Brit Awards 2013: Predictions, Preferences and General Ramblings of a Layman

Well I see that the Brit Awards are upon us again, which provides a handy reason for me to return to this blog. That telltale sign that we are all getting older as not only does it seem with each passing year as though we have bought/downloaded barely anything from any of the nominees, but increasingly it seems as though there are a few nominees that I haven't even heard of! With some admittedly patchy knowledge of some categories, here's what I reckon this year:


British Breakthrough Act Nominees:
Top 5 selected by Voting Academy. Winner identified by public vote promoted by brits.co.uk and BBC Radio 1
• Alt-J (Infectious Music)
• Ben Howard (Island / Universal Music)
• Jake Bugg (Mercury / Universal Music)
• Jessie Ware (Island / PMR / Universal Music)
• Rita Ora (Columbia / Roc Nation / Sony Music)

Some great names in this category. Jessie Ware, I know her sister called Della. Come to think of it, I think I've come across Rita Ora's sister Kia. Or are they a car manufacturer? I digress. Going by what I have seen and heard this year, Rita Ora has been quite big in the airplay on the radio and done decently in the charts while Jake Bugg has had good write-ups in the music press and toured with Noel Gallagher and the Stone Roses. That suggests to me that it is between these 2 but the lovely Rita's greater commercial will probably just sway the vote in her direction.

My prediction: Rita Ora My selection: Jake Bugg



British Female Solo Artist Nominees:
• Amy Winehouse (Island / Universal Music)
• Bat for Lashes (Parlophone / EMI Music)
• Emeli Sandé (Virgin / EMI Music)
• Jessie Ware (Island / PMR / Universal Music)
• Paloma Faith (RCA / Sony Music)

I look forward to the acceptance speech if the first name is the one that is read out of the envelope. Has anyone ever won a Brit Award posthumously before I wonder? I know it's been done in the Oscars on a couple of occasions, most recently by Heath Ledger if I recall correctly. As much as the Amy Winehouse album that was released after her death had a couple of gems on it, I can't really see her coming out on top of the pile here. Paloma Faith and her array of crazy headgear has gathered quite a gathering over the past year and I liked her cover of the old INXS song that was used in an advert (John Lewis?). She has a chance but Emeli Sande had the best selling album of last year and was everywhere last year, even tinkling the ivories at Sports Personality of the Year. A big-up to Brightonian Bat For Lashes, but Emeli's winning this one I think.

My prediction: Emeli Sande My selection: Paloma Faith



British Group Nominees:
• Alt-J (Infectious Music)
• Mumford & Sons (Gentlemen of The Road / Island / Universal Music)
• Muse (Helium 3 / Warner Bros / Warner Music)
• One Direction (Syco / Sony Music)
• The xx (Young Turks / XL / Beggars)


This one's a bit of a mixed bag with boybands mixed in with guitar bands as well as electronica and a spot of folk too. Can't really see Alt-J or The xx prevailing here and I think Muse's glory days were a few years ago when they brought out their 'Black Holes and Revelations' album. So it really boils down to whether the One Direction juggernaut is bigger than Mumford & Sons' surprising popularity as a live band. I think that 10-15 years ago this award would always have been the preserve of the latest indie wonder, but Take That have won this award in recent years off the back of shifting lots of records and gaining mass appeal and One Direction seem to have conquered America which is no easy feat. Sorry banjo lovers, but I think Harry Styles et al have this one in the bag.

My prediction: One Direction My selection: Mumford & Sons



British Live Act Nominees:
• Coldplay (Parlophone / EMI Music)
• Mumford & Sons (Gentlemen of The Road / Island / Universal Music)
• Muse (Helium 3 / Warner Bros / Warner Music)
• The Rolling Stones (Polydor / Universal Music)
• The Vaccines (Columbia / Sony Music)

Not sure what it says about the strength in depth of live music acts over the past year when the Rolling Stones receive a nomination now that they enter their geriatric period. Coldplay, M&S and Muse are always regulars in this category and probably not much to choose between the 3 of them. Coldplay were touring with their previous year's material whereas Muse and Mumford & Sons had some fresh stuff out and so this might just steer things in their favour. I think this might be where M&S get their gong.

My prediction: Mumford & Sons My selection: Mumford & Sons



British Male Solo Artist Nominees:
• Ben Howard (Island / Universal Music)
• Calvin Harris (Columbia / Sony Music)
• Olly Murs (Epic / Sony Music)
• Richard Hawley (Parlophone / EMI Music)
• Plan B (679 / Atlantic / Warner Music)


Not really an expert on these things, but did Olly Murs release very much last year? If he did then he probably stands a good chance of winning. I'd say it is going to be between him and Calvin Harris. Good to see Richard Hawley has been nominated though as he's been releasing some good material for the past few years and he has a very distinctive, old-school voice. We won't get to hear him use his voice this time though as the acceptance speech will most likely be Calvin's.

My prediction: Calvin Harris My selection: Richard Hawley

BRITs Global Success Award
The winner of this Award will be announced at the Show on Wednesday 20th February.

Presumably an extra award added to the bill to give to Adele?

British Producer of the Year Nominees:
In association with The MPG Awards Identified by a panel overseen by MPG.
• Damon Albarn
• Jake Gosling
• Paul Epworth
Damon Albarn's a new face in the Producer category. By comparison, Paul Epworth is an old hand. Expect experience to win the day here.

Special Recognition Award Winner:
War Child UK


Presumably a Special Recognition Award this year rather than a Lifetime Achievement? Either way, a justified award.


Critics’ Choice Award :
In association with War Child Identified by a panel made up of media music critics
• Tom Odell (Columbia / Sony Music) - Winner
• AlunaGeorge (Island / Universal Music)
• Laura Mvula (RCA / Sony Music)


Don't have a lot to add on this one, other than whoever wins it is going to have a good chance of winning best breakthrough act next year. I'll go for Mr Odell.



International Group Nominees:
• Alabama Shakes (Rough Trade / XL / Beggars)
• The Black Keys (Nonesuch / Warner Music)
• Fun (Atlantic / Fuelled By Ramen / Warner Music)
• The Killers (Vertigo / Universal Music)
• The Script (Epic / Phonogenic / Sony Music)

I'd usually say that The Killers are a cert for this award whenever they are nominated, but their last album was a bit underwhelming and they are also up against some stiff competition. Alabama Shakes and Fun have both attracted good write-ups and The Script always do well commercially. But the best album I bought last year was El Camino by The Black Keys and they also just did well in the Grammy Awards. 2 of their songs - Lonely Boy and Gold On The Ceiling have been used quite regularly on adverts and trails over the past year which is a sure sign of appreciation. I think they will be further endorsed here.

My prediction: The Black Keys My selection: The Black Keys

International Female Solo Artist Nominees:
• Alicia Keys (RCA / Sony Music)
• Cat Power (Matador / XL / Beggars)
• Lana Del Rey (Polydor / Universal Music)
• Rihanna (Def Jam / Universal Music)
• Taylor Swift (Mercury / Universal Music)

Alicia Keys is something of a veteran in this category these days, but probably stands little chance of winning this year. Rihanna and Taylor Swift have shifted lots of records/downloads as per usual and both stand a chance but Lana Del Rey was one of the big sellers in the UK last year and did well in the charts making a major breakthrough in 2012 and on that basis I think she gets to win this award.

