The BRIT Awards 2012

Tuesday 21st February 2012 saw James Corden hosting the BRIT Awards, for the second time at The O2 Arena in London.

This post is part of a series about the history of the BRIT Awards. You can read about the 2011 ceremony here, and the 2013 ceremony here.

British Male Solo Artist

Presented by Plan B. Nominees:

• James Blake
• Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
• James Morrison
• Professor Green
• Ed Sheeran

Winner: Ed Sheeran

British Female Solo Artist

Presented by Kylie Minogue. Nominees:

• Adele
• Kate Bush
• Florence and the Machine
• Jessie J
• Laura Marling

Winner: Adele

British Breakthrough Act

Presented by Cesc Fàbregas and Nicole Scherzinger. Nominees:

• Anna Calvi
• Jessie J
• Emeli Sandé
• Ed Sheeran
• The Vaccines

Winner: Ed Sheeran

British Group

Presented by Jo Whiley and Huey Morgan. Nominees:

• Arctic Monkeys
• Chase & Status
• Coldplay
• Elbow
• Kasabian

Winner: Coldplay

British Single

Presented by Tinie Tempah. Nominees:

• Adele – Someone Like You
• Ed Sheeran – The A Team
• Example – Changed the Way You Kiss Me
• Jessie J feat. B.o.B – Price Tag
• JLS featuring Dev – She Makes Me Wanna
• Pixie Lott – All About Tonight
• Military Wives / Gareth Malone – Wherever You Are
• Olly Murs feat. Rizzle Kicks – Heart Skips a Beat
• One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful
• The Wanted – Glad You Came

Winner: One Direction

MasterCard British Album of the Year

Presented by George Michael. Nominees:

• Adele – 21
• Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto
• Florence + The Machine – Ceremonials
• PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
• Ed Sheeran – +

Winner: Adele. Famously she banged on for a bit too long without really saying anything and got cut off without warning.

International Male Solo Artist

Presented by Jessie J and Jack Whitehall. Nominees:

• Ryan Adams
• Aloe Blacc
• David Guetta
• Bon Iver
• Bruno Mars

Winner: Bruno Mars

International Female Solo Artist

Presented by Jenson Button. Nominees:

• Beyoncé
• Björk
• Feist
• Lady Gaga
• Rihanna

Winner: Rihanna

International Group

Presented by Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen. Nominees:

• Fleet Foxes
• Foo Fighters
• Jay Z and Kanye West
• Lady Antebellum
• Maroon 5

Winner: Foo Fighters

International Breakthrough Act

Presented by will.i.am and Rob Brydon. Nominees:

• Aloe Blacc
• Bon Iver
• Lana del Rey
• Foster The People
• Nicki Minaj

Winner: Lana del Rey

Critics’ Choice

Presented by James Corden and Jessie J. Nominees:

• Michael Kiwanuka
• Maverick Sabre
• Emeli Sandé

Maverick Sabre came in second place. Winner: Emeli Sandé

British Producer

Presented by Laura Marling. Nominees:

• Paul Epworth
• Flood
• Ethan Johns

Winner: Ethan Johns

Outstanding Contribution to Music

Presented by Ray Winstone.

Winner: Blur

You should be able to watch the entire show here.

Performances

• Coldplay – Charlie Brown
• Florence + The Machine – No Light, No Light
• Olly Murs / Rizzle Kicks – Heart Skips a Beat
• Ed Sheeran – Lego House
• Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds / Chris Martin (from Coldplay) – AKA… What a Life!
• Adele – Rolling in the Deep
• Bruno Mars – Just the Way You Are
• Rihanna – We Found Love
• Blur – Girls & Boys / Song 2 / Parklife / Tender / This Is a Low

Further Reading / Viewing

• 2012 on brits.co.uk
• 2012 BRIT Awards on Wikipedia
• Official nominees playlist
• Official interviews from the red carpet
• Emeli Sandé performing at the nominations launch
• The Guardian’s listing of the nominees
• BBC report on winners and nominees
• The Daily Mail, getting upset about nothing in particular again

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The BRIT Awards 2009

Some acts are much more successful in the world of the BRIT Awards than they are in the real world; some are the other way round. Erasure, for instance, whatever you may think of them, scored five consecutive number 1 albums from 1988 to 1994, but only managed one BRIT (Best British Group in 1989) with just a couple of other nominations. Depeche Mode just have one Single award to their names. New Order just one Video award. There are plenty of other examples.

Pet Shop Boys, though, are definitely very highly regarded by The Industry:

• 1987 – Won Best British Single for West End Girls, picked up by Neil
• 1988 – Won Best British Group and performed What Have I Done to Deserve This?
• 1989 – Nominated for Best British Group and Best British Album for Introspective
• 1992 – Nominated for Best British Group
• 1994 – Nominated for Best British Music Video for Go West and performed Go West on stage with two Welsh Male Voice choirs
• 2009 – See below
• 2010 – Nominated for Brits Hits 30 for Go West

I think it’s fair to say that 2009 was the year when they made the ceremony their own. It was February 15th, the venue was Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, and Kylie Minogue, James Corden and Mathew Horne were presenting the show live on ITV1.

