The Brit Awards 2012

The annual Brit Awards ceremony took place in London this Tuesday night. Despite a questionable reputation, the occasion marks the high point in the British musical calendar, particularly recognising the achievements within the British industry as well as those worldwide. Here, I givesa run-down of the 2012 awards and the winners.

British Male was taken home by Ed Sheeran, who also bagged British Breakthrough. The singer-songwriter has had a fantastic 2011, with his album + going platinum and his gig tickets becoming something akin to gold dust. Whilst predictable, Ed deserved the recognition, particularly within the contenders from the British Male outlet (but Jessie J and The Vaccines were worthy nominations in the breakthrough category that merit recognition).

British Female was awarded to (dramatic pause, as if you couldn’t possibly guess), Adele. Without a doubt, the award ceremony was to belong to Adele’s triumphs in what has been a whirlwind twelve months for the star, starting with her performance of ‘Someone Like You’ at the Brits 2011. In addition, she bagged the British Album of the Year, the big Brit. If she hadn’t have won there would have certainly been a public outcry of sorts, which we shall come back to later when reviewing the show.

British Group was handed over to “We won’t win any Brits” Coldplay, the third time they have snatched the award. Yet this was an opportunity for the Brits to be edgier, with Chase and Status, or Elbow or even Kasabian having released material that, for me, interests the listener more than an enjoyable, but predictable, Coldplay album.

The real and most terrible shock of the night, however, came from the British public themselves. Hang your heads in shame, voters of the Brit awards 2012. British Single of the Year – One Direction: ‘What Makes You Beautiful’. The preppy, sickly pop number fended off the likes of ‘Someone Like You’ (which admittedly a number of people may now be bored of), ‘The A Team’, ‘Changed The Way You Kissed Me’ and even ‘Price Tag’. As a shameful moment in a Brit Awards ceremony, it is possibly only eclipsed by blundering over Adele’s British album (more later).

Elsewhere, Rihanna won International Female for the second year running, which reflects her achievements selling the most records of any foreign artist in the UK last year, and becoming the most watched artist on Youtube. Lana Del Rey picked up International Breakthrough and was wooden as ever in her acceptance of the award.

International Male went to Bruno Mars, which was generally a poor category for mainstream artists, but had the potential to give a voice to some largely unknown people (Bon Iver, Aloe Blacc). Alas, the Brits bosses voted for sales over substance in this case.

One of the toughest categories was probably International Group, which was claimed by the Foo Fighters. Thankfully one rock outlet won an award, otherwise it could have been some over the top sweet-pop fiasco affair. Most people thought Maroon 5 would blag it thanks to their inescapable ‘Moves Like Jagger’. A surprise Brit award, deserved nonetheless.

Outstanding contribution was awarded to Blur, and Critics Choice to Emile Sandé.

As far as the 2012 ceremony went, there had obviously been some effort to make the event seem polished and relevant. The awards were given a Union Jack lick of paint and the event was stylised around rainbows, flowers, suns and flags. All feeling very optimistic in the year of jubilees and Olympics.

However, James Corden received mixed reviews, his comedy appearing somewhat forced and based around song lyrics.

Many performances were bland alongside Corden’s presenting. Coldplay certainly went overboard with pyrotechnics, but that was about as elaborate as the staging was for any act. Adele dutifully performed the same song ('Rolling In The Deep') in the same set up as she had ten days prior at the Grammys. Rihanna blasted out ‘We Found Love’ for the umpteenth time on an award show, though at least she brought colour to the proceedings.

Blur’s performance in particular has divided opinion following the event. Some took to social networks in a frenzy slating the live set, saying they were past their best, drunk, shouting, loutish like a karaoke at a bar. On the other hand, a number, myself included, feel that the Blur set is unduly criticised. Fair play, the act wasn’t the best the band have produced, but there was some 90s pop-punk revival charm about their set that really captured the spirit and reason behind the band being awarded outstanding contribution. It was hedonistic; both reminiscent of inebriated summer evenings and a head pump of adrenaline at festivals.

Of course, stealing the light from all of the above was the shocking moment James Corden stepped over to the podium and cut Adele off as she was making her acceptance speech for British Album of the Year. How do I even begin to vent my spleen on this musical atrocity?

To begin, any sport related telebroadcast would be allowed to overrun by significant amounts of time: I'm pretty sure you could have spared an extra 30 seconds. This woman has made British music en vogue single handedly and continues to break records worldwide, let alone scooping six Grammys. Just a week before the Brits, she talked of her love for the ceremony. She began by saying she was proud to be British, and the organisers didn’t have the patience to let her prove what it means to be British.

More to the point, James Corden should not have cut her off. It’s his second year presenting the awards and both times to mixed reviews. It’s unlikely he’ll get them again: but he’s a comedian staring in an award winning West-End play. He doesn’t need that gig. He should have stood on the stage and let her finish: it wouldn’t have hurt him one bit.

Then, my issue with ITV is that similar mishaps happen each year. The key is to delay broadcast the show by half an hour and get less advertisers. To add insult to injury, this particular year saw segments highlighting the ‘Album of the Year’ category throughout the show. It is nothing but poor foresight and planning should there not be proper fruition of what has been built up and up for two hours.

The Brit Awards 2012 then? Another mediocre set of largely predictable awards, eternally remembered as the year that the most awarded singer to come out of the UK was ignored on her home soil.