BRIT Awards 2011 - Tinie and Arcade Fire steal the show

NEW: New venue, new trophy - but another special night for the BRITS

TONIGHT’S BRIT awards ceremony in London was a colourful and explosive celebration of music, in many different ways.  Canadian indie band Arcade Fire and British rapper Tinie Tempah were the big winners, as both collected two awards at the 02 Arena.  There were also big wins for Take That, Mumford and Sons and Rihanna.

Tinie Tempah was the favourite to storm the ceremony this evening, as he led last month’s nominations with four.  Sure enough, he claimed two awards; for British Breakthrough Act and Best British Single.  His incredible song ‘Pass Out’ held off stiff competition from the likes of bookies favourite Matt Cardle, Plan B and Scouting for Girls amongst others.  However, he missed out on British Male Solo Artist, which went to the brilliant Plan B.  When Elton John compares you as the male version of Amy Winehouse, it might set some alarm bells ringing, but Plan B has the potential to build massively on his second album ‘The Defamation of Strickland Banks,’ and confirmed to host of the show, James Cordon, that he is planning a hip-hop/reggae mix for his next album.

Arcade Fire had struggled to hit the heights before 2010, but ‘The Suburbs,’ was their massive breakthrough.  It was the band’s third album, but it went straight to number one in Canada, the US and the UK and they won the Best International Album award, along with International Group.  The eight-piece group looked stunned to have achieved so much success in the last twelve months; “Thank you Britain, we are so honoured.’  Unlike Tinie Tempah, whose live performance was electric and extravagant, Arcade Fire’s live show was okay, without ever being spectacular.

SUCCESS: Take That picked up another award tonight

Robbie Williams decision to rejoin Take That in the summer of last year was one of the big music headlines in the previous calendar year and they look stronger than ever.  They kicked the glitzy ceremony off full of colour and fireworks which surrounded their performance of ‘Kidz.’  Later in the night, they scooped the British Group award, which means it is now a staggering 20 BRIT wins between Robbie as a solo artist and Take That as a group.  Despite this, ‘Progress,’ a massive seller lost out in the prestigious award category of the evening.  Instead, the MasterCard British Album of the year went to the unfancied Mumford and Sons.  Their album ‘Sigh No More,’ has sold over one million copies, but up against the likes of Take That, Plan B and Tinie Tempah, their chances can’t have been great.

Just like the X-Factor final before Christmas, Rihanna decided not to wear much clothing for her live performance.  Sometimes you wonder if she has heard of the word!  Her miming was ridiculous, the dancers looked horrific and quite frankly, it was one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen in BRITS history.  How some people can see her as a hottie is beyond me!  Nevertheless, Rihanna is a general hit with the British public and she denied Katy Perry a deserved success to claim the International Female Solo Artist. 

Other winners on the night were Jessie J, who was the pre-selected winner of the Critics Choice award.  She follows in the footsteps of ADELE and Florence + the Machine, in becoming the fourth female to win this award.  She looked very emotional on claiming the award from last year’s recipient, Ellie Goulding.  “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making my dreams come true,” she said, almost bursting into tears.  Cee Lo Green won nothing in 2007, having been nominated three times.  Four years later, he returned to win the Best International Male Solo Artist award, with his no.1 single ‘Forget You’ reaching two million hits in one week on YouTube last year.  16-year old Justin Bieber was the unsurprising winner of the International Breakthrough Act, largely down to the viewers of MTV and there was a total shock in the British Female Solo Artist category, as the unheard Laura Marling beat Cheryl Cole and Ellie Goulding to the prize.

With celebrities on the night ranging from Radio 1’s Fearne Cotton, chatty man Alan Carr, F1 ace Lewis Hamilton and former singer, turned actor Will Young giving out awards, other attention went out to the live performers.  There can be no doubt that ADELE wins in this category.  The 21-year old gave a stunning and spine-tingling performance of her new single, which is currently no.1 in 17 countries.  It left everyone in the 02 Arena in shock!  Plan B’s live routine looked more like a violent episode of The Simpsons.  However, his medley of ‘Prayin’ and ‘She Said’ totally rocked.  Aside from Rihanna and a brave, but forgettable live show from Mumford & Sons, most of the performances live were fairly decent this year, compared with some of the drunk, half-hearted attempts of recent years.  As for James Cordon, his performance as host was mellow and decent, but it never reached the expected heights.  I don’t think he will hang onto this position for the 2012 ceremony.