British Female Solo Artist

Presented by Simon Pegg. Nominees:

• Adele
• Beth Rowley
• Duffy
• Estelle
• M.I.A.

Winner: Duffy.

International Female Solo Artist

Presented by Lionel Richie. Nominees:

• Beyoncé
• Gabriella Cilmi
• Katy Perry
• Pink
• Santogold

Winner: Katy Perry.

International Group

Presented by Natalie Imbruglia. Nominees:

• AC/DC
• Fleet Foxes
• Kings of Leon
• MGMT
• The Killers

Winner: Kings of Leon.

British Male Solo Artist

Presented by Jamie Oliver and Jamie Cullum. Nominees:

• Ian Brown
• James Morrison
• Paul Weller
• The Streets (Mike Skinner)
• Will Young

Winner: Paul Weller.

British Breakthrough Act

Presented by Alex James from Blur. Nominees:

• Adele
• Duffy
• Scouting for Girls
• The Last Shadow Puppets
• The Ting Tings

Winner: Duffy.

International Album

Presented by Joe Calzaghe. Nominees:

• AC/DC – Black Ice
• Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
• Kings of Leon – Only by the Night
• MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
• The Killers – Day & Age

Winner: Kings of Leon.

British Live Act

Presented by Nick Frost. Nominees:

• Coldplay
• Elbow
• Iron Maiden
• Scouting for Girls
• The Verve

Winner: Iron Maiden.

British Group

Presented by David Hasselhoff. Nominees:

• Coldplay
• Elbow
• Girls Aloud
• Radiohead
• Take That

Winner: Elbow.

Critics’ Choice

Nominees:

• Florence + The Machine
• Little Boots
• White Lies

Winner: Florence + The Machine.

International Male Solo Artist

Presented by Gok Wan. Nominees:

• Beck
• Jay-Z
• Kanye West
• Neil Diamond
• Seasick Steve

Winner: Kanye West.

British Single

Voted for by phone during the ceremony, and presented by Alan Carr. Nominees:

• Adele – Chasing Pavements
• Alexandra Burke – Hallelujah
• Coldplay – Viva la Vida
• Dizzee Rascal / Calvin Harris / Chrome – Dance wiv Me
• Duffy – Mercy
• Estelle feat. Kanye West – American Boy
• Girls Aloud – The Promise
• Leona Lewis – Better in Time
• Scouting for Girls – Heartbeat
• The X Factor Finalists – Hero

Winner: Girls Aloud.

Best Producer

Winner: Bernard Butler.

MasterCard British Album

Presented by Sir Tom Jones. Nominees:

• Coldplay – Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
• Duffy – Rockferry
• Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
• Radiohead – In Rainbows
• The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing

Winner: Duffy.

Outstanding Contribution

Presented by Brandon Flowers.

Winner: Pet Shop Boys.

Performances

• Coldplay – Viva la Vida
• Duffy – Warwick Road
• Girls Aloud – The Promise
• Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
• Take That – Greatest Day
• Pet Shop Boys / Lady Gaga / Brandon Flowers – Medley
• Estelle and The Ting Tings – American Boy / That’s Not My Name
• U2 – Get On Your Boots

Further Reading / Viewing

• 2009 on brits.co.uk
• Fearne Cotton backstage with Duffy and Simon Pegg
• Fearne Cotton backstage with Jamie Oliver and Jamie Cullum
• Fearne Cotton backstage with Natalie Imbruglia and Joe Calzaghe
• Fearne Cotton backstage with Elbow and David Hasselhoff
• Fearne Cotton backstage with Girls Aloud, Gok Wan and Alan Carr
• Now Magazine footage from the red carpet
• Backstage with Kings of Leon
• Backstage with Alan Carr talking about Robbie Williams
• Backstage with Florence + The Machine
• Backstage with Simon Pegg
• Backstage with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost
• Backstage with Gabriella Cilmi
• Backstage with The Ting Tings talking about Estelle and Dizzee Rascal
• Backstage with Duffy
• Backstage with Alexandra Burke
• Girls Aloud arrive on the red carpet
• Backstage with Pet Shop Boys talking about Girls Aloud
• Backstage at the launch event with Newton Faulkner
• Backstage at the launch event with Florence + The Machine
• Backstage with Elbow
• Backstage with Joe Calzaghe
• Backstage with Lionel Richie
• Backstage with Pet Shop Boys and Lady Gaga
• Taylor Swift arrives on the red carpet

Edit: removed numerous videos that are no longer available (13 August 2017).