Calling
• Music Moment of the Year: The Libertines‘ secret Glastonbury set. Also nominated: The return of Adele, Dave Grohl breaks leg and carries on, Florence + The Machine headlines Glastonbury, Kanye at The Brits, One Direction ‘split’
• Best Fan Community: The Libertines. Also nominated: Hurts, Muse, Catfish and the Bottleman, The 1975, Wolf Alice
• Worst Band: 5 Seconds of Summer. Also nominated: One Direction, Little Mix, Sleaford Mods, U2, Nickelback
• Villain of the Year: Donald Trump. Also nominated: David Cameron, Chris Moyles, Kanye West, George Osbourne, Simon Cowell
• Hero of the Year: Dave Grohl. Also nominated: Adele, Jeremy Corbyn, Florence Welch, Kanye West, Taylor Swift
• Vlogger of the Year: KSI. Also nominated: Vikkstar123, Charlie McDonnell, Joe Weller, Danisnotonfire, Savannah Brown

NME Awards 2017

• Godlike Genius Award: Pet Shop Boys
• Best British Band: Biffy Clyro. Also nominated: Wolf Alice, The 1975, Bastille, Years & Years, The Last Shadow Puppets
• Best International Band: Metallica. Also nominated: Tame Impala, Kings Of Leon, Green Day, A Tribe Called Quest, Tegan and Sara
• Best New Artist: Dua Lipa. Also nominated: Blossoms, Zara Larsson, Sunflower Bean, Christine and The Queens, Anderson .Paak
• Best British Female Artist: M.I.A.. Also nominated: Dua Lipa, Adele, Charli XCX, Kate Tempest, PJ Harvey
• Best British Male Artist: Skepta. Also nominated: Zayn Malik, Kano, Jamie T, Michael Kiwanuka, Richard Ashcroft
• Best International Female Artist: Christine and the Queens. Also nominated: Sia, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Solange, Tove Lo
• Best International Male Artist: Frank Ocean. Also nominated: Kanye West, Drake, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Chance The Rapper
• Best Festival Headliner: Adele. Also nominated: Coldplay, Radiohead, Biffy Clyro, Foals, The Stone Roses
• Best Live Band: The 1975. Also nominated: Bastille, Slaves, Bring Me The Horizon, Christine And The Queens, Wolf Alice
• Best Album: Bastille, for Wild World. Also nominated: Kanye West, for The Life Of Pablo, Skepta, for Konnichiwa, The 1975, for I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It, Radiohead, for A Moon Shaped Pool, Beyoncé, for Lemonade
• Best Track: Christine and the Queens, for Tilted. Also nominated: Tove Lo, for Cool Girl, Charli XCX, for After The Afterparty, Skepta, for Man, Bastille, for Good Grief, The 1975, for Somebody Else
• Best TV Show: Fleabag. Also nominated: Stranger Things, Game Of Thrones, Black Mirror, Humans, People Just Do Nothing
• Best Film: My Scientology Movie. Also nominated: Deadpool, Captain America: Civil War, Suicide Squad, Everybody Wants Some!!, Hunt For The Wilderpeople
• Best Music Film: Oasis, for Supersonic, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, for One More Time With Feeling, Sing Street, Gimme Danger, The Rolling Stones, for Havana Moon, The Beatles, for Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years
• Best Music Video: Slaves, for Consume or Be Consumed. Also nominated: Kanye West, for Famous, Beyoncé, for Formation, Radiohead, for Burn The Witch, Rat Boy, for Get Over It, Wolf Alice, for Lisbon
• Best Reissue: Oasis, for Be Here Now. Also nominated: R.E.M., for Out Of Time, Pink Floyd, for Meddle, Michael Jackson, for Off The Wall, DJ Shadow, for Endtroducing, Blur, for Leisure
• Best Book: Johnny Marr, for Set the Boy Free
• Best Festival: Glastonbury. Also nominated: Reading & Leeds, Download, Isle Of Wight, Primavera, V Festival
• Best Small Festival: End of the Road. Also nominated: Y Not, Green Man, Festival No. 6, Kendall Calling, Slam Dunk
• Music Moment of the Year: Coldplay‘s Viola Beach tribute at Glastonbury. Also nominated: Bring Me The Horizon invade Coldplay’s table at NME Awards 2016, Beyoncé drops Lemonade, Skepta wins Mercury Prize, Pete Doherty plays The Bataclan, The Stone Roses’ first new music in 20 years
• Worst Band: 5 Seconds of Summer. Also nominated: The Chainsmokers, Clean Bandit, Honey G, Nickelback, Twenty One Pilots
• Villain of the Year: Nigel Farage. Also nominated: Donald Trump, David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Martin Shkreli, Katie Hopkins
• Hero of the Year: Beyoncé. Also nominated: David Bowie, Adele, Millie Bobby Brown, Gary Lineker, Liam Gallagher
• Outstanding Contribution to Music: Wiley

