Tag Archives: Olly Murs

The BRIT Awards 2016

Posted on by
Reply

Quite rightly, you were very excited about the BRIT Awards this year, and you flocked in your hundreds to read my latest selection of The Best of the BRIT Awards. What I wasn’t able to do, mainly due to being on holiday, was list the winners for you. So here goes…

British Male Solo Artist

Nominees:

  • Aphex Twin
  • James Bay
  • Calvin Harris
  • Mark Ronson
  • Jamie xx

Winner: James Bay

British Female Solo Artist

Nominees:

  • Adele
  • Florence + The Machine
  • Jess Glynne
  • Laura Marling
  • Amy Winehouse

Winner: Adele

British Group

  • Blur
  • Coldplay
  • Foals
  • One Direction
  • Years & Years

Winner: Coldplay

British Breakthrough Act

  • James Bay
  • Catfish and the Bottlemen
  • Jess Glynne
  • Wolf Alice
  • Years & Years

Winner: Catfish and the Bottlemen

British Producer of the Year

  • Charlie Andrew
  • Mike Crossey
  • Tom Dalgety
  • Mark Ronson

Winner: Charlie Andrew

British Single

  • Adele – Hello
  • James Bay – Hold Back the River
  • Philip George – Wish You Were Mine
  • Jess Glynne – Hold My Hand
  • Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
  • Little Mix – Black Magic
  • Calvin Harris & Disciples – How Deep is Your Love
  • Olly Murs feat. Demi Lovato – Up
  • Ed Sheeran & Rudimental – Bloodstream
  • Years & Years – King

Winner: Adele

Mastercard British Album of the Year

  • Adele – 25
  • James Bay – Chaos and the Calm
  • Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams
  • Florence + The Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
  • Jamie xx – In Colour

Winner: Adele

British Artist Video

  • Adele – Hello
  • Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
  • Calvin Harris & Disciples – How Deep is Your Love
  • Jessie J – Flashlight
  • Little Mix – Black Magic
  • Naughty Boy feat. Beyoncé & Arrow Benjamin – Runnin’ (Lose it All)
  • One Direction – Drag Me Down
  • Ed Sheeran – Photograph
  • Sam Smith – Writing’s on the Wall
  • Years & Years – King

Winner: One Direction

International Male Solo Artist

  • Justin Bieber
  • Drake
  • Kendrick Lamar
  • Father John Misty
  • The Weeknd

Winner: Justin Bieber

International Female Solo Artist

  • Courtney Barnett
  • Björk
  • Ariana Grande
  • Lana del Rey
  • Meghan Trainor

Winner: Björk. Again.

International Group

  • Alabama Shakes
  • Eagles of Death Metal
  • Major Lazer
  • Tame Impala
  • U2

Winner: Tame Impala. I bet U2 were furious – they always win this award.

Critics’ Choice

  • Izzy Bizu
  • Frances
  • Jack Garratt

Winner: Jack Garratt

Global Success

A special made-up award for Adele, because she was robbed in the International Male Solo Artist category and was so upset.

Well, that’s it for another year. See you next January for the latest nominees in the ADELE Awards.

The BRIT Awards 2016 – Nominations

Posted on by
1

On the 24th of February this year, we’ll find out who has won a BRIT Award this year. Or more likely, who has won five, as that tends to be the way it goes. The nominations are spectacularly dull this year, as you’ll see below if you can bring yourself to keep reading – the only truly interesting thing is that they have changed some of the names this year…

British Artist Video

  • Adele – Hello
  • Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
  • Calvin Harris & Disciples – How Deep is Your Love
  • Jessie J – Flashlight
  • Little Mix – Black Magic
  • Naughty Boy feat. Beyonce & Arrow Benjamin – Runnin’ (Lose it All)
  • One Direction – Drag Me Down
  • Ed Sheeran – Photograph
  • Sam Smith – Writing’s on the Wall
  • Years & Years – King

British Breakthrough Act

  • James Bay
  • Catfish and the Bottlemen
  • Jess Glynne
  • Wolf Alice
  • Years & Years

That’s the same James Bay who won the Critics’ Choice last year (beating Years & Years), both of whom did pretty well on the charts in 2015, after all.