CHANGE: Dame Vivienne Westwood designed the new style

2010 was an unforgettable year of music across the world and the biggest night in the music calendar year certainly didn’t disappoint.  Let’s see what 2011 will bring, but don’t be too surprised if the stars of this year’s BRITS end up dominating next year’s ceremony too.

The X-Factor 2010 - The final straight

BY JASON WRIGHT

A RECORD number of people applied to change their lives and now after months of competitive action, four acts were left standing.  Facing what is certainly the biggest weekend of their lives, only one out of Cher Lloyd, Matt Cardle, One Direction or Rebecca Ferguson could win the final.

For the final weekend, the show’s set changed attire with the familiar blue backgrounds replaced with a more warming gold, making it feel a bit like the classic gameshow Going for Gold.  All four judges were jazzed up for the occasion, three in the ambitions of mentoring the winning act…and the luckless Louis Walsh, once again a spectator for the finale.

FIRST: Matt began proceedings and was solid as ever

After the final kicked off with a last group performance of ‘What a Feeling’ by all 16 finalists, the competition proper got underway.  Again, each act would perform twice and in the first round, they performed a new song instead a previous one.  First up was the favourite with the bookies, Matt performing ‘Here with me’.  Once again, Matt had been struggling with the after effects of laryngitis from previous, so once again his vocal range was limited but still, as with any other performance, he gave it his all.  Not everything went smoothly however back in his hometown fanbase of Colchester.  Fresh from her success down under, Stacey Solomon was given responsibility to give a report but a technical glitch meant she was unable to do so and left viewers with just pictures of his cheering fans.  The great uses of today’s modern technology!

STAR: Rebecca will go onto better things

Next to perform was Rebecca, her soulful voice has made her a standout act in the competition and she was certainly given her just reward with a place in the final.  Her first performance of the night was ‘Like a Star’.  It seemed the pressure had got to her just a little bit, but still it was very captivating from start to finish.  No such problems with the production team in Rebecca’s home of Liverpool as Coleen Rooney was assigned to join Rebecca’s supporters in a packed arena.

BREAKTHROUGH: One Direction kept their cool

The last group standing was One Direction, who perhaps went into the final with the fans advantage. The hysteria built up in their performances perhaps reminds everyone of the original Take That in the 90s.  They certainly kept cool under pressure performing ‘Your Song’, once again proving the fact that this could be a breakthrough year at least for the groups’ category.  Their popularity was proved by the support given in member Louis’ hometown of Doncaster.  Michelle Keegan, best known for her portrayal of Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street, was unlucky to have been given the role as host of the gathering there as when came to giving a report, she was caught up right in the middle of an bottleneck of fans, which seemed to look more dangerous than the tram disaster that’s currently gripping Weatherfield!

Three acts down, just one to go. It was time for Cher and despite making the end, the teen had now certainly hit a new low.  Going into the show with literally no support anymore and having been bombarded with several threats that she would be killed if she showed up on Saturday.  Fortunately, this didn’t materialise and she saved the best until last. ‘Get Ur Freak On’ was her first number, doing what she did best and as far the judges’ comments suggested, she had surprisingly taken round one.  Of course, Cher’s faithful in Malvern had certainly not given up on her, and showed up at a fan park in droves, making it another difficult job for the outside report, which was the case for BBC Radio 1’s Scott Mills.

UNIQUE: Cher had fun with Will.I.Am from Black Eyed Peas

The second round was the most looked forward to as it was the eagerly anticipated duets round.  First again was Matt performing ‘Unfaithful’ with Rihanna, it looked so hot and steamy with plenty of chemistry, and that was just the ring of fire.  Next came Rebecca with ‘Beautiful’ alongside Christina Aguilera, this was at a slow and calm paced, just as the original version was.  Next came One Direction singing ‘She’s The One’ with now regular guest Robbie Williams, it all came together, voice and performance style.  Finally Cher did a mix of ‘Where Is The Love?’ and ‘I Gotta Feeling’ with Black Eyed Peas front man Will.I.Am, perhaps the most stand out of the four because of its upbeat and unique adaption of doing two songs together.

Following additional performances from both Rihanna and Christina Aguilera, the voting lines were frozen and the first results for final weekend were delivered.  Finally, the judges had lost their power and the public were now in control.  Their votes decided that Rebecca, One Direction and Matt would be back to perform in the next phase of the final on Sunday.  A right result as they had been the three front runners throughout most of this series.