See also

• NME Awards on Wikipedia
• NME Awards 2015 – Winners
• NME Awards 2015 – Nominations
• NME Awards 2016 – Winners and Nominations
• NME Awards 2017 – Winners and Nominations

NME Awards 2018

Apparently it’s actually called the V05 NME Awards this year, although honestly I’ve no idea what a V05 is. Anyway, here are the winners, in all their corporate glory!

Best British Band supported by Zig-Zag

• Alt-J
• Kasabian
• Wolf Alice
• The 1975
• The xx
• Bastille

Winner: Alt-J

Best International Band supported by 19 Crimes Winery

• Haim
• The National
• Foo Fighters
• The Killers
• Paramore
• Migos

Winner: Haim

Best British Solo Artist supported by VO5

• Dua Lipa
• Liam Gallagher
• Ed Sheeran
• Stormzy
• Loyle Carner
• Charli XCX

Winner: Loyle Carner

Best International Solo Artist

• Kendrick Lamar
• Taylor Swift
• Lorde
• Lana Del Rey
• St Vincent
• Father John Misty

Winner: Lorde

Best Live Artist supported by Nikon

• Kasabian
• Lorde
• Liam Gallagher
• Stormzy
• LCD Soundsystem
• Royal Blood

Winner: Kasabian

Best Album supported by Orange Amplification

• Lorde – Melodrama
• J Hus – Common Sense
• Wolf Alice – Visions of a Life
• Gorillaz – Humanz’
• Loyle Carner – Yesterday’s Gone
• The National – Sleep Well Beast

Winner: J Hus

Best New Artist supported by Vans

• Stefflon Don
• Sigrid
• SZA
• Shame
• J Hus
• The Magic Gang

Winner: Stefflon Don

Best Track supported by Estrella Galicia

• Kasabian – God Bless This Acid House
• Kendrick Lamar – Humble
• Lorde – Green Light
• The Horrors – Something to Remember Me By
• Dua Lipa – New Rules
• Charli XCX – Boys

Winner: Charli XCX

Best Mixtape supported by Bulldog Gin

• Charli XCX – Pop 2
• Drake – More Life
• Krept & Konan – 7 Nights / 7 Days
• Rex Orange County – Apricot Princess
• Dave – Game Over
• Avelino – No Bullshit

Winner: Avelino

Best Music Video supported by Princess Yachts

• The Big Moon – Sucker
• Charli XCX – Boys
• St Vincent – Los Ageless
• Taylor Swift – Look What You Made Me Do
• Dua Lipa – New Rules
• Pale Waves – Television Romance

Winner: The Big Moon

Under The Radar Award supported by HMV

Winner: Pale Waves

Best Collaboration supported by VO5

• Craig David & Bastille – I Know You
• Stefflon Don & Skepta – Ding-a-Ling
• Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile – Lotta See Lice
• Gorillaz & Jehnny Beth – We Got the Power
• Lily Allen & Giggs – Trigger Bang
• Yungen & Yxng Bane – Bestie

Winner: Craig David and Bastille

Best Festival supported by ID&C

• Glastonbury
• Reading & Leeds
• Download
• Parklife
• TRNSMT
• Bestival

Winner: Glastonbury

Best Small Festival

• Festival Number 6
• Boardmasters
• Wilderness
• Field Day
• End of the Road
• Kendal Calling

Winner: Festival Number 6

Best Festival Headliner supported by Anna Valley

• Muse
• Boy Better Know
• Ed Sheeran
• Foo Fighters
• The 1975
• Noel Gallagher

Winner: Muse

Music Moment of the Year

• Grime4Corbyn
• Lady Gaga at the Superbowl
• One Love Manchester
• The Killers‘ surprise set at Glastonbury
• Linkin Park‘s Chester Bennington tribute concert
• Noel Gallagher plays Don’t Look Back in Anger at Manchester Arena