British Male Solo Artist

  • Aphex Twin
  • James Bay
  • Calvin Harris
  • Mark Ronson
  • Jamie xx

British Female Solo Artist

  • Adele
  • Florence + The Machine
  • Jess Glynne
  • Laura Marling
  • Amy Winehouse

British Group

  • Blur
  • Coldplay
  • Foals
  • One Direction
  • Years & Years

British Producer of the Year

  • Charlie Andrew
  • Mike Crossey
  • Tom Dalgety
  • Mark Ronson

British Single

  • Adele – Hello
  • James Bay – Hold Back the River
  • Philip George – Wish You Were Mine
  • Jess Glynne – Hold My Hand
  • Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
  • Little Mix – Black Magic
  • Calvin Harris & Disciples – How Deep is Your Love
  • Olly Murs feat. Demi Lovato – Up
  • Ed Sheeran & Rudimental – Bloodstream
  • Years & Years – King

Mastercard British Album of the Year

  • Adele – 25
  • James Bay – Chaos and the Calm
  • Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams
  • Florence + The Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
  • Jamie xx – In Colour

International Male Solo Artist

  • Justin Bieber
  • Drake
  • Kendrick Lamar
  • Father John Misty
  • The Weeknd

International Female Solo Artist

  • Courtney Barnett
  • Björk
  • Ariana Grande
  • Lana del Rey
  • Meghan Trainor

Björk, the only non-British female who anybody cares about (seemingly) receives her sixty-third nomination in this category.

International Group

  • Alabama Shakes
  • Eagles of Death Metal
  • Major Lazer
  • Tame Impala
  • U2

Oh look, U2 rack up their six thousandth nomination in this category. Because so few other foreign groups are popular in the UK, apparently. It’s a shame R.E.M. haven’t been up to much recently.

Critics’ Choice

  • Izzy Bizu
  • Frances
  • Jack Garratt

The winner of which will be Jack Garratt.

Anyway, good luck to Aphex Twin, who is inexplicably nominated for just the third time ever. Other than that, if you care about any of those nominees, you can vote for some of them at the BRIT Awards website.

The BRIT Awards 2012

Posted on by
Reply

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

Further Reading / Viewing

The BRIT Awards 2011

Posted on by
Reply

For the first time, the BRIT Awards took place at The O2 Arena on 15th February 2011, now, according to the official website, with more live music than ever before. James Corden was the host, and the award was designed by Vivienne Westwood.

This post is part of a series about the history of the BRIT Awards. You can read about the 2010 ceremony here, and the 2012 ceremony next time.

MasterCard British Album of the Year

Presented by Roger Daltrey from The Who. Nominees:

  • Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
  • Plan B – The Defamation of Strickland Banks
  • Take That – Progress
  • Tinie Tempah – Disc-Overy
  • The xx – xx

Winner: Mumford & Sons

British Single

Voted for by listeners of Capital Radio and users of iTunes, and presented by Alan Carr. Nominees:

  • Alexandra Burke feat. Pitbull – All Night Long
  • Matt Cardle – When We Collide
  • Cheryl Cole – Parachute
  • Taio Cruz – Dynamite
  • Florence + The Machine – You Got the Love
  • Olly Murs – Please Don’t Let Me Go
  • Plan B – She Said
  • Scouting for Girls – This Ain’t a Love Song
  • Tinie Tempah – Pass Out
  • The Wanted – All Time Low

Winner: Tinie Tempah

British Male Solo Artist

Presented by Dizzee Rascal. Nominees:

  • Plan B
  • Robert Plant
  • Mark Ronson
  • Tinie Tempah
  • Paul Weller

Winner: Plan B

British Female Solo Artist

Presented by Boy George. Nominees:

  • Cheryl Cole
  • Paloma Faith
  • Ellie Goulding
  • Laura Marling
  • Rumer

Winner: Laura Marling

British Group

Voted for by listeners of BBC Radio 2, and presented by Dermot O’Leary. Nominees:

