Brits 2010

After unexpectedly getting the chance to see the Brits (as I was travelling to Loftus Road to watch Watford vs QPR – only to have it called off upon arriving at the stadium), I was greeted with both treats and trials.

If we excuse the international categories that were as good as foregone conclusions and had succumbed to gaga mania

International female – Lady (irony in that itself) Gaga

International male – Jay Z

International album – Lady Gaga ‘The Fame’

International breakthrough artist – Lady Gaga

Then we actually had a very exciting set of awards on offer throughout the show. Combined with the fact that it was the 30th anniversary of the award ceremony, it is little surprise that the show was littered with an assortment of treats.

However, let me begin on a negative. Peter Kay. One of the UK’s best loved comedians and taking on the solo effort of hosting the show, I can’t help but feel Kay buckled under the pressure. At times I felt he was like a hedgehog caught in the headlights, and delivered a series of gags with little of the enthusiasm that normally delights his audiences. That said, anything was an improvement on the Horne, Cordon and Kylie fiasco of the year before, so I suppose I shouldn’t be too harsh.

On to a more positive note – the voters appear to have gotten the majority of the awards pretty spot on. Kasabian winning the best British band award is a long overdue representation of just how successful the band are (and set to be even bigger if rumours of some major festival headlining in the summer are to be believed). Ellie Goulding picking up the critics’ choice is a fair shout. Whilst Marina and the Diamonds have made a slightly bigger impact on the chart with the first song on her new album, I feel Goulding is still a deserved winner.

With regards to the two awards surrounding the ’30 years of Brits’ I also feel there were rightful winners. Oasis picking up best album is an award that few will disagree with (despite the bands recent....drama), and the Spice Girls winning best performance was a rightful award in what was a very very tough category. With the band being a truly authentic and hugely successful British phenomenon, the performance was a reflection of what the band encompassed.

My own personal distain came with the presentation of Best British female and Single of the Year. Lily Allen may have been a consistent performer, but has she really had a better year than Florence, Leona or even Pixie Lott? Questionable. Elsewhere the Best Single going to ‘Beat Again’ by JLS shows the weakness of the musical year that 2009 bought with regards to the singles chart. That said, JLS were in my view deserved recipients of the Best British Newcomer as they look like the first boy band to provide a genuinely credible attempt at reforming the traditional ‘N Sync’ style boy band of the 90’s – something that the music market is missing considerably.

My favourite aspect of this year’s Brits however was the collaboration of Dizzee Rascal and Florence and the Machine. Whoever thought this one up deserves a medal. The mix of Dirty Cash and You’ve got the love was one for the Brit vault and will be remembered for years to come. As a result Dizzee picked up the Best British Male (something I was unsure that would happen, but I believe is completely deserved) and even more impressively Florence picked up the Best British Album for ‘Lungs LP’. Both are refreshingly unbiased, as they are both unique artists who in previous years may have been overlooked.

Finally, Robbie Williams winning the Outstanding Contribution to Music. Anyone with any doubts that he deserved it clearly didn’t see his performance to close the show. Sharp, charming, entertaining – a performance that encompassed all of Robbie’s best traits in a selection of old and new songs that were worked seamlessly into each other. In my view, it was a master class in anybody who wants to leave a lasting legacy; it’s not all about the music, it’s about the performance just as much.

Side note - Anyone else notice the blandness in Cheryl Coles voice, yet still feel compelled to keep watching? What a woman...