Winner: One Love Manchester

Best Film supported by Zig-Zag

• T2
• Bladerunner 2049
• Baby Driver
• The Disaster Artist
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• It

Winner: Baby Driver

Best TV Series

• Stranger Things 2
• Game of Thrones
• Westworld
• Rick & Morty
• Glow
• Peaky Blinders

Winner: Stranger Things

Best Music Film

• Lady Gaga – Five Foot Two
• L7 – Pretend We’re Dead
• Sleaford Mods – Bunch of Kunst
• George Michael – Freedom
• England is Mine
• Whitney Houston – Can I Be Me

Winner: Lady Gaga

Best Re-Issue

• Radiohead – OK NOT OK
• Prince – Purple Rain
• The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
• R.E.M. – Automatic for the People
• The Smiths – The Queen is Dead
• Super Furry Animals – Radiator

Winner: Radiohead

Best Book

• Wiley – Eskiboy
• Action Bronson – Fuck, That’s Delicious
• Dylan Jones – David Bowie: A Life
• Allan Jones – Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down
• Lizzy Goodman – Meet Me In The Bathroom
• The KLF – 2023: A Trilogy

Winner: Wiley

NME Icon

Winner: Shirley Manson

NME Innovation Award

Winner: Boy Better Know

Godlike Genius

Winner: Liam Gallagher

Hero of the Year

• Ariana Grande
• Rose McGowan
• Jeremy Corbyn
• Ellie Rowsell
• Big Shaq
• David Attenborough

Winner: Ariana Grande

Villain of the Year

• Donald Trump
• Theresa May
• Katie Hopkins
• Piers Morgan
• Kim Jong-Un
• Jeremy Hunt

Winner: Piers Morgan

All worthy villains. The ceremony was on February 13th this year.

Edited 12 June 2018 – fix to tense in final sentence.

NME Awards 2018 – Nominations

You may remember the explorations we did late last year into the winners of the NME Poll, variably an awards ceremony and a list of winners, which ran from the 1950s until the 1990s. We’ll pick that up again later this year with a similar investigation into the BRAT Awards in 1994 and the various NME Awards ceremonies that have followed.

For the meantime, though, here are the nominees for the 2018 awards!

Best International Band

• Haim
• The National
• Foo Fighters
• The Killers
• Paramore
• Migos

Best British Solo Artist

• Dua Lipa
• Liam Gallagher
• Ed Sheeran
• Stormzy
• Loyle Carner
• Charli XCX

Best International Solo Artist

• Kendrick Lamar
• Taylor Swift
• Lorde
• Lana Del Rey
• St Vincent
• Father John Misty

Best Live Artist

• Kasabian
• Lorde
• Liam Gallagher
• Stormzy
• LCD Soundsystem
• Royal Blood

Best Album

• Lorde – Melodrama
• J Hus – Common Sense
• Wolf Alice – Visions of a Life
• Gorillaz – Humanz’
• Loyle Carner – Yesterday’s Gone
• The National – Sleep Well Beast

Best New Artist

• Stefflon Don
• Sigrid
• SZA
• Shame
• J Hus
• The Magic Gang

Best Track

• Kasabian – God Bless This Acid House
• Kendrick Lamar – Humble
• Lorde – Green Light
• The Horrors – Something to Remember Me By
• Dua Lipa – New Rules
• Charli XCX – Boys

Best Mixtape

• Charli XCX – Pop 2
• Drake – More Life
• Krept & Konan – 7 Nights / 7 Days
• Rex Orange County – Apricot Princess
• Dave – Game Over
• Avelino – No Bullshit

Best Video

• The Big Moon – Sucker
• Charli XCX – Boys
• St Vincent – Los Ageless
• Taylor Swift – Look What You Made Me Do
• Dua Lipa – New Rules
• Pale Waves – Television Romance

Best Collaboration

• Craig David & Bastille – I Know You
• Stefflon Don & Skepta – Ding-a-Ling
• Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile – Lotta See Lice
• Gorillaz & Jehnny Beth – We Got the Power
• Lily Allen & Giggs – Trigger Bang
• Yungen & Yxng Bane – Bestie

Best Festival

• Glastonbury
• Reading & Leeds
• Download
• Parklife
• TRNSMT
• Bestival

Best Small Festival

• Festival Number 6
• Boardmasters
• Wilderness
• Field Day
• End of the Road
• Kendal Calling