  • Biffy Clyro
  • Gorillaz
  • Mumford & Sons
  • Take That
  • The xx

Winner: Take That

British Breakthrough Act

Voted for by listeners of BBC Radio 1, and presented by Fearne Cotton. Nominees:

  • Ellie Goulding
  • Mumford & Sons
  • Rumer
  • Tinie Tempah
  • The xx

Winner: Tinie Tempah

British Producer

Awarded alongside a couple of other producer awards at the Music Producers Guild Awards the week before the main ceremony. Nominees:

  • Markus Dravs
  • Ethan Johns
  • John Leckie
  • Mike Pela
  • Stuart Price

Winner: Markus Dravs

International Album

Presented by Boris Becker. Nominees:

  • Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
  • Eminem – Recovery
  • Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer
  • Kings of Leon – Come Around Sundown
  • Katy Perry – Teenage Dream

Winner: Arcade Fire

International Male Solo Artist

Presented by Lewis Hamilton. Nominees:

  • Eminem
  • Cee Lo Green
  • David Guetta
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Kanye West

Winner: Cee Lo Green

International Female Solo Artist

Presented by Cheryl Cole. Nominees:

  • Alicia Keys
  • Kylie Minogue
  • Katy Perry
  • Rihanna
  • Robyn

Winner: Rihanna

International Group

Presented by Simon Le Bon and John Taylor from Duran Duran. Nominees:

  • Arcade Fire
  • The Black Eyed Peas
  • Kings of Leon
  • The Script
  • Vampire Weekend

Winner: Arcade Fire

International Breakthrough Act

Voted for by viewers of MTV, and presented by Avril Lavigne and Will Young. Nominees:

  • Justin Bieber
  • Glee Cast
  • Bruno Mars
  • The National
  • The Temper Trap

Winner: Justin Bieber

Critics’ Choice

In association with War Child, and presented by Mark Ronson and Ellie Goulding. Nominees:

  • James Blake
  • Jessie J
  • The Vaccines

Winner: Jessie J

Outstanding Contribution

The BBC’s coverage (linked below) of the previous week’s Music Producers Guild Awards is a little confusing, as the entire event must have been. Was the Outstanding Contribution award part of the BRITs or of the Music Producers Guild event? Wikipedia thinks it was part of the BRITs…

My own interpretation of the situation is that there was no outstanding contribution award at the BRITs this year, but either way, the entirely justified winner was the founder of Mute Records, Daniel Miller, presented by Alison Goldfrapp, while Tony Visconti won the Innovation in Production award.

Performances

Further Reading / Viewing

Ivor Novello Awards 2014

Posted on by
3

The 59th Ivor Novello Awards ceremony quietly took place on 22nd May at Grosvenor House in London.

PRS for Music Most Performed Work

Which is an oddly named award until you realise that “PRS for Music” is what the sponsoring organisation calls itself these days. Nominees:

  • Emeli Sandé – Clown (Shahid “Naughty Boy” Khan / Grant Mitchell / Emeli Sandé)
  • Passenger – Let Her Go (Mike Rosenberg)
  • Olly Murs feat. Flo Rida – Troublemaker (Claude Kelly / Oliver Murs / Steve Robson)

Winner: Passenger / Mike Rosenberg

The Ivors Classical Music Award

Winner: John McCabe

Best Television Soundtrack

Nominees:

  • Mr. Selfridge (Charlie Mole)
  • Ripper Street (Dominik Scherrer)
  • The Thirteenth Tale (Benjamin Wallfisch)

Winner: Charlie Mole for Ripper Street

Best Contemporary Song

Nominees:

  • Everything Everything – Kemosabe (Jonathan Higgs / Jeremy Pritchard / Alexander Robertshaw / Michael Spearman)
  • Disclosure feat. Sam Smith – Latch (Guy Lawrence / Howard Lawrence / James Napier / Sam Smith)
  • James Blake – Retrograde (James Blake)

Winner: James Blake

International Achievement

Winner: Mumford & Sons

Best Original Film Score

Nominees:

  • Captain Phillips (Henry Jackman)
  • Gravity (Steven Price)
  • The Epic of Everest (Simon Fisher Turner)

