The Grammys / The Brits

Brits at 40
A worthy look back over the history of the Britannia Awards, the highs and lows, great performances, mishaps, and what really went wrong with Mick Fleetwood and Sam Fox in 1989. Host Jack Whitehall handled the voice-over, and many stars and contributors past & present were sometimes surprisingly passionate about the show. The Brit School and the Rising Star award was discussed, and many of the Outstanding Contributors were mentioned (Cliff Richard was both an early winner in the late 1970s, and given the OC tag later).

Brit Awards 2020 - Red Carpet
An amusing pre-show effort with Lewis Capaldi performing Bruises, and presenters Clara Amfo and Alice Levine chatting to many guests including Sir Tom Jones, Mabel, Stormzy, Burna Boy, Anne-Marie and Lewis Capaldi.

The Brit Awards 2020
Jack Whitehall presented again. Lewis Capaldi and Billie Eilish were among the winners and performers. There were few surprises though. Dave used a performance to call out the Prime Minister for being a racist. The show closed with Rod Stewart and the other 2 surviving Faces for a performance more about his recent #1 album than any respect for the Faces.

misery guts wrote:
But more trouble with the forthcoming Grammys, after Deborah Dugan was kicked out with 10 days to go, and now she's made some serious claims (followed by counter-claims):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51204484

Oh dear, if only it mattered 

She's been sacked now, which she expected to happen after she made complaint 

The 2021 Brit Awards have been pushed back from next February to next May, in the hope things will be more normal by then.

Nominations for the 2021 Grammys have been revealed. Beyonce and Dua Lipa have got a lot, but the Weeknd has got zilch, and he's called the process "corrupt".

misery guts wrote:Nominations for the 2021 Grammys have been revealed. Beyonce and Dua Lipa have got a lot, but the Weeknd has got zilch, and he's called the process "corrupt".

Drake has also added his $0.02, calling for the Grammys to be replaced by something new and more modern.

The Grammys were due for January 31st, but with California in pandemic crisis, it's been put back to mid-March.

The Grammys were last night:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-56397324

Beyonce did well, somehow:

Beyoncé has set a new record at the Grammy Awards with her 28th win.

The star is now the most-awarded woman in Grammys history, overtaking bluegrass singer Alison Krauss.

Taylor Swift also basked in success:

Taylor Swift also made history at Sunday's ceremony, by becoming the first female artist ever to win album of the year three times.

The star was rewarded for her lockdown album Folklore - after previously winning with Fearless in 2010 and the pop opus 1989 in 2016.

Only three other artists have ever won the album of the year prize three times: Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.

Looking at the list of winners, it's all a bit odd, really.

The Weeknd followed up his wrath at being ignored by claiming he won't accept future nominations either.

Nominations for May's Brit Awards were released this week. Also one name, Pa Salieu, faces criminal charges relating to an incident back in 2018 

Next month's Brit Awards event will be another experiment in audience terms, given the whole "reopen the economy if it's safe" thing:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-56835482

Live later this week, there has been announced today a 4th winner of the "Global Icon" award. In the footsteps of David Bowie, Elton John and Robbie Williams will be the first female and "International" winner... Taylor Swift 

Meanwhile, proposed changes to the Grammys have been rescinded after complaints, but the Weeknd has made plain he's still not satisfied.

Brit Awards 2021
Jack Whitehall presented at the O2 Arena, with a limited live audience. Performances ranged from Coldplay and Olivia Rodrigo to Arlo Parks and Headie One. The Weeknd appeared from somewhere else, Elton John played piano as Years & Years' Olly Alexander covered It's A Sin, and Dua Lipa did a medley of her hits. Winners included Little Mix, J Hus, Billie Eilish and Haim. Not all that bad a show, really.

The Brits have announced that from next year there won't be separate "Best Male" or "Best Female" categories. Brian May has been one who has complained at this stance.

Brian May was quick to deny having any such complaint.

The three contenders for the next Rising Star award (formerly the Critic's Choice award) have been named and they are:

Holly Humberstone
Lola Young
Bree Runway

It's an all-female list then. At least I'm familiar with 2 of the 3.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59468582

Perhaps predictably, Holly Humberstone got the nod.

The imminent Grammys have had to be postponed because of Omicron:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59889228

In more hopeful news, the nominations for the 2022 Brit awards were announced lately:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59709921

Inflo has been announced as the winner of Best Producer at the imminent Brit Awards. He has worked with Adele and Little Simz along the way.

Brit Awards 2022 - Red Carpet
Somewhat fluffy pre-show show, with Becky Hill doing a short medley, but presenters Maya Jama and Clara Amfo talking to various presenters and nominees (including Jodie Whittaker), and host Mo Gilligan.

The Brit Awards 2022
Mo did OK as 1st time host, there were a mix of performances from Adele, Ed Sheeran, Sam Fender and Little Simz, with the awards being fairly unsurprising (Adele won most, but Wolf Alice, Dave and Silk Sonic all got nods too).

misery guts wrote:The imminent Grammys have had to be postponed because of Omicron:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59889228

They were last night. The Foo Fighters won 3, other big winners were Silk Sonic, Olivia Rodrigo, and someone called Jon Batiste, who's so successful that I hadn't heard of him at all before yesterday.

Nicki Minaj has got upset about the forthcoming (?) Grammys, as she's been moved from her usual category into Pop, where she stands less chance of winning 

With the year rambling towards its closure, the nominees for next year's Rising Star award at the Brits have been chosen and announced:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-63793567

It's

Flo
Cat Burns
Nia Archives

2 of whom are already stars as it is.

Flo got the nod, apparently the first time a band has won.

This year's Brits nominations are out:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64248726

Looks like a mix of the bleeding obvious, like Harry Styles and Wet Leg, and the "more popular with critics than punters" like Fred Again and Nova Twins.

The Grammys were held last night. The headline seems to be that Beyonce has now surpassed Sir Georg Solti (!) as the all-time winner of most Grammys. She won 4 on the night, and must be likely to add to her total in the future too.

Sam Smith, Adele, Harry Styles and Wet Leg were among Brits to win.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64533539

Brits 2023: Red Carpet
A somewhat unnecessary preamble show to allow three presenters to chat to various award presenters and nominated acts. Bad Boy Chiller Crew got to give a performance, given their inexplicably being nominated for something. Most of the chats were of little consequence.

Brit Awards 2023
Mo Gilligan hosted again, and things were slightly less than smoothly, to the extent they replayed some Adele performance from last year to fill time, and the David Guetta-led finale ran over time. The prizes were uninspiring (Harry Styles won all 4 he was nominated for, Beyonce won her 2, Wet Leg also won 2. More surprising winners were Fontaines DC and The 1975. Lewis Capaldi, Cat Burns, Sam Smith and Wet Leg were among the performers, led off by Styles opening the show.