My prediction: Lana Del Rey My selection: Lana Del Rey


International Male Solo Artist Nominees:
• Bruce Springsteen (Columbia / Sony Music)
• Frank Ocean (Def Jam / Universal Music)
• Gotye (Island / Universal Music)
• Jack White (XL Recordings / XL / Beggars)
• Michael Buble (Reprise / Warner Music)

You know the apocalypse will be upon us if Michael Buble wins this award. Fortunately I think we will be reprieved for a while longer. Springsteen must be catching Neil Young up for the prolific number of studio albums he's recorded as he seems to get nominated nearly every year. Haven't heard anything Jack White has released as a solo artist but Gotye had one of the most played songs of last year which gained him notoriety which should see him win this one.

My prediction: Gotye My selection: Errr....Jack White I suppose

British Single:
Top fifteen British singles based on the biggest sales success in 2012 - With Capital FM and iTunes
• Adele ‘Skyfall’ (XL Recordings / XL / Beggars)
• Alex Clare ‘Too Close’ (Island / Universal Music)
• Coldplay & Rihanna ‘Princess of China’ (Parlophone / EMI Music)
• DJ Fresh Ft Rita Ora ‘Hot Right Now’ (Ministry of Sound / Ministry of Sound Group)
• Emeli Sandé ‘Next To Me’ (Virgin / EMI Music)
• Florence & The Machine ‘Spectrum’ (Island / Universal Music)
• James Arthur ‘Impossible’ (Syco Music / Sony Music)
• Jessie J ‘Domino’ (Island / Lava / Universal Music)
• Labrinth Ft Emeli Sandé ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ (Syco Music / Sony Music)
• Olly Murs Ft Flo Rida ‘Troublemaker’ (Epic / Sony Music)
• Rita Ora Ft Tinie Tempah ‘R.I.P.’ (Columbia / Roc Nation / Sony Music)
• Rizzle Kicks ‘Mama Do The Hump’ (Island / Universal Music)
• Robbie Williams ‘Candy’ (Island / Universal Music)
• Rudimental Ft John Newman ‘Feel The Love’ (Asylum / Black Butter / Warner Music)
• Stooshe ‘Black Heart’ (Future Cut / Qworks / Warner Bros / Warner Music


The usual mixture of stuff in this category. There is about 2/3s of the nominees that can be readily eliminated as having a chance of winning. In fact, I think the destiny of this award is really between 4 female vocalists - Adele, Rita Ora, Emeli Sande and Florence. 'Spectrum' was one of my favourite songs last year and Flo and her Machine might stand a chance here, but I think the success of 'Skyfall' as a movie and Adele's subsequent success in the Grammys suggests this award is heading for her mantelpiece. Even as someone that doesn't like Bond themes or Adele particularly, I'd have to admit this was a good song.

My prediction: Adele My selection: Florence & The Machine

MasterCard British Album of the Year Nominees:

Supported by The Sun Bizarre Column
• Alt-J ‘An Awesome Wave’ (Infectious Music)
• Emeli Sandé ‘Our Version Of Events’ (Virgin / EMI Music)
• Mumford & Sons ‘Babel’ (Gentlemen of The Road / Island / Universal Music)
• Paloma Faith ‘Fall To Grace’ (RCA / Sony Music)
• Plan B ‘Ill Manors’ (679 / Atlantic / Warner Music)

I bought only one of these albums, which was Mumford & Sons' album 'Babel'. It's not a bad album at all as it goes and they triumphed when they released their previous album so they could well be successful again. The only reason to bet against them is that Emeli Sande had the best selling album of last year and given that the award is endorsed by The Sun, you would imagine that the populist vote will win the day. Expect some grateful record execs that have been kept in a job to applaud when she scoops this award.


My prediction: Emeli Sande My selection: Mumford & Sons

Brit Awards witterings, ramblings and predictions 2012

So, once again the award season is upon us with this weekend the BAFTA film awards following hot on the heels of the British Comedy Awards, the National Television Awards and the National Envelope Openers Awards. But it is on 22 February that the blue riband event so far as the British music industry concerned takes place, the night when record execs come together to slap their counterparts wholesale on the back.

Yes, it is the Brit Awards, the night that has provided many moments of controversy and comedy, ranging from Mick Fleetwood and Sam Fox's inability to read an autocue right through to Jarvis Cocker baring his derriere whilst Michael Jackson performed, and the amusingly named anarchist Danbert Nobacon of Chumbawamba fame pouring a bucket of ice over John Prescott and escaping a retaliatory jab from Hull's finest croquet playing Jaguar driver.

And so what moments of controversy, debauchery and amusement will be thrown up (hopefully not literally) this year? Well, judging by the nominees, seemingly not very much. Perhaps more than anything it is a sign of the ageing process taking hold, but it is hard to think of a year where I have been less aware of so many of the acts that have made the shortlist. I think this is in part due to me having bought so little music in 2011, either in physical copy or via download. However, I think it is also due to the nature of the charts now. Several of the acts nominated have had very little exposure in the media or via radio playlists over the past year and so consequently, much of their work has crept under the radar.

Maybe I will have to live with the reality that middle age is starting to take hold on me and it won't be long before I start finding myself snubbing music radio altogether and find that Radio 4 or Test Match Special on long wave will be my preferred wireless listening of choice. But it does seem to me that the days of the Brits having an impact and being compulsive television viewing are long gone. Sure, Lady Gaga will turn up wearing something reported missing from an abattoir and some rapper will turn the air blue with a few ill advised F-bombs in their acceptance speech, but these moments will be few and far between in an otherwise anodyne itinerary. James Corden has been booked to compere the show for the second year running, much to universal delight at least in the Corden household. But even a few lame putdowns from Patrick Stewart's old sparring partner are unlikely to give the Brits that much edge.

But, let's not get too bogged down with how the awards stack up with renewals from yesteryear. Comparisons are indeed odious and there are at least some interesting battles that could arise in some of this year's marquee categories. Ed Sheeran and Adele seem to be in pole position to clean up at this year's ceremony and given the commercial success that both have enjoyed in 2011, it would very surprising if either were to walk away empty handed. The Brits panel are an unpredictable bunch, but then so too are the British public, and they have a hand in deciding the destiny of the best single and album categories.

So, I thought it would be a good idea if a musical Nostradamus was to cast his eye over this year's shortlist and provide their expert analysis as to who will win each award, as well as advising the world as to what gems should be scooping the prizes, so far as their musical ear is concerned. Sadly, our correspondent was out to lunch and so the duty falls upon yours truly to predict the night's winners and losers for your delectation. Here goes:


British Male Solo Artist: Ed Sheeran, James Blake, James Morrison, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Professor Green
The days of this category being dominated by Robbie Williams are mercifully long gone. In his place we have some new kids on the scene, along with an old stager appearing as a solo artist for the first time. I have not followed Ed Sheeran a great deal but his songs appear to have received a lot of radio play in the last year and he was also lauded on Top of the Pops at Christmas, which makes him a livewire contender here. Nelly Furtado's former collaborative partner who mended her broken strings should win the battle of the 2 James' here, although Mr Blake continues to make that difficult transition from black US hard court tennis specialist to white, folksy British singer-songwriter. I thought Professor Green generally committed violent crime in the library with a candlestick, but I am not certain of whether his music is equally criminal. That leaves us with one half of Madchester's finest indie sibling combo in his new project and whilst his debut solo album is a very fine listen and reminiscent of Oasis's more mellow offerings, Noel Gallagher sized eyebrows would be raised were he to land this award at a time when old school indie-Britpop music is not particularly in vogue. Disappointing not to see Devonian folk singer Ben Howard make the shortlist (kind of Paignton's answer to Jack Johnson), but of those that have made it, expect flavour of the month Ed Sheeran to edge out James Morrison for the mantelpiece decoration.