Winner: Simon Fisher Turner

The Ivors Inspiration Award

Winner: Jerry Dammers

Album Award

Nominees:

  • Arctic Monkeys – AM (Alex Turner)
  • Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Push the Sky Away (Nick Cave / Warren Ellis)
  • Laura Mvula – Sing to the Moon (Laura Mvula)

Winner: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

PRS for Music Outstanding Contribution to British Music

Winner: Jeff Beck

Best Song Musically and Lyrically

Nominees:

  • Palma Violets – Best of Friends (Will Doyle / Sam Fryer / Chilli Jesson / Pete Mayhew)
  • John Newman – Love Me Again (Steve Booker / John Newman)
  • London Grammar – Strong (Dominic Major / Hannah Reid / Daniel Rothman)

Winner: London Grammar

Songwriter of the Year

Winner: Tom Odell

Outstanding Song Collection

Winner: The Chemical Brothers

Lifetime Achievement

Winner: Christine McVie

PRS for Music Special International Award

Winner: Nile Rodgers

Visit the official Ivor Novello Awards website here, and you can see my summary of last year’s awards here.

The BRIT Awards 2014

Posted on by
Reply

On February 19th at the O2 Arena in London it was time for this year’s BRIT Awards, presented once again by James Corden. Here’s a round-up…

Best Producer

Nominees:

  • Paul Epworth
  • Flood & Alan Moulder
  • Ethan Johns

Winner: Flood & Alan Moulder.

Critics’ Choice Award

Nominees:

  • Ella Eyre
  • Chlöe Howl
  • Sam Smith

Winner: Sam Smith.

British Breakthrough Act

Presented by Tinie Tempah and Fearne Cotton. Nominees:

  • Bastille
  • Disclosure
  • Laura Mvula
  • London Grammar
  • Tom Odell

Winner: Bastille.

International Female Solo Artist

Presented by Nick Grimshaw. Nominees:

  • Lady Gaga
  • Lorde
  • Janelle Monáe
  • Katy Perry
  • Pink

Winner: Lorde.

British Female Solo Artist

Presented by Prince. Nominees:

  • Birdy
  • Ellie Goulding
  • Jessie J
  • Laura Marling
  • Laura Mvula

Winner: Ellie Goulding.

International Group

Presented by footballer Cesc Fàbregas and Nicole Scherzinger from The Pussycat Dolls. Nominees:

  • Arcade Fire
  • Daft Punk
  • Haim
  • Kings of Leon
  • Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Winner: Daft Punk, collected by Nile Rodgers.

British Group

Presented by Lily Allen. Nominees:

  • Arctic Monkeys
  • Bastille
  • Disclosure
  • One Direction
  • Rudimental

Winner: Arctic Monkeys.

International Male Solo Artist

Presented by Pharrell Williams and Kylie Minogue. Nominees:

  • Bruno Mars
  • Drake
  • Eminem
  • John Grant
  • Justin Timberlake

Winner: Bruno Mars.

British Male Solo Artist

Presented by Noel Gallagher. Nominees:

  • James Blake
  • David Bowie
  • Jake Bugg
  • John Newman
  • Tom Odell

Winner: David Bowie, although he looked suspiciously like Kate Moss. That’s Bowie’s third win at the BRITs – he also won this award in 1984 and the coveted Outstanding Contribution award in 1996.

British Video

This didn’t seem to have any nominees at the time of my previous post, which is how it got forgotten. It’s particularly special, though, since this is the first time this has been awarded since 2002! Voted for via YouTube, and presented by Jimmy Carr. Nominees:

  • Ellie Goulding – Burn
  • Calvin Harris feat. Ellie Goulding – I Need Your Love
  • Naughty Boy feat. Sam Smith – La La La
  • John Newman – Love Me Again
  • One Direction – Best Song Ever

Winner: One Direction.

British Single of the Year

Awarded based on sales, and presented by Katy Perry. Nominees:

  • Bastille – Pompei
  • Disclosure – White Noise
  • Ellie Goulding – Burn
  • Calvin Harris feat. Ellie Goulding – I Need Your Love
  • Olly Murs – Dear Darlin’
  • Naughty Boy – La, La, La
  • John Newman – Love Me Again
  • One Direction – One Way or Another
  • Passenger – Let Her Go
  • Rudimental – Waiting All Night

Winner: Rudimental.