Best Festival Headliner

• Muse
• Boy Better Know
• Ed Sheeran
• Foo Fighters
• The 1975
• Noel Gallagher

Music Moment of the Year

• Grime4Corbyn
• Lady Gaga at the Superbowl
• One Love Manchester
• The Killers‘ surprise set at Glastonbury
• Linkin Park‘s Chester Bennington tribute concert
• Noel Gallagher plays Don’t Look Back in Anger at Manchester Arena

Best Film

• T2
• Bladerunner 2049
• Baby Driver
• The Disaster Artist
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• It

Best TV Series

• Stranger Things 2
• Game of Thrones
• Westworld
• Rick & Morty
• Glow
• Peaky Blinders

Best Music Film

• Lady Gaga – Five Foot Two
• L7 – Pretend We’re Dead
• Sleaford Mods – Bunch of Kunst
• George Michael – Freedom
• England is Mine
• Whitney Houston – Can I Be Me

Best Re-Issue

• Radiohead – OK NOT OK
• Prince – Purple Rain
• The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
• R.E.M. – Automatic for the People
• The Smiths – The Queen is Dead
• Super Furry Animals – Radiator

Best Book

• Wiley – Eskiboy
• Action Bronson – Fuck, That’s Delicious
• Dylan Jones – David Bowie: A Life
• Allan Jones – Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down
• Lizzy Goodman – Meet Me In The Bathroom
• The KLF – 2023: A Trilogy

Hero of the Year

• Ariana Grande
• Rose McGowan
• Jeremy Corbyn
• Ellie Rowsell
• Big Shaq
• David Attenborough

Villain of the Year

• Donald Trump
• Theresa May
• Katie Hopkins
• Piers Morgan
• Kim Jong-Un
• Jeremy Hunt

All worthy villains. The ceremony is on February 13th this year.

The BRIT Awards 2015

Closing Awards Week for this year (apart from a brief chart tomorrow) is our round-up of this year’s BRIT Award ceremony. The event took place on Wednesday night (the 25th) at the O2 Arena in London, and the hosts were Ant & Dec, for the first time since 2001.

Of course, the most exciting thing that happened was when Madonna fell down three stairs, but she bravely soldiered on, through a pretty lacklustre song. And Kanye West was the victim of a bit of censorship, while some of his naughty words escaped the censors, but I’m not entirely clear why we should care about either of these facts.

Anyway, here are the winners of the 2015 BRIT Awards. The first two awards were announced before the actual ceremony…

Critics’ Choice Award

Always an influential award, handed out a couple of months before the big night. Nominees:

• James Bay
• George The Poet
• Years & Years

Winner: James Bay

British Producer

In association with The MPG Awards. Nominees:

• Paul Epworth
• Flood
• Alison Goldfrapp & Will Gregory
• Jake Gosling

Winner: Paul Epworth

British Male Solo Artist

Presented by Rita Ora and Orlando Bloom. The nominees:

• Damon Albarn
• George Ezra
• Paolo Nutini
• Ed Sheeran
• Sam Smith

Winner: Ed Sheeran.

British Group

Presented by Jimmy Page. The nominees:

• Alt-J
• Clean Bandit
• Coldplay
• One Direction
• Royal Blood

Winner: Royal Blood

International Female Solo Artist

Presented by Lewis Hamilton and Ellie Goulding. Nominees:

• Beyoncé
• Lana del Rey
• Sia
• St. Vincent
• Taylor Swift

Winner: Taylor Swift

British Female Solo Artist

Presented by Mark Ronson. Nominees:

• Lily Allen
• Paloma Faith
• FKA twigs
• Ella Henderson
• Jessie Ware

Winner: Paloma Faith, who went on forever about floors for some reason

Global Success Award

The British artist whose global releases sold the most outside the UK. Presented by Kim Kardashian-West. What’s up, London?