My prediction: Ed Sheeran My choice: Noel Gallagher

British Female Solo Artist: Adele, Florence & The Machine, Jessie J, Kate Bush, Laura Marling
Not the most inspiring list of nominees that have ever adorned this category, albeit there are a couple of previous winners amongst the quintet. Jessie J has certainly had a productive year and her song 'Price Tag' has been one of the most played songs of the past year, perhaps because it is appropriate in identifying society's current materialistic obsessions. For all that, however, I found the song somewhat irritating. Florence and her imaginary machine have come back and recorded that difficult second album to general acclaim, although it generally passed me by. Kate Bush seems to be this year's version of Annie Lennox and is nominated just to remind people that she has made her once in a decade trip to a recording studio, while Laura Marling seems to be gaining a reputation as the critics' favourite. She won this category a year ago against the odds, but lightning is unlikely to strike twice as last year was Adele's year. And I say that as someone who does not like her music, or indeed her. When you are the biggest selling recording artist in the States as well as in the UK, you know that you have cracked it and seeing as how sales of CDs and downloads keep record execs away from a Jobseekers' Allowance, expect them to show their gratitude here.

My prediction: Adele My choice: Despite not liking her, it has to be Adele


British Breakthrough Act: Anna Calvi, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande, Jessie J, The Vaccines
It has been a strange sort of year because whereas in previous years, I would look at this category and would be championing the merits of at least one of the nominees' work, I look at the list this year and know little of their respective merits. Of course, I have heard of Jessie J, Ed Sheeran and Anna Calvi but have only heard the odd song here and there. I did hear one of Emeli Sande's songs on Radio 2 the other week and quite liked it, while I have heard some of The Vaccines' work and just thought they were the type of indie guitar band that has given that genre a bad name these days because their sound was very derivative. On the surface, this looks like a straight fight between Ed Sheeran and Jessie J, and I anticipate that Mr Sheeran will win his second award of the evening.

My prediction: Ed Sheeran My choice: Emeli Sande

British Group: Arctic Monkeys, Chase & Status, Coldplay, Elbow, Kasabian

A lot of the usual suspects feature in this category, although spot the odd one out. Go on, be honest, have you heard of Chase and Status? They sound like a web design company. A little bit surprising that Beady Eye didn't get a look in for this category after the release of their first album in 2011. Of the established acts, Coldplay returned with their first new album in 3 years in 2011 and as staunch a fan of Coldplay as I am, I have to say that I was underwhelmed by their latest offering. Not a bad album by any means, but it lacked as many standout tracks as most of its predecessors. By the same token, Elbow's last album did not quite hit the same heights as 'Seldom Seen Kid' but it would have been unrealistic to expect it to. Arctic Monkeys seem to have faded off the radar a bit these days, no longer going for the populist audience and in doing so, losing some of their fanbase whilst getting further approval from the rest. If Coldplay are to be beaten here, then it is likely to be Kasabian who topple them given their popular appeal to those that attend live music. They also seem to be a band that are remaining fresh despite now being on their fourth album. I have a gut feeling for the band from Leicester to cause a minor upset in this category and for them to defeat Coldplay.

My prediction: Kasabian My choice: Elbow

British Single: Adele - Someone Like You, Ed Sheeran - The A Team, Example - Changed The Way You Kissed Me, Jessie J Ft B.o.B. - Price Tag, JLS Ft Dev - She Makes Me Wanna, Military Wives/Gareth Malone - Wherever You Are, Olly Murs Ft Rizzle Kicks - Heart Skips A Beat, One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful, Pixie Lott - All About Tonight, The Wanted - Glad You Came
As ever the nominees for this category reads like a playlist for Heart FM's daytime schedule. The Wanted will betray their song title and be wishing they stayed at home because they will not be winning. Nor for that matter will the Military Wives, Ed Sheeran or One Direction, much to Caroline Flack's disappointment. If the queue for their concert at The Dome last year was anything to go by, Example will be getting the teenage girl vote. As much as it would be pleasing to see a Brightonian victory, Rizzle Kicks' collaboration with Olly Murs will not be claiming the prize either. I must confess to a weakness where Pixie Lott is concerned, a perfect mixture of long legs and saccharin sweet electro-pop does the trick. Incidentally where was she on the best female shortlist? Her nominated song was one of the better number 1s of recent times, but even so, I think she will fall short here as I am expecting the winner to come from either Adele or Jessie J, as theirs were 2 of the most played singles of last year. Given that Adele released 3 or 4 singles of note last year while Jessie J's nominated effort remains the one by which she is most readily identified, I think the latter could scoop the prize on this occasion.

My prediction: Jessie J My choice: Pixie Lott

British Album of the Year: Adele - 21, Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto, Ed Sheeran - +, Florence & The Machine - Ceremonials, PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Well, I only own one out of the shortlist this year and that is Coldplay's latest album. I must say that although I am very much a fan of Coldplay's, as I mentioned above, I did feel somewhat underwhelmed by their latest album and do not feel that it has the strength in depth of most of their previous efforts. The problem is, however, that I have not heard enough of the other albums to suitably advise if any of the other nominees' entries are better. I have heard the singles from Adele's album and also a couple of songs from Florence and the Machine and so I would expect them to be at the front of the queue when this award is given out. It is surprising that Noel Gallagher's debut album is missing as that was the best album I bought last year, followed by White Lies' second album 'Ritual'. Ed Sheeran I suppose is also a candidate, while I think PJ Harvey got in because she won the Mercury Prize last year, but that generally does not offer much of a form guide, save for the year that Elbow made their breakthrough. I think it is a close call between Adele and Florence, but although Karl Lagerfield is unlikely to approve, expect another win for Adele.

My prediction: Adele My choice: Somewhat by default in the absence of Noel Gallagher or White Lies, Coldplay


International Male Solo Artist: Aloe Blacc, Bon Iver, Bruno Mars, David Guetta, Ryan Adams
It is to my great shame and possibly a sign of the ageing process kicking in that I was completely ignorant to Ryan Adams releasing any material last year, an artist who I quite like and whose material I have previously bought. Elsewhere, we have Aloe Blacc who I doubt is in need of a dollar these days following the commercial success of his hit single last year. You do sense he could end up being one of those one hit wonders being picked out of the Buzzcocks ID parade in five years time, by which time one suspects Phill Jupitus will be fossilised and Noel Fielding will have become a woman. I was so oblivious to David Guetta last year when he was nominated that I wondered whether he was in fact a Spanish goalkeeper, but he appears to have had another year of recording and producing club records played on the Balearics' party island so comes here as a livewire contender. I'm not particularly familiiar with Bon Iver, but gather he is of a similar musical ilk to Jack Johnson and Ben Howard, so he may be worth checking out. It is Bruno Mars, however, who seems to have had the most commercial success out of this quintet this past year though and on that basis, I would be surprised if anyone else picked up this award.

