No great surprises at London’s O2 Arena at this year’s BRIT awards with Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran taking two gongs each after a raft of nominations. The red carpet produced its usual array of fashion extravaganzas and faux-pas, and an awkward spill from Madonna as she took a fall from the stage during her performance.
Madge made it back on stage to finish her rendition of Living For Love after tripping on her cape while a backup dancer tried to remove it, and tumbling from the podium.
Meanwhile, back to the awards and English crooner, Ed Sheeran took home the main prize for album of the year for his album ‘X’ and accepted his award from our very own Russell Crowe saying “I was really worried about this album, but it’s been a very, very good year for British music.” Not a surprising revelation from the young musician following his best0selling record of 2014 in the UK.
Sam Smith took home best breakthrough artist (presented by the one and only Kim Kardashian) and the global success award – which recognises record sales on an international level outside the UK. Smith, who won four Grammys earlier this year gave a moving speech saying, “ Since I was a little kid I dreamed of people all over the world singing my songs and although I’ve got a long way to go, this shows that I’m stepping in the right direction.”
Paloma Faith won best British female, after hinting at a slow-build to her career…”This has been 13 years in the making and I’m going to gob off a bit,” she told the audience after revealing she had been “arrested twice” for posting flyers around Hackney as a struggling young artist. Her third album, A Perfect Contradiction, was the biggest-selling female record of 2014, shifting more than 725,000 copies. Faith also belted out one of the BRIT awards most moving performances with her hit song Only Love Can Hurt Like This.
Mark Ronson won best single for Uptown Funk, while Brighton rock duo Royal Blood were presented with best British Group by rock legend Jimmy Page.
T-Swizzle (Taylor Swift) opened the show with her hit single Blank Space and went on to win best international female – her first award in the UK after releasing her first record there 8 years ago. Swift made an emotional speech and dedication to her friend Ed Sheeran saying he showed her the ropes in the UK by “taking me to pubs and showing me how to make a proper cup of tea.”
Who was your favourite artist at the BRIT awards this year? Tell us below…
