Adele had a triumphant return at the BRIT Awards in 2016, as the U.K. record industry’s annual ceremony went very much to plan. The singer-songwriter’s “25” was confirmed as Best British Album, while she also won Best Song for “Hello”; the Global Success Award; and Best British Female Solo Artist.Some of the BRIT announcements were totally predictable: Adele was denied the Best British Video Award because it is voted by the public, and One Direction has a huge fan base mobilized for such eventualities. The group won in 2014 and 2015 too for Best Video, thanks to votes for “Best Song Ever” and “Drag Me Down” respectively.Love him or hate him, few people would be surprised too by Canada’s Justin Bieber winning the International Male Solo Artist gong. He recently became the first artist in U.K. Official Charts History to be in numbers 1, 2 and 3 in the same week. Chart statistics matter at the BRITS.Here are some things we didn’t know until the show:1. No need to worry: Adele is back on form.There had been fears that her performance at the Grammy Awards would undermine Adele’s confidence before the crucial start of the world tour that opens next week.While the Grammy problems with faulty microphones were in no way Adele’s fault, she has revealed before that she suffers from stage fright. Adele should feel bolstered by the support of loyal fans on tour, and her vocal delivery at the end of the BRITS show in London’s O2 area was fine. “When We Were Young” is a low-register number that she did just right. She sounded confident and happy, joking that she didn’t swear and wasn’t cut off.2. Don’t laugh at a band just because it is called Catfish and the Bottlemen.They laughed at Echo and the Bunnymen too. The thought was that an off-the-wall name can make even an alternative indie guitar band look less than serious. Now Catfish has won the Best Breakthrough act, people will be taking the group little more seriously – and rightly, actually, because the quartet from North Wales (not so far from Echo and Bunnymen’s Liverpool) made an impressive debut album and the next may be even better.Still, there may be many who wonder about equally impressive breakthroughs achieved by others over the last few months, especially Wolf Alice, whose album “My Love is Cool” means the female-fronted London foursome would have been a very worthy winner.3. Don’t write off Coldplay yet.The BRIT awards are mainly for young pop stars: over the years many Boy Bands and teen idols have won. So the award of Best British Group to comparative veterans Coldplay may come as a surprise. Chris Martin’s men first won a BRIT in 2001 , when they also got Best British Group as well as Best Album for the debut “Parachutes.” Coldplay’s performance at the Super Bowl half time show had mixed views, while its 7th studio album “A Head Full of Dreams” was not welcomed warmly by all critics.4. Experimentation rules, OK. The BRITS often honor commercial clout more than artistic risk-taking. Therefore, some record company executives last night said that it was good to see nods to artists who push the envelope with bold statements.The International Female Solo Artist by rights should have gone to Taylor Swift (had she been nominated) or Lana Del Rey (who was). Instead, in another commendably bold choice, Björk picked up the prize. The Icelandic artist’s experimentation includes the recent 360-degree video “Stonemilker,” an extraordinary collaboration.Similarly the best International Group prize went to Tame Impala, whose “Let it Happen” is a provocative video of a businessman apparently having a heart attack in an airport lounge.5. A better Bowie tribute is done by the Brits.Lady Gaga’s tribute to the late David Bowie at the Grammy Awards medleyed a lot of song snippets together and was loved by many. David Bowie’s son Duncan seemed less impressed, sending a tweet that defined “Gaga”: “overexcited or irrational, typically as a result of infatuation or excessive enthusiasm; mentally confused.”Either way, the BRITS kept it simpler. Singer Annie Lennox’s speech was very effusive about a “gracious, dangerous and legendary” man. Bowie’s pal, the actor Gary Oldman, recalled how the star had written to him confirming a cancer diagnosis – Bowie said the good news was that he had got his cheekbones back. Oldman said the musician was brave throughout this health ordeal. The medley by Bowie’s band that followed at the BRITS was set off perfectly by New Zealander Lorde, seen by Bowie as the future of music, who looked overcome at the end of “Life on Mars.” RESULTSBritish Breakthrough Act: Catfish and the Bottlemen.British Female Solo Artist Adele.British Group: Coldplay.British Male Solo Artist James Bay.British Producer of the Year (previously announced): Charlie Andrew.British Single of the Year: Adele – “Hello.”British Video (voted by fans): One Direction– “Drag Me Down.”Critics’ Choice (previously announced): Jack Garratt.Global Success Award: Adele.International Female Solo Artist: Björk.International Group: Tame Impala.International Male Solo Artist: Justin Bieber.MasterCard British Album of the Year: Adele –“25.”
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