My prediction: Bruno Mars My choice: Ryan Adams

International Female Solo Artist: Beyonce, Bjork, Feist, Lady Gaga, Rihanna
Again, due to me not following music extensively in 2011, I was not aware that Iceland's greatest singing pugilist had released any material last year, or indeed this side of the Millennium. I'm sure that she is as grateful as a grapefruit for her nomination competing against such stellar names. Nice to see Feist nominated who had a fairish hit with that radio friendly '1234' song three or four years ago, although I was blissfully unaware that she had released anything since. She surely comes in as rank outsider in this category. As for the A-listers, well I think Lady Gaga's seminal year came a couple of years ago when she swept the board while wearing the delicatessen as her outfit. That then leaves Rihanna and Beyonce and while Beyonce starts to enjoy her new role of motherhood, I expect Rihanna to cap a year in which she hit number one for the fifth year in a row with a Brit award to boot.
My prediction: Rihanna My choice: Feist

International Group: Fleet Foxes, Foo Fighters, Jay Z / Kanye West, Lady Antebellum, Maroon 5
First of all, how do Jay Z and Kanye West count as an 'international group'? They are two solo artists that happen to collaborate with many other artists on their material. This is surely a form of cheating and it would be wrong for cheats to prosper. Secondly, who on earth are Lady Antebellum? Thirdly, Maroon 5, why? That much overused and annoying word 'meh' springs to mind when looking at this category this year. The door seems to be left open for the Foo Fighters to be winning this category. I don't profess to be the greatest fan of the Foos and find a lot of their music repetitive, but at a time when rock music seems to have become commercially unfashionable, you have to respect their ability to keep churning out top 20 hit singles, even if their sound, at least to my ear, is formulaic and derivative. The Fleet Foxes are the band I have most of a liking for out of these nominees and although they have never quite topped their single 'Mykonos' from 3 or 4 years back, I think they the best of a mediocre bunch here. That said, expect the Foos to pick up the award.
My prediction: Foo Fighters My choice: Fleet Foxes

International Breakthrough Act: Aloe Blacc Bon Iver Foster The People Lana Del Rey Nicki Minaj
Have not got a great deal to say on this category due to how little of their material I have heard. Aloe Blacc and Foster The People both seem to be one hit wonders, while Nicki Minaj is another one to file under 'acts I've not previously heard of before a Brits nomination'. I am hoping if I haven't heard of them then members of Brits Committee would not be able to identify them either. Although Bon Iver could be a dark horse, Lana Del Rey has been attracting a lot of column inches recently off the back of that 'Video Games' hit single. On that basis, I expect the King of Spain to collect a crown, or an award anyway.
My prediction: Lana Del Rey My choice: No idea

British Producer: Paul Epworth, Flood, Ethan Johns

When I first saw these nominees, I thought the last person was Elton John, which led me to wonder how long he had been a producer on other people's music. I have only heard of Paul Epworth and purely for that very scientific reason, I predict he will win this award.

Outstanding Contribution To Music: Blur

They didn't bother with an outstanding contribution last year for some reason, but it has been restored this year in order to provide recognition for Blur. I would have to say that is a fair enough accolade to dish out. I don't profess to be the biggest fan of theirs, but they have been around now for over 20 years and have released a vast back catalogue of hit singles to the point where even if you are not an out-and-out fan of their music, the chances are you are going to like at least some of their songs. That is the case with me, albeit most of the songs of theirs that I like have tended not to be the major hits. For the record, I reckon that as an overall music composition, you are hard pressed to find a better song they have recorded than 'The Universal', while 'Tender', 'Out Of Time' and 'There's No Other Way' are also amongst their finest works.

Not so fond of the likes of 'Parklife', 'Country House' or 'Girls and Boys', but there are plenty of people who disagree with me and so it is likely, therefore, that these will be the songs they perform on the night, provided they can tear Phil Daniels away from advertising football betting and cutting down on his Porklife in order to lead the vocals.

Critics' Choice Emeli Sande
Emeli Sande is a Scottish soul singer and I think I've heard one of her tracks on Radio 2, which means it must be the kind of music that won't frighten the horses, or Ken Bruce for that matter. She has collaborated before on a number one hit with Professor Green and as has been shown in the past, collaborating as a vocalist on other people's work is not a bad career move in order to get yourself airplay and awareness in the charts. Her Wikipedia entry also informs the world that she is Simon Cowell's 'favourite songwriter at the moment', although given Cowell's track record at promoting sub-standard mime artists on various talent shows, this is not necessarily a glowing reference. She beat Maverick Sabre to win this award, which I previously believed was the name of an Olympic fencing sword.

A sporting chance

Well, hello readers. I was prompted to return to these parts after recently receiving notification of one of my previous literary masterpieces from two and a half years ago getting some positive feedback. Although the great comedy scriptwriters believe in calling it a day while the audience are still crying for more, I thought this was my calling to return and indulge some more. So much has happened in the world since I last clicked and glided into this parish. So, let’s get down to business.

1. Media exposure is the issue with Sports Personality of the Year, not gender or personality
Well, the nails have been sharpened and the stiletto blades have been maximised this week with the news that the BBC’s annual waste of the licence fee payer’s money…sorry, annual celebration of the sporting year for which they have footage readily available had overlooked the inclusion of anyone with an XX chromosome formation from their shortlist of the ten finest British sporting achievers of the year. Of course, the British media and the Twitterati reacted to the news with a measured and balanced response that could in no way be seen as playing for the populist vote. The sisterhood reacted with the level of anger and disgust normally reserved for important world changing events, such as some curly haired brat in need of having his teeth straightened avoiding eviction from a glorified karaoke competition screened to an audience of millions despite not being able to hold a note. Which brings us neatly on to Clare Balding, who was so infuriated by the shortlist, there were unconfirmed sightings of her having chained herself to the railings at Tattenham Corner. OK, I may have made that bit up.

So let us start at the beginning. In preparation for the BBC’s grand annual sporting revue of the year which invariably provides 2 hours of the most awkward and stuffy television one can get to bear witness to during the calendar, the executives get a list of esteemed sports publications (mainly the national newspapers) to come together as one to provide a definitive shortlist of the 10 stand-out sporting performers from these isles over the past 12 months. It never used to be this way of course. Back in the day, Sports Personality of the Year was a wholly open vote. Back in the days when bikes were bikes and the world wide web was simply where a large spider lived, I recall that votes were cast by filling in a form and cutting it out of the Radio Times before returning it in an envelope instructing the postie to send it to Wood Lane.

The advent of online voting, however, made an open ballot more difficult to police and therefore increased the risk of the vote being rigged. An example of how the vote could be manipulated, and which was probably instrumental in the BBC discontinuing an open vote, was found in the 2005 renewal of this accolade when Manchester United supporters came together for the noble cause of playing a joke on their old rivals Liverpool. At that time, Liverpool’s forward line was led by the tall and lanky but also very clumsy Peter Crouch who Liverpool had paid £6 million for earlier that summer. Crouch had made a start to his Anfield career that dreams are made of, at least for Manchester United supporters, as he took four months to score his first goal for his new employers and generally found himself regarded as a figure of ridicule. Ever the opportunists in revelling in their rival’s weaknesses, United supporters decided to poke fun at Crouch’s predicament by carrying out a block vote on him to win the BBC’s prized bauble. Such was the collective Solidarity among the United brethren in carrying out their public duty, football’s answer to Rodney Trotter actually polled more votes than anyone else in the field with the exception of that year’s landslide winner, Ashes winning all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. Sadly for Crouch, he did not get a trophy for his cult following (in keeping with his football career) as the BBC smelt a rat and therefore excluded his votes from the poll. The rotten spoilsports! It was likely no coincidence that the open vote discontinued just a year later to be replaced by the dreaded shortlist.

When the shortlist was introduced in 2007, the BBC decided to canvass opinion for who should be included on it by consulting journalists from approximately 30 publications. Only the finest sporting authorities and almanacs were consulted in arriving at the all-important definitive dectet you will understand. And so it came to be that the Daily Star on Sunday and Nuts and Zoo magazines got to pontificate on the finer points of the sporting year. At least these publications generally managed to understand the rules for eligibility as far as nominees are concerned, namely that their suggested sportspeople have to be British. This is more than can be said for another publication given a say in proceedings, the Manchester Evening News, who decided to use their vote to good effect by nominating Manchester based footballers Dimitar Berbatov and Yaya Toure, from Bulgaria and the Ivory Coast respectively. Thus confounding the argument forever more that local newspapers only hold an interest in the local news agenda.