MasterCard British Album of the Year

Presented by Emeli Sandé. Nominees:

  • Arctic Monkeys – AM
  • Bastille – Bad Blood
  • David Bowie – The Next Day
  • Disclosure – Settle
  • Rudimental – Home

Winner: Arctic Monkeys.

Global Success

Presented by model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

Winner: One Direction.

So that’s it for another year! More in 2015!

Performances

  • Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine?
  • Katy Perry – Dark Horse
  • Bruno Mars – Treasure
  • Beyoncé – XO
  • Disclosure / Lorde / AlunaGeorge – Royals / White Noise
  • Ellie Goulding – I Need Your Love / Burn
  • Bastille / Rudimental / Ella Eyre – Pompeii / Waiting All Night
  • Pharrell Williams / Nile Rodgers – Get Lucky / Good Times / Happy

Further Reading / Viewing

The BRIT Awards 2014 – Nominations

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s the full list of nominees for this year’s BRITs…

Best Producer

Nominees:

  • Paul Epworth
  • Flood & Alan Moulder
  • Ethan Johns

Flood has been nominated three times – in 1994, 1995, and 2012. Paul Epworth was also previously nominated in 2012, losing out to Ethan Johns. In addition to the 2012 win, he was also nominated in 2011.

Critics’ Choice Award

Nominees:

  • Ella Eyre
  • Chlöe Howl
  • Sam Smith

The winner – already announced – will be Sam Smith. Not the beer.

British Breakthrough Act

Nominees:

  • Bastille
  • Disclosure
  • Laura Mvula
  • London Grammar
  • Tom Odell

Tom Odell was last year’s Critics’ Choice winner, with Laura Mvula one of the runners up. Which must have saved them a bit of time when trying to come up with the British Breakthrough Act nominees.

International Female Solo Artist

Nominees:

  • Lady Gaga
  • Lorde
  • Janelle Monáe
  • Katy Perry
  • Pink

Lady Gaga won this award in 2010, as well as the International Album and International Breakthrough Artist, with a further nomination in this category in 2012. Pink won in 2003, with further nominations in 2001, 2007, 2009, and also in other categories for International Newcomer in 2001, and International Album and Pop Act in 2003. Katy Perry has yet to win a BRIT, but was nominated for International Album in 2011, and International Female in both 2009 and 2011.

British Female Solo Artist

Nominees:

  • Birdy
  • Ellie Goulding
  • Jessie J
  • Laura Marling
  • Laura Mvula

Ellie Goulding won the Critics’ Choice award in 2010, and received nominees for British Breakthrough Act and British Female Solo Artist the following year. Laura Marling won the British Female Solo Artist award in 2011, and was nominated again in 2012. Jessie J was another favourite from the Critics’ Choice category, with a 2011 win, followed by nominations in 2012 for British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, and British Single.

International Group

Nominees:

  • Arcade Fire
  • Daft Punk
  • Haim
  • Kings of Leon
  • Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Arcade Fire were only ever nominated at the BRITs until their two 2011 wins for International Group and International Album. Daft Punk have still never managed a win, despite nominations in 1998 and 2002 for International Group (twice), International Newcomer, and International Album. Kings of Leon have six nominations to their name, plus two wins in 2009 for International Album and International Group.

British Group

Nominees:

  • Arctic Monkeys
  • Bastille
  • Disclosure
  • One Direction
  • Rudimental

Arctic Monkeys had a good track record at the BRITs between 2006 and 2008, managing five wins, but recent years have just seen one nomination (British Group in 2012).

International Male Solo Artist

Nominees:

  • Bruno Mars
  • Drake
  • Eminem
  • John Grant
  • Justin Timberlake

Bruno Mars won this award in 2012, while Eminem won in 2001, 2003, and 2005, with further nominations in 2000, 2010, and 2011. Justin Timberlake has taken it twice previously, in 2004 and 2007.