Winner: Sam Smith

International Male Solo Artist

Presented by Cara Delevigne. Nominees:

• Beck
• Hozier
• John Legend
• Jack White
• Pharrell Williams

Winner: Pharrell Williams

British Single

Presented by Lisa Snowden and Lionel Richie. Nominees:

• Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne – Rather Be
• Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones – I Got U
• George Ezra – Budapest
• Calvin Harris – Summer
• Ella Henderson – Ghost
• Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
• Route 94 feat. Jess Glynne – My Love
• Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
• Sigma – Nobody to Love
• Sam Smith – Stay with Me

Winner: Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars

International Group

Presented by John Bishop. Nominees:

• The Black Keys
• First Aid Kit
• Foo Fighters
• 5 Seconds of Summer
• The War on Drugs

Winner: Foo Fighters

British Breakthrough Act

Presented by Fearne Cotton and Charli XCX. Nominees:

• Chvrches
• FKA twigs
• George Ezra
• Royal Blood
• Sam Smith

Winner: Sam Smith

British Artist Video of the Year

Yes, that’s the confusing name for the Best Video award now. Voted for using tweets, which is novel. They started with the ten most viewed videos on YouTube, apparently:

• Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones – I Got U
• Calvin Harris – Summer
• One Direction – You and I
• Rita Ora – I Will Never Let You Down
• Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
• Route 94 feat. Jess Glynne – My Love
• Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
• Sigma – Nobody to Love
• Sam Smith – Stay with Me
• Charli XCX – Boom Clap

The final shortlist of five, presented by the tiny Jimmy Carr and the enormous

• Calvin Harris – Summer
• One Direction – You and I
• Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
• Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
• Sam Smith – Stay with Me

Winner: One Direction, accepted by Simon Cowell

MasterCard British Album

The award that, in the absence of an Outstanding Contribution award, is considered the biggie. Supported by The Sun’s Bizarre column. Presented by Russell Crowe from off of Neighbours.

• Alt-J – This is All Yours
• George Ezra – Wanted on Voyage
• Royal Blood – Royal Blood
• Ed Sheeran – X
• Sam Smith – In the Lonely Hour

Winner: Ed Sheeran

Performances

• Taylor Swift – Blank Space
• Sam Smith – Lay Me Down
• Royal Blood – Figure it Out
• Ed Sheeran – Bloodstream
• Kanye West – All Day
• Take That – Let in the Sun
• George Ezra – Budapest
• Paloma Faith – Only Love Can Hurt Like This
• Madonna – Living for Love

The BRIT Awards 2015 – Nominations

Finally, the nominees have been announced for the 2015 BRIT Awards.

MasterCard British Album

• Alt-J – This is All Yours
• George Ezra – Wanted on Voyage
• Royal Blood – Royal Blood
• Ed Sheeran – X
• Sam Smith – In the Lonely Hour

British Female Solo Artist

• Lily Allen
• Paloma Faith
• FKA Twigs
• Ella Henderson
• Jessie Ware

British Male Solo Artist

• Damon Albarn
• George Ezra
• Paolo Nutini
• Ed Sheeran
• Sam Smith

British Group

• Alt-J
• Clean Bandit
• Coldplay
• One Direction
• Royal Blood

International Male Solo Artist

• Beck
• Hozier
• John Legend
• Jack White
• Pharrell Williams

International Female Solo Artist

• Beyoncé
• Lana del Rey
• Sia
• St. Vincent
• Taylor Swift

International Group

• The Black Keys
• First Aid Kit
• Foo Fighters
• 5 Seconds of Summer
• The War on Drugs

Critics’ Choice Award

This is the one that’s already been announced. The nominees were:

• James Bay
• George The Poet
• Years & Years

And the winner: James Bay

British Producer

• Paul Epworth
• Flood
• Alison Goldfrapp & Will Gregory
• Jake Gosling

Yes, the one award that’s really worth caring about includes a nomination for Goldfrapp this year! Could be interesting…

British Single

• Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne – Rather Be
• Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones – I Got U
• George Ezra – Budapest
• Calvin Harris – Summer
• Ella Henderson – Ghost
• Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
• Route 94 feat. Jess Glynne – My Love
• Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
• Sigma – Nobody to Love
• Sam Smith – Stay with Me

British Video

• Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones – I Got U
• Calvin Harris – Summer
• One Direction – You and I
• Rita Ora – I Will Never Let You Down
• Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
• Route 94 feat. Jess Glynne – My Love
• Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
• Sigma – Nobody to Love
• Sam Smith – Stay with Me
• Charli XCX – Boom Clap

British Breakthrough Act

• Chvrches
• FKA Twigs
• George Ezra
• Royal Blood
• Sam Smith

No Outstanding Contribution again unfortunately – we’ll have to just pick an aging rock act for ourselves. Anyway, the ceremony takes place on February 25th, and we’ll walk through the results here on this very blog shortly afterwards.