After all the votes from the sporting scribes had been assembled and disseminated and spoilt ballot papers had been discarded, the BBC published its final ten and unleashed the nation’s favourite potato thief, Gary Lineker, to go and announce the runners and riders on ‘The One Show’, although it transpired his was only the second most controversial announcement made on this most anodyne of primetime shows during the week. The names that had been decided upon were (in no particular order) Ashes winning cricketers Andrew Strauss an Alistair Cook, British golfing heavyweights Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Luke Donald, world champion athletes Mo Farah and Dai Greene, tennis’s perennial nearlyman Andy Murray, road cycling’s sprint king Mark Cavendish and boxing’s Amir Khan. On the surface, these appear to be stellar names in what has arguably not been a vintage year for the mainstream sports.

So the key question is whether the inclusion of a woman in the list would be on merit, or would just be a token gesture. I think the best way of dissecting this is to first consider whether any of the aforementioned names are unworthy of their place. Now, the problem faced in doing this is providing an objective opinion without allowing personal prejudices for a particular sport, be they positive or negative, to cloud that judgement. Allow me to elaborate. Say you are a female voter and your interest is in track and field and gymnastics, you will be minded to vote for Jessica Ennis and Beth Tweddle. The same female voter may have no interest in golf and regard it in the same way as Mark Twain as a good walk spoiled. There will be male voters with an interest only in boxing and football who may not know the first thing about Mark Cavendish and his record breaking achievements, and in all likelihood, there will also be other males whose views of women in sport are that they take no interest other than when the beach volleyball segment of the Olympics comes round every year, or when Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka are playing out a gruntathon on the tennis court. Prejudice need not only be confined to overt sexist attitudes, however, as witnessed by Andy Murray’s inclusion in the poll. I can only speculate, but I am willing to wager that most of Murray’s votes came from north of Hadrian’s Wall, while those from south of the border regard him, somewhat unfairly, as a Scottish, English hating surrender monkey who has never won anything of note.

Added on to all of these prejudices, you also get the same dimwits who every year get hung up on the word ‘personality’. You know the sort of diatribe I mean, ‘How has Andy Murray/Lewis Hamilton/Uncle Tom Cobley got nominated when he’s got no personality?’, choosing to interpret who the outstanding sporting performer for the year is by assessing who can get galleries rolling around with the best one liner or by pulling a funny face, rather than actually choosing their favoured candidate based on achievement. In a way, I wish the BBC would do everyone a favour and rebrand their accolade as ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ or ‘Sporting Achiever of the Year’ so to close this avenue of thought off to any wannabe comedians.

Before I go on to examine the merits of some potential female contenders that have been overlooked, let’s first of all consider the merits of the ten alpha males that did make the cut. I will try do so without allowing personal preferences and prejudices to get in the way of providing a balanced opinion. Just a good job no gymnasts or figure skaters made the cut this year! Here goes:

Andrew Strauss: As an Ashes winning captain and particularly as the first captain to win an Ashes series for England in Australia for a quarter of a century, it is quite understandable that Strauss has been included. However, despite being a cricket fan myself, I am not sure that Strauss’ inclusion here is merited. Strauss’ captaincy was far less instrumental in England’s Ashes victory than the runs provided by Alistair Cook and Jonathan Trott, or the wickets taken by Jimmy Anderson. Likewise, England’s ascent to number 1 in the Test world rankings with a series whitewash of India in the summer owed more to strong batting, good bowling and feeble Indian resistance. Added to which, Strauss’ own form with the bat has been scratchy this year, to the point that if he was not captain and if he was not playing in a winning team, his place in the side would be in jeopardy. It is true that the Ashes success marked one of the feelgood successes of the year in British sport, certainly in England anyway, but the success also happened almost a calendar year ago and so is not fresh and imprinted in people’s memories. A borderline selection.

Alistair Cook: Although the argument about the Ashes not being fresh in people’s memories applies again with Cook, his achievements with the bat Down Under will be recorded in the almanacs for years to come. Cook scored 766 runs in 5 test matches which went some way to batting Australia out of matches in that series and having the same effect on Australian morale that Ian Botham had in his all-conquering 1980s heyday. It is also easy to forget now a year on, but Cook arrived on Antipodean soil with his place in the team being questioned after a run of low scores the previous summer. Working in the nets with his mentor Graham Gooch paid rich dividends though and Cook rubber stamped his performances in Australia with another fine run of scores in the summer that make him a genuine contender as the current top batsman in world cricket. With 18 test centuries to his name and at only 26 years of age, the England captain in waiting has an excellent opportunity to become England’s highest test run scorer of all time, unless injury curtails his career. A shoo-in for the list.

Rory McIlroy: Golf is not everyone’s idea of a spectator sport, some would even question whether it should be called a sport given the lack of athleticism required to participate in it. This is not a view I agree with, although I am not a particular fan of the sport either. Nonetheless, McIlroy represents a breath of fresh air to his sport at a time when its reputation had been soiled in the aftermath of Tiger Woods’ meltdown in his private life. Woods had been the all-conquering drawcard for his sport for over a decade, the benchmark against whom every other aspiring golfer judged themselves, as well as also being the man who put the derrieres of the general public on seats. Since Woods’ private affairs imploded, there has been a vacancy at the top of the game to be the public face of the sport, a new kid on the block who could talk the talk and walk the walk. McIlroy, at 22 years of age, is looking like being that man and this year has been his breakthrough year with him emulating the success of his compatriot Graeme McDowell by winning the US Open (a tournament that had not been won by a European for 40 years prior to McDowell’s success) as well as coming close to winning the coveted US Masters title before a disastrous final round put paid to his chances. The mental strength McIlroy showed in recovering from the Masters setback to win the US Open 2 months later is a sign that he has the tools required to be his sport’s world leader and poster boy for years to come. Deservedly included.

Darren Clarke: Everyone likes a story with a happy ending, the plucky underdog who strives, and ultimately achieves against the odds, his lifetime’s ambition by winning a big prize. This is the premise on which every Hollywood sports movie has been based in any event, and for those that like a sugar coated conclusion to their sporting pleasures, then Clarke ticks all the boxes. For those unaware of Ulsterman Clarke’s back story, he finished second in the 2006 Sports Personality of the Year to Zara Phillips after holing the winning putt for Europe in that year’s Ryder Cup, just a matter of weeks after his wife had succumbed to breast cancer. This year, Clarke won the Open Championship, golf’s most coveted of all the majors, in what was his twentieth appearance in the tournament. At 43 years of age, he is the second oldest first-time Major winner of all time. And Clarke will appeal to those who like their sportspeople to be anti-sportspeople, by that I mean that they eschew a rigorous fitness regime and a dedication to practice in favour of going out the night before a round to participate in a cold stout and hot curry consumption competition. Whether you feel Clarke is worthy of inclusion depends on whether you feel one isolated achievement in the year and the realisation of a lifetime’s ambition outweighs not doing anything else of note in 2011. Given the prestige attached to the Open Championship and given Clarke’s compelling back story, it is probably churlish to exclude him and he will be a popular choice among the nineteenth hole regulars at Royal Portrush and beyond.