British Male Solo Artist

Nominees:

  • James Blake
  • David Bowie
  • Jake Bugg
  • John Newman
  • Tom Odell

James Blake was previously nominated for the Critics’ Choice award in 2011, and the British Male Solo Artist in 2012, but has yet to manage a win. David Bowie just has two previous wins to his name – British Male Solo Artist in 1984 and the Outstanding Contribution award in 1996. He was also nominated in this category in 1985, 2000, and 2004.

British Single

Nominees:

  • Bastille – Pompei
  • Disclosure – White Noise
  • Ellie Goulding – Burn
  • Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding – I Need Your Love
  • Olly Murs – Dear Darlin’
  • Naughty Boy – La, La, La
  • John Newman – Love Me Again
  • One Direction – One Way or Another
  • Passenger – Let Her Go
  • Rudimental – Waiting All Night

Olly Murs has been nominated for this award (in 2011 and 2012) but has yet to manage a win. One Direction managed their only BRITs win two years ago in this category with What Makes You Beautiful. Last year’s award was won by Adele‘s Bond theme Skyfall.

MasterCard British Album of the Year

Nominees:

  • Arctic Monkeys – AM
  • Bastille – Bad Blood
  • David Bowie – The Next Day
  • Disclosure – Settle
  • Rudimental – Home

Arctic Monkeys have won this award twice before – in 2007 for Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, and again in 2008 for Favourite Worst Nightmare. This is the first time David Bowie has ever been nominated in the British Album category.

The final ceremony takes place in just under a month on February 19th at the O2 Arena in London.

Ivor Novello Awards 2013

Posted on by
1

I’m sorry for the slight delay here – I’ve been meaning to sum up the 2013 Ivor Novello Awards for a few weeks, but have been unavoidably tied up in the real world.

It’s not a widely known ceremony, despite having run for nearly sixty years (since 1955). Part of the reason for this is that the awards are for actual songwriting, rather than things like performing, or wearing dresses made out of meat, like the more commercial award ceremonies. Perhaps one day we should dedicate a post to the history of these awards, but that day is not yet upon us.

This year, the ceremony took place at Grosvenor House in London way back on May 16th, and the nominees and winners were as follows:

Best Song Musically and Lyrically

The nominees:

  • Bat for Lashes – Laura (Natasha Khan / Justin Parker)
  • Emeli Sandé – Next to Me (Hugo Chegwin / Harry Craze / Emeli Sandé)
  • Jake Bugg – Two Fingers (Iain Archer / Jake Bugg)

Winner: Emeli Sandé

Best Contemporary Song

The nominees:

  • Alt-J – Fitzpleasure (Thomas Green / Joe Newman / Gwilym Sainsbury / Augustus Unger-Hamilton)
  • Plan B – Ill Manors (Pierre Baigorry / David Conen / Benjamin Drew / Vincent Graf-Schlippenbach / Al Shux)
  • The Maccabees – Pelican (Sam Doyle / Rupert Jarvis / Orlando Weeks / Felix White / Hugo White)

Winner: The Maccabees

PRS for Music Most Performed Work

The nominees:

  • Olly Murs – Dance with Me Tonight (Claude Kelly / Oliver Murs / Steve Robson)
  • Emeli Sandé – Next to Me
  • Coldplay – Paradise (Guy Berryman / Jonny Buckland / Will Champion / Chris Martin / Brian Eno)

Winner: Emeli Sandé

Album Award

The nominees:

  • Alt-J – An Awesome Wave (Thomas Green / Joe Newman / Gwilym Sainsbury / Augustus Unger-Hamilton)
  • Ben Howard – Every Kingdom (Ben Howard)
  • Lianne La Havas – Is Your Love Big Enough? (Lianne Barnes / Matthew Hales)

Winner: Alt-J

Best Original Film Score

The nominees:

  • Dario Marianelli – Anna Karenina
  • John Powell – Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
  • Plan B – Ill Manors (Benjamin Drew / Al Shux)

Winner: Anna Karenina

Best Television Soundtrack

The nominees:

  • John Harle – Lucian Freud: Painted Life
  • John Lunn – The Mystery of Edwin Drood
  • Carl Davis – Upstairs Downstairs Series 2

