The biggest names in the music industry gathered to celebrate the year’s best British and international offerings at the glittering 2016 BRIT Awards that were held at The O2 in London and live-streamed on YouTube for music lovers around the world.
AwardsSeason
Adele dominated the winners list while Coldplay won the Best British Group.
The biggest names in the music industry gathered to celebrate the year’s best British and international offerings at the glittering 2016 BRIT Awards that were held at The O2 in London and live-streamed on YouTube for music lovers around the world.
The ceremony
Hosted by the ever-popular Ant & Dec, the program kicked off with Coldplay performing their latest single ‘Hymn for the Weekend’ (sans Beyonce). Various popular acts subsequently took the stage in the two and a half hour ceremony, but the performances, on the whole, were safe and unsurprising. Jess Glynne performed a medley of her hits; Little Mix danced their way through ‘Black Magic’; The Weeknd sang ‘The Hills’; and James Bay performed ‘Hold Back the River’. Bay also accompanied Justin Bieber for the stripped down ‘Love Yourself’ before The Beebs went off for a more elaborate performance of ‘Sorry’.
Rihanna stood out with a lively rendition of her songs ‘Consideration’ and ‘Work’, with Drake joining her for the latter. And Adele impressed, as always, as she closed the show with a smooth rendition of ‘When We Were Young’.
The highlight of the ceremony, however, was a tribute to David Bowie. Annie Lennox paid her respects to the late singer, remembering his genius and praising his contributions to the industry, before Gary Oldman accepted the Icon Award on Bowie’s behalf. Singer Lorde then performed ‘Life on Mars’ accompanied by Bowie’s backing band, bringing together the old and the new for a moving homage. The legendary singer’s son Duncan James later described the tribute as “just... beautiful” on Twitter.
The winners
The award show was predictably dominated by Adele, who topped the charts around the world last year with her single ‘Hello’ and album 25, and was a favourite in all the major categories. The reigning queen of music took home the British Female Solo Artist and BRITs Global Success awards and also won the British Album of the Year trophy for 25 and the British Single of the Year award for ‘Hello’. In her acceptance speeches, she proclaimed her support for Kesha (who is fighting a legal battle against producer Dr. Luke), broke down in tears, and hoped that British astronaut Tim Peake (who virtually presented her an award) isn’t too hungry.
Coldplay were awarded the British Group gong for the four times; Chris Martin won praise for drawing attention to the plight of refugees, then faced the wrath of One Direction fans with his quip saying thanks “from Harry, Zayn, Liam, and me, Niall,” naming the group’s former member Zayn while failing to mention Louis. Despite being on hiatus, 1D still managed to snag an award, the fan-voted British Artist Video of the Year, for ‘Drag Me Down’; one half of 1D – Liam and Louis – appeared on stage to accept the trophy.
Other winners included Aussie band Tame Impala (Best International Group), Justin Bieber (International Male Solo Artist), Catfish and the Bottlemen (British Breakthrough Act), and Björk (International Female Solo Artist).
Here’s the complete list of winners:
British Male Solo Artist: James Bay
British Female Solo Artist: Adele
British Group: Coldplay
International Group: Tame Impala
British Breakthrough Act: Catfish and the Bottlemen
Critics’ Choice: Jack Garratt
MasterCard British Album of the Year: Adele – 25
British Single of the Year: Adele – ‘Hello’
International Male Solo Artist: Justin Bieber
International Female Solo Artist: Björk
British Producer of the Year: Charlie Andrew
British Video: One Direction – ‘Drag Me Down’
BRITs Global Success: Adele
BRITs Icon Award: David Bowie