So that meant Cher, despite the heroics of the night, was finally gone.  Considering her desire to win, you would have thought she might have been a broken wreck following the announcement of her exit but she surprised everyone by being gracious and accepting the defeat.  There is no doubt she will get a contract and sell thousands of singles and albums, as if Simon Cowell doesn’t offer her a deal, it’s almost likely that Cheryl Cole will snap her up.

STANDING: The final three get set for the final round

The first half had come to an explosive conclusion and now just Matt, Rebecca and One Direction were left the running to be crowned X Factor winner 2010 and earn that life changing recording contract. But who will it be?

TO BE CONTINUED…

My favourite music in 2010

ANOTHER dramatic year in the world of music and here are some of my favourites from the past twelve months.

Good Times - Roll Deep




Cry Me Out - Pixie Lott




Just Drive - Alistair Griffin



Firework - Katy Perry




The Club is Alive - JLS




Promise This - Cheryl Cole




Wavin Flag - K'Naan (2010 Coca Cola Celebration Mix)




All the Lovers - Kylie Minogue




Shame - Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow




Heartbeat - Enrique Iglesias & Nicole Scherzinger




Enjoy!

Take That & Florence Dominate the Q Awards

LAST Sunday night saw the annual Q Awards held at London Grosvenor Hotel.  The big news from the ceremony was the first public appearance by Take That since their reunification. 

They kept their appearance as low-key as possible, and even missed the red carpet proceedings, so they didn’t divert all the attention from the other music and celebrity acts that attended.  With Robbie Williams back in the band, they collected the award for the magazine’s Hall of Fame.  With the surge of popularity from yesterday’s technical issues that led to many frustrated fans missing out on tour tickets, Take That’s popularity doesn’t seem to be disappearing.

The other big winner of the night was Florence + the Machine.  She won two awards for ‘Best Female’ and ‘Best Track for ‘You’ve Got the Love.’  Kasabian were named as the best act in the world and there was also wins for Mark Ronson, Madness and The Chemical Brothers.  Paolo Nutini picked up the ‘Best Male’ award, whilst it was a great night too for the promising Plan B, who took the ‘Best Breakthrough’ award.  Plan B also featured in the ‘Best Music Video’ – which was won by Chase & Status for their hit ‘End Credits.’ 

Some of the stars that attended included Ellie Goulding, Radio 1 presenter Fearne Cotton, Charlotte Church, KT Tunstall and Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle.

Robbie Returns To Take That - A Mistake Or A Wise Move?

On Thursday night, the worst secret is music was revealed, as after fifteen years and constant speculation over whether it might happen, Robbie Williams will return to Take That.  They will work together on a new album for the band, due to be released around Christmas time, and go on tour together next year.

Williams quit the band fifteen years ago, after a row with the manager of Take That, and various disagreements with the other band members.  Now, he will be reunited with the Mark Owen, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Jason Orange for the first time since they record the No.1 song ‘Nobody Else,’ back in 1995.

All five singers have written the songs for the new album, which is due for release in late November.  Their first appearance back on stage together came last September in New York, shortly after Take That’s ‘The Circus Live’ tour.  Since then, speculation has intensified about a proper reunion, which included Robbie and Gary working together on Simon Cowell’s charity single ‘Everybody Hurts,’ for the Haiti earthquake appeal.

Take That spilt back in March 1996, having been the heartthrobs for many girls during the 90’s.  Songs such ‘A Million Love Songs’ and ‘Relight My Fire,’ got the pulses racing of many girls, and won critical acclaim from music experts.  They reformed in 2005, and have gone on to even further success, with three No.1’s (Shine, Patience & Rule the World) and two sell-out tours.  Robbie Williams has also gone onto great success as a solo artist, releasing ‘Bodies’ last year, adding to his growing collection of unstoppable hits from the past, including ‘Millennium,’ ‘Angels,’ and ‘Rock DJ.’  This year, Williams won the Outstanding Music Contribution award at the BRITS.  Since leaving Take That, he has eight UK albums released.

Fellow band mate Mark Owen told the BBC of his delight at Robbie’s return.

“Getting the five of us to be in a room together, although always a dream, never actually seemed like becoming a reality.”  “Now the reality of the five of us making a record together feels like a dream.”  “It’s been an absolute delight spending time with Rob again.  But I’m still a better footballer!”

It is still unclear whether this is a temporary reunion, or a permanent move.  It could have a major impact on the fortunes of both Take That and Robbie Williams future careers.  Having been a big fan of Take That myself in the 1990’s, I generally hope this move works for both parties, but can’t help feel that this is a major gamble that has been taken.