Winner: Lucian Freud: Painted Life

Inspiration Award

Winner: Marc Almond

Outstanding Contribution

Presented by Ray Davies. Winner: Noel Gallagher

The Ivors Classical Music Award

Winner: Errolyn Wallen MBE

PRS for Music Award for Outstanding Achievement

Winner: Justin Hayward

International Achievement

Winner: Gavin Rossdale out of little-known Bush

Songwriter of the Year

Presented by Pete Tong. We continue. Winner: Calvin Harris

PRS for Music Special International Award

Winner: Randy Newman

 

And that’s it for 2013. Somewhere in among the numerous almost-identically-named awards are some quite interesting winners. No “outstanding” anything for Liam Gallagher, for example.

More coverage at DigitalSpy, The Guardian, and The Independent.

The BRIT Awards 2013

Posted on by
1

We looked at the nominations in detail a few weeks ago, and now the winners are in!

British Male Solo Artist

Presented by Ed Sheeran. Nominees:

  • Ben Howard
  • Calvin Harris
  • Olly Murs
  • Richard Hawley
  • Plan B

Winner: Ben Howard. Whoever he is.

British Breakthrough Act

Presented by Nick Grimshaw.

  • Alt-J
  • Ben Howard
  • Jake Bugg
  • Jessie Ware
  • Rita Ora

Winner: Ben Howard. Whoever he is.

British Female Solo Artist

Presented by Taylor Swift. Nominees:

  • Amy Winehouse
  • Bat for Lashes
  • Emeli Sandé
  • Jessie Ware
  • Paloma Faith

Winner: Emeli Sandé

British Group

Presented by Simon Pegg and someone called Bérénice Mariohe. Nominees:

  • Alt-J
  • Mumford and Sons
  • Muse
  • One Direction
  • The XX

Winner: Mumford and Sons

British Live Act

It’s back! Presented by Louis Smith and Jack Whitehall. Nominees:

  • Coldplay
  • Mumford and Sons
  • Rolling Stones
  • The Vaccines
  • Muse

Winner: Coldplay

International Female Solo Artist

Presented by Dermot O’Leary and Sharon Osbourne. Nominees:

  • Alicia Keys
  • Cat Power
  • Lana del Rey
  • Rihanna
  • Taylor Swift

Winner: Lana del Rey

International Group

Presented by Dave Grohl. Nominees:

  • Alabama Shakes
  • The Black Keys
  • Fun.
  • The Killers
  • The Script

Winner: The Black Keys

British Producer of the Year

A secret award, because producers shouldn’t be allowed out in front of the general public. Nominees:

  • Damon Albarn
  • Paul Epworth
  • Jake Gosling

Winner: Paul Epworth

BRITs Global Success

Presented by Robbie Williams. Nominees:

  • Mumford and Sons
  • Adele
  • One Direction

Winner: One Direction

MasterCard British Album of the Year

Presented by Bryan Ferry. Nominees:

  • Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
  • Emeli Sandé – Our Version of Events
  • Mumford and Sons – Babel
  • Paloma Faith – Fall from Grace
  • Plan B – Ill Manors

Winner: Emeli Sandé

International Male Solo Artist

Presented by Jourdan Dunn and Rafe Spall. Nominees:

  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Gotye
  • Jack White
  • Frank Ocean
  • Michael Bublé

Winner: Frank Ocean

British Single of the Year

Presented by Tom Daley and Jonathan Ross. Nominees:

  • Adele – Skyfall
  • Alex Clare – Too Close
  • Coldplay and Rihanna – Princess of China
  • Rita Ora / DJ Fresh – Hot Right Now
  • Emeli Sandé – Next to Me
  • Florence + The Machine – Spectrum
  • Jessie J – Domino
  • Labirinth feat. Emeli Sandé – Beneath Your Beautiful
  • Olly Murs – Troublemaker
  • Rita Ora – RIP
  • Rizzle Kicks – Mama Do the Hump
  • Robbie Williams – Candy
  • Rudimental – Feel the Love
  • Stooshe – Black Heart
  • James Arthur – Impossible