Luke Donald: Even the most ardent golf fans probably find themselves questioning whether three of their number should be included amongst the ten great sportspeople of the year. However, it is a cause for celebration whenever a British sportsperson is number 1 in the world and Donald does end 2011 leading golf’s world rankings, following a year in which he has won several tournaments. Much like tennis, however, golf is a sport where rankings carry far less credence than Majors and, as yet, Donald has not broken through and won a Major tournament which his status would suggest he is capable of. If you were to look at what Donald has achieved versus Darren Clarke over the whole year then Donald has a greater claim to be on the list, but significantly, Clarke has won the Major that Donald has not. Again, a borderline call until such time that he delivers in a Major.

Andy Murray: Murray is Britain’s most successful tennis player since World War 2 and has enjoyed another season of steady form in which he has won seven tournaments, including 2 Masters series titles and the pre-Wimbledon warm-up tournament at Queens Club. He has also reached the semi-finals or better of all of the Grand Slam tournaments. Significantly, however, he did not convert any of these into his maiden Grand Slam title, with an Australian Open runners-up berth being the closest he came in 2011. In his mitigation, however, he is around at a time when there are 3 exceptional men’s tennis players and it is worth recalling that even Roger Federer did not register a Grand Slam victory in 2011 either. You sense that Murray will need to win Wimbledon before he ever stands a genuine chance of winning this accolade, but I feel that when taking into account the quality of opposition at the top echelons of his sport at this time, his performances this year are worthy of his place on the shortlist.

Mo Farah: A year before the London 2012 Olympics in which the track and field programme will provide for many, the blue riband events of the Games and therefore will also provide the barometer through which Britain’s success at the Games will be measured, Farah increased the sense of anticipation by winning gold in the men’s 5000 metres at Athletics’ World Championships in South Korea. Farah’s success in a long distance race will evoke memories of an era when Britain fared well at such events, which is a break from the norm these days in which middle and long distance events are often dominated by North African athletes who are better conditioned and drilled in the art of endurance racing. If Farah were to win gold in London next year, he would stand every chance of winning the 2012 accolade, but sport is an unpredictable sorceress. This could be Farah’s moment in the sun and he is rightly included.

Dai Greene: Welshman Greene claimed Britain’s only other track gold medal in South Korea when beating off the competition to win the men’s 400 metre hurdles. As with Farah, were he to replicate this success in East London one summer’s day next August then his chances of winning the award in 2012 would be multiplied by 5. As it is, a gold medal in track and field’s second most important competition certainly makes him a justifiable nominee.

Amir Khan: It is seven years now since Khan gained a silver medal in the Athens Olympics while still a teenager. Khan turned professional soon afterwards and after a few teething troubles in the early stages of his professional career, Khan’s rise to the summit has gained momentum and he has held world title belts in the light-welterweight division for the past two and a half years and he is now regarded as the pound-for-pound best fighter in his weight category. Khan has only had two successful defences of his title this year, with a third fight being fought before Christmas. His knockout victory against Zab Judah, however, was a unification fight meaning that Khan’s victory brought him the IBF belt in addition to the WBA belt he already held. Boxing’s lack of terrestrial television coverage may mean that some are not entirely aware of Khan’s progress since Athens, but he is on course to deliver on his early potential. There is an argument to say that Carl Froch should be boxing’s representative on the list, but given that Froch has fought only once this year so far, 2011 has not been his defining year.

Mark Cavendish: Of all of the chosen 10, Cavendish participates in arguably the least mainstream sport, albeit his exploits in the Tour De France have added to the UK’s increased interest in pedal power following the track cycling team’s performance in the Beijing Olympics. Cavendish has been nominated here before, but 2011 was the year in which his achievements transcended conversation confined to road cycling circles. This was the year in which Cavendish won the coveted green jersey in the Tour De France for being the champion sprinter, breaking the record for the most sprint stage wins along the way. In addition, he also claimed a World Championship gold medal. Cavendish’s successes in the world’s most celebrated endurance race would be worthy of his inclusion on their own as there are few tests of physical fitness greater in sport than the Tour De France, but his other triumph only further validates his claims. He would be a deserving winner this year and it probably represents his best chance of taking the trophy home.

So from this list, I have established that seven of the ten nominees are rightly included in the list, with only the places taken by Andrew Strauss, Luke Donald and Amir Khan potentially up for grabs. So, the next question is who would be the alternative names that should be included in the list in their place, particularly from the pool of British sportswomen. The most celebrated British sportswoman of the current time is heptathlete Jessica Ennis who will be one of Britain’s great gold medal hopes at London 2012, as well as being the reluctant poster girl for the event due to her aesthetic qualities. However, Ennis’s 2011 was not a defining year with only a silver medal being claimed at the World Athletics Championships. Should she go one better in London next year, I would suggest that the book on next year’s award will be closed by this time. After Ennis, the next most celebrated female athlete is swimmer Rebecca Adlington who won two gold medals at the 2008 Olympics, breaking world records along the way. Adlington struggled in the aftermath of her Olympic success but returned to form this year with a gold medal in swimming’s World Championships in China. Adlington is certainly one of British sport’s golden girls right now, but I would question whether this was her defining year. Likewise track cyclist Victoria Pendleton who also won gold in Beijing and also enjoyed World Championship success in 2011. Both Adlington and Pendleton can expect closer attention in 2012.

Moving into other sports, gymnast Beth Tweddle who finished third in 2007 enjoyed further competitive success this year and will have her supporters amongst gymnastics aficionados. But it is in less celebrated sports that the greatest female achievers are arguably to be found. Although the Manchester Evening News deserve ridicule for some of their selections, they did partially redeem themselves with the selection of Keri- Anne Payne, the South African born Manchester resident who is the reigning world champion in women’s open water swimming and another great gold medal hope for 2012. For anyone not familiar with Payne’s event, it involves swimming in cold rivers, complete with all the unpleasant hazards that one might expect from swimming in that environment, as well as having to contend with underhand baulking tactics from other swimmers. There cannot be too many sporting occasions where a competitor shares workspace with a jellyfish, with the exception of the pre-match handshake with the Chelsea football captain, but this is a genuine concern to open water swimmers of which Payne is currently the cream of the crop.

Aside from Payne, consider also the compelling case for Chrissie Wellington, the British world ‘Ironman’ triathlon champion. Although it attracts little media attention, it is hard to think of any more demanding or physically enduring sport than the triathlon, in which competitors are required to swim, cycle and run all in a day’s work. Wellington is a multiple world champion in her discipline and claimed her latest success this year. By the same token, there is also a claim for Wellington’s male counterpart Alistair Brownlee who won his second World Triathlon championship this year, defeating his brother to the gold medal. Then there is horse racing’s Hayley Turner who has competed directly against male counterparts and enjoyed significant success, having battled back from a year on the sidelines with a serious injury. Turner enjoyed a major breakthrough in 2011 by winning two of flat racing’s Group One races, that sport’s equivalent to a major or a ranking tournament, before another injury brought a premature end to her season.

Perhaps the most harrowing story of all though belongs to British taekwondo player Sarah Stevenson who became world champion in her martial art this year. A gold medal success in a relatively obscure sport seems unspectacular in itself. However, consider the adversity Stevenson dealt with in her build-up to the competition with both of her parents losing their battles with the dreaded cancer a matter of weeks before the competition. Stevenson said that she took out the anger she felt from her grief on her opponents and therefore used her anger as a positive outlet in order to achieve her goals. Even those stuffy about minority sports must admire Stevenson’s courage and resilience in the face of the worst kind of human trauma.

All of these competitors have enjoyed great success in their chosen sports, but it says something about the media’s interest in mainstream sports that several of these names are largely unknown to a wider audience, and that is reflected in the shortlist. I only became aware of Chrissie Wellington when I saw her interviewed on television just a few weeks ago. I knew even less of Sarah Stevenson until I Googled her name when she was mentioned in the aftermath of this storm breaking and then came across a newspaper article that reported her poignant back story. There are some commentators I have heard in recent days who had not even heard of Rebecca Adlington.

But the thing is this. How much of this is the media’s fault and how much of this is the fault of the British sporting public’s attitudes, particularly among the male fraternity? Sure, the newspapers carry very limited coverage of minority sports aside from some results in small print on page 10 of the Sunday supplement, but then newspapers will claim they are providing what their audience want, and their audience want coverage of the populist sports. So, football will dominate the column inches, followed by cricket and tennis and rugby and Formula One with a spot of boxing and golf thrown in. It is also the case that these sports tend to dominate television coverage, albeit very little cricket and boxing is shown on terrestrial television these days. I feel it is the lack of media exposure and reporting of minority sports outside of the Olympics every four years that has contributed to the male-only shortlist seen this year rather than any vendetta against female sporting achievers, due to the greatest sporting achievements by British women this year occurring in events that fall outside of the mainstream. A winning performance in Olympic year, especially when the Games are being held on our doorstep, will give these sports more of a platform next year though, only for interest to be lost until the next Olympiad convenes in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

My suggestion to combat future controversy and to avoid the need to introduce any form of positive discrimination (an oxymoron if ever there was one) in future renewals of Sports Personality of the Year is this. Firstly, scrap the shortlist and replace it with a long list, much like the ones seen for football’s Ballon D’Or Award for the year’s best footballer, or indeed like the lists used to award the best newcomers in the music industry. In this day and age, surely it cannot be difficult to come up with a list of 30 people and then post this up on the BBC website in order for people to cast their vote. In order to avoid the vote rigging problem, get everyone to log in securely first. Secondly, scrap the input from journalists. Sports Personality of the Year was always exclusively an accolade voted by the public and it should remain that way. If the scribes are to have any involvement, their role should be to inform and so perhaps they could individually take on a role of ‘championing’ a contender that has made the long list, in order to inform the public not as au fait with less mainstream sports of what achievements their contender has on their CV and what obstacles they have overcome to reach the apogee in their chosen pursuit.

Lastly, and arguably my most revolutionary proposal of all, why not change the whole format and hand out two awards? One award for Sportsman of the Year and another for Sportswoman of the Year. People would argue that this would be divisive and it would segregate men and women in sport furthermore, but let’s be realistic, there are many sports where it is unlikely and impractical for men and women to directly compete with one another. At least by handing out separate awards, it will give the finest sportswomen more media recognition than they are currently getting, their 15 minutes of fame at the very least. Added to which, it removes the personality element to the award which will do everyone a favour and get people to place their own personal interpretation on what merits the finest sporting achievement of the year, and allows there to be 2 people’s sacrifices and dedication to be rewarded and validated every year. I fear that unless such a step is taken, this cycle will be repeated in future years with the same questions being asked and the same frustrations being voiced, especially in years in which no Olympic torch is burning strong.

To conclude, here is my shortlist of 10 for this year, which I am glad to report does not include any Bulgarians or Ivorians!

Alistair Cook
Rory McIlroy
Darren Clarke
Andy Murray
Mo Farah
Dai Greene
Mark Cavendish
Kerri-Anne Payne
Alistair Brownlee
Chrissie Wellington


That's it from me for tonight. But I intend to be back to chew over the fat of some of the recent news later on in the week. Cheerio for now.

The Brit Awards 2011 - predictions and general ramblings

Friends, Romans, countrymen and fans of Chris Moyles.

Once again the Brit Awards are upon us, being televised later this week, hosted by the ubiquitous yet strangely unfunny James Corden, who is apparently donating his entire fee for hosting the event to Comic Relief. Well, he'd have only spent it on pies otherwise. Here's my predictions for this year's categories, along with who my personal selections would be.

BEST MALE (Mark Ronson, Paul Weller, Plan B, Robert Plant, Tinie Tempah)
Well, Tinie Tempah holds the distinction this year of being nominated for 4 awards, which past history tells us probably means he will end up winning none of the awards for which he has been shortlisted. Personally, I'd disqualify him on the grounds that his name alone has a negative impact on the standard of literacy in schools. Plan B has had what would be termed a major breakthrough year. So much so that you wonder just how successful he could have been had he stuck to Plan A. Mark Ronson as usual released some kind of experimental album where he probably mixed the Uzbekistani national anthem with an early 90s dance classic, while I was blissfully unaware of Paul Weller releasing anything last year. Strange but refreshing to see this category Robbie Williams free, but somewhat disappointing that Fyfe Dangerfield who contributed the cover version of 'She's Always A Woman To Me' to the John Lewis advert, taken from a pretty impressive debut solo album, was overlooked in this category. You'd have to say that Plan B and the rapper with the glasses and the misspelt short fuse are the 2 likely winners here, but I'm sticking to the formbook and giving this to Plan B.
MY PREDICTION: Plan B MY SELECTION: In the absence of Fyfe Dangerfield, probably Plan B

BEST BRITISH FEMALE (Cheryl Cole, Ellie Goulding, Laura Marling, Paloma Faith, Rumer)
Hmm, this is a tricky one to call because all of these acts have their supporters and their individual merits. In fact, it is some indictment of the strength around at the moment amongst the female of the species that Adele who has just returned with a new album was not nominated, and neither were Corinne Bailey Rae, Amy MacDonald or KT Tunstall, who each had prolific years in 2010. Cheryl Cole seems to be something of a national treasure these days, although I think that is more for her aesthetic qualities rather than her musical ones. Ellie Goulding is certainly becoming popular in the mainstream, although I personally thought her rendition of 'Your Song' butchered Elton John's original. Laura Marling is quite well known in the folk music scene which is flourishing at the moment, but I would be surprised to see her win the popular vote here. Paloma Faith being nominated will get people excited as she is bound to wear a big hat for the occasion. Musically, Rumer is the best nominee out of all of these as she has an excellent, soulful voice, but for all that, she has had limited commercial success which you tend to need in order to win one of these awards. Cheryl Cole's status as the Queen of Hearts gives her a big chance, but I have an inkling Ellie Goulding's status as the 'in thing' at the moment gives her the edge in this category.
MY PREDICTION: Ellie Goulding MY SELECTION: Rumer

BEST BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH ACT (Ellie Goulding, Mumford & Sons, Rumer, Tinie Tempah, The XX)
This was an award that I believe Florence & The Machine bagged last year and it was significant that the year before, Florence had won the Critics' Choice award, an award that in 2010 was won by....Ellie Goulding. I would say that award is a good barometer for who wins this award the following year because the critics do play a part in making the music buying public aware of new acts. That said, Ms Goulding is up against some very stiff competition in this category. There is a school of thought that Tinie Tempah has to win at least one of the awards he is up for, especially given his consistent chart success last year which helps to pay some of the judging panel's wages. Then there is The XX, an electronic meets indie band that won last year's Mercury Music Prize. That tends not to be a good barometer for the Brits, however. As much as it is good to see Rumer recognised again in this category, I think the biggest challenge to Ellie Goulding here comes from Mumford & Sons, a folk rock band who went down a storm at all of the festivals last summer and who released their excellent debut album 'Sigh No More' at the beginning of last year. You may well claim to not know any of their tracks, but you will do at least on a subconscious level, as the instrumental sections of their tracks have regularly been used for TV trails and on programmes like 'Countryfile'. They should scoop one award on the night, but I think it might come elsewhere.
MY PREDICTION: Ellie Goulding MY SELECTION: Mumford & Sons

BEST BRITISH GROUP (Gorillaz, Biffy Clyro, Mumford & Sons, Take That, The XX)
It is a sign of the times when Take That being nominated for this category is the least controversial selection. There have been some strange choices in this category. How do Gorillaz get nominated when they are still, in the most part, a cartoon band? Biffy Clyro are a poor man's AC/DC yet they have got nominated purely because the X-Factor winner released a lame cover version of one of their already lame songs. Yet, the Manic Street Preachers release some of their best material in over a decade, and they are strangely overlooked. This looks like a straight fight between Take That and Mumford & Sons and given Take That's mainstream appeal these days where it is does not damage your credibility to admit to liking a couple of their songs even if you are a male, balding, approaching middle age office worker, then it would be surprising to see the odds-on favourite fall at the final fence here in a weak renewal of this category.
MY PREDICTION: Take That MY SELECTION: Mumford & Sons

BEST BRITISH SINGLE (Alexandra Burke & Pitbull - All Night Long, Cheryl Cole - Parachute, Florence & The Machine - You've Got The Love, Matt Cardle - When We Collide, Olly Murs - Please Don't Let Me Go, Plan B - She Said, Scouting For Girls - This Ain't A Love Song, Taio Cruz - Dynamite, Tinie Tempah - Pass Out, The Wanted - All Time Low)
The Wanted inadvertently provide an apt description of this category in their nominated song title, although this category will always reflect buyer behaviour in the charts and as such, the nominees are largely dominated by commercial pop records. The songs that have been nominated are generally what would make the A-playlist on Heart or Juice FM. Looking at this objectively, I would put a line through Alexandra Burke, Matt Cardle, Scouting For Girls and Taio Cruz's chances of winning. Also, Florence & The Machine's nominated song was released over a year ago, which places her at a disadvantage, plus it was also one of her weaker songs. Scouting For Girls will be disqualified on the grounds that the judging panel would not have been able to differentiate their song from anything else they have released. So that leaves the angry, bespectacled rapper who showed how hardcore he was by name-checking Scunthorpe in one of his songs, Her Royal Highness Dame Cheryl Cole, Olly Murs, Plan B and The Wanted. It really is needle in a haystack time here, but I'm sure there must be some law stating that Cheryl Cole must win at least one award on the night, so it will probably be this one, although Olly Murs might be her biggest threat.
MY PREDICTION: Cheryl Cole MY SELECTION: Plan B

BEST BRITISH ALBUM (Plan B, Mumford & Sons, Take That, Tinie Tempah, The XX)
Well, last year when this category's nominees were announced, I identified that I had listened to none of the nominated albums during the course of the year. This year, I have listened to one album in full (Mumford & Sons) and downloaded half of another album (The XX), so as Take That say in the title of their nomination, that's Progress. Nonetheless, there are some notable absentees from this category. The Manics, The Courteeners, Fyfe Dangerfield, Klaxons and Rumer all released albums last year that were worthy of inclusion. Of those that have been nominated, it would be surprising if Take That were to claim this award as they are not really renowned as a group that release life affirming albums, but are more of a singles group. Tinie Tempah and Plan B's albums were among the most successful commercially last year, while the XX had a critically acclaimed one. Crucially though, Mumford & Sons appear to have the album that bridged the gap between commercial sales and critical acclaim, and they have led a trend that has seen folk rock become popular on the radio again. For that reason, I mark them down as favourites in this category, although Plan B looks likely to be the other main contender.
MY PREDICTION: Mumford & Sons MY SELECTION: Mumford & Sons

INTERNATIONAL MALE SOLO ARTIST (Cee-Lo Green, Bruce Springsteen, David Guetta, Eminem, Kanye West)
I am going to hold my hands up and admit to my complete ignorance in not knowing who one of these nominees is, David Guetta. He sounds like he was the third choice, unused goalkeeper in Spain's World Cup winning squad. Due to his anonymity, I am anticipating that the Brits Panel aren't that familiar with him either, so I'm putting a line through him. Bruce Springsteen, music legend though he has been, is surely only nominated to remind the general public that his pulse remained intact into 2011. Although I don't profess to be an aficianado where the rap scene is concerned, I don't recall 2010 being a vintage year for Eminem and while I dare say Kanye West was kept busy on the collaboration front, I don't think it was his defining year either. In contrast, Cee-Lo Green seemed to be everywhere last year with his first major solo project and he enjoyed quite a lot of chart success too. Therefore, I think the man who may be a distant relative of Shrek's will be far from a donkey on Brits Night.
MY PREDICTION: Cee-Lo Green MY SELECTION: Cee-Lo Green

INTERNATIONAL FEMALE SOLO ARTIST (Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Robyn)
If this category was won purely on the basis of airplay and TV appearances, the presence of New York's favourite warbling ivory tinkler, Alicia Keys, would surely determine the result in her favour. She is not without a chance but she is up against some big hitters. At the risk of sounding like the Pub Landlord, everyone likes a bit of Kylie, don't they? Even so, I think Kylie's best days as a recording artist are probably behind her now and so it is hard to see her winning this award in this year. This looks like a straight fight between Mrs Russell Brand and R&B's favourite promoter of rain protection gear. Katy Perry is a bit of Marmite figure, but whereas I find her to be at least mildly irritating, she certainly has her supporters and she had plenty more chart success last year. The same applies to Rihanna though and I think I am right in saying she has now had a number 1 hit in each of the last 5 years. Expect there to be some fireworks if Ms Perry loses, but I'm calling this one for Rihanna.
MY PREDICTION: Rihanna MY SELECTION: Alicia on the music front, Kylie on the 'all-round package'

INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH ACT (Bruno Mars, The Glee Cast, The Temper Trap, Justin Bieber, The National)
What an uninspiring collection of misfits we have here! The uncontrolled laughter you could hear was me rolling around in hysterics upon reading that the Glee cast had been nominated. One presumes that the Brit judging panel is largely made up of women. The Temper Trap's nomination is curious given that their big radio friendly hit 'Sweet Disposition' was released the year before last and I don't recall them releasing anything since. The National are a good, up-and-coming indie band who might attract more of a following in the next couple of years, but they are largely unknown by most people in this country at the moment, so it is hard to see them winning. That leaves Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber, and given that he seems to be the latest teen sensation, I'd be surprised if the Bieber juggernaut did not crush everything in its path.
MY PREDICTION: Justin Bieber MY SELECTION: The National

INTERNATIONAL GROUP (Arcade Fire, Black Eyed Peas, Kings Of Leon, The Script, Vampire Weekend)
Looks like a bit of a wide open category here given that none of these acts had what you would term a spectacular 2010. Black Eyed Peas are one of those acts that I've never quite understood how they attract the level of popularity that they have, and I gather that their performance at the Superbowl left a lot to be desired. Kings Of Leon could have made 2010 the year they became the biggest band in the world following on from their previous album, but from what I have heard of their latest material, they are quite some way short of the level they found when 'Use Somebody' and 'Sex On Fire' made it big. The Script are another one in the Scouting For Girls category where most of their songs sound about the same, but they have enjoyed a lot of chart success through churning out lots of dull, radio friendly material. Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend seem to represent the Q/NME readers with their presence in this category and in what is a close contest, I expect Vampire Weekend's reputation as a good live band to give them the edge over the Canadian rock band