Winner: Adele

Critics’ Choice

Nominees:

  • Tom Odell
  • AlunaGeorge
  • Laura Mvula

Winner: Tom Odell

Special Recognition Award

Winner: War Child

Performers

  • Muse – “Supremacy”
  • Robbie Williams – Candy
  • Justin Timberlake – Mirrors
  • One Direction – One Way of Another (Teenage Kicks)
  • Taylor Swift – I Knew You Were Trouble
  • Ben Howard – Only Love
  • Emeli Sandé – Clown / Next to Me
  • Mumford and Sons – I Will Wait

Being out of the country I haven’t had a chance to actually watch it yet, but I hope you enjoyed it!

The BRIT Awards 2013 – Nominations

Posted on by
Reply

The nominations are finally in for this year’s BRIT awards! Here they are…

British Male Solo Artist

Always a rather odd list, and this year is no exception.

  • Ben Howard
  • Calvin Harris
  • Olly Murs
  • Richard Hawley
  • Plan B

British Breakthrough Act

Whatever…

  • Alt-J
  • Ben Howard
  • Jake Bugg
  • Jessie Ware
  • Rita Ora

British Female Solo Artist

An award for which the judges seem to have always struggled to find nominees. No Alison Moyet or Annie Lennox this year though.

  • Amy Winehouse
  • Bat for Lashes
  • Emeli Sandé
  • Jessie Ware
  • Paloma Faith

British Group

An unusually creative list of groups. Should be an interesting category.

  • Alt-J
  • Mumford and Sons
  • Muse
  • One Direction
  • The XX

British Live Act

Pick between dull and outdated…

  • Coldplay
  • Mumford and Sons
  • Rolling Stones
  • The Vaccines
  • Muse

International Female Solo Artist

Some foreign ladies.

  • Alicia Keys
  • Cat Power
  • Lana del Rey
  • Rihanna
  • Taylor Swift

International Group

A typically boring selection…

  • Alabama Shakes
  • The Black Keys
  • FUN.
  • The Killers
  • The Script

British Producer of the Year

Good to see this award solidly back as a regular fixture…

  • Damon Albarn
  • Paul Epworth
  • Jake Gosling

Global Success

A new award with a typically meaningless name. I wonder if One Direction will win?

  • Mumford and Sons
  • Adele
  • One Direction

MasterCard British Album of the Year

Erm…

  • Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
  • Emeli Sandé – Our Version of Events
  • Mumford and Sons – Babel
  • Paloma Faith – Fall from Grace
  • Plan B – Ill Manors

International Male Solo Artist

A well deserved nomination for Gotye.

  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Gotye
  • Jack White
  • Frank Ocean
  • Michael Bublé

British Single

A huge list of nominations for this once forgotten award, including an inexplicable return for BRITs luvvie Robbie Williams.

  • Adele – Skyfall
  • Alex Clare – Too Close
  • Coldplay and Rihanna – Princess of China
  • Rita Ora / DJ Fresh – Hot Right Now
  • Emeli Sandé – Next to Me
  • Florence + the Machine – Spectrum
  • Jessie J – Domino
  • Labirinth feat. Emili Sandé – Beneath Your Beautiful
  • Olly Murs – Troublemaker
  • Rita Ora – RIP
  • Rizzle Kicks – Mama Do the Hump
  • Robbie Williams – Candy
  • Rudimental – Feel the Love
  • Stooshe – Black Heart
  • James Arthur – Impossible

Critics’ Choice

The winner, Tom Odell was already announced in December.

  • Tom Odell
  • AlunaGeorge
  • Laura Mvula

Special Prize

Replacing the Outstanding Contribution award for this year only.

  • War Child

Performers

Robbie who?

  • Ben Howard
  • Emeli Sandé
  • Mumford and Sons
  • Muse
  • One Direction
  • Robbie Williams

On the run-up to the award ceremony on February 20th, starting tomorrow I’m going to run through a selection of ten of my favourite BRITs ceremonies from previous years. Prior to 1994, the internet doesn’t do a great job of documenting exactly what happened, so I’ve donned my researching shoes and we’ll have a fun wander through the history of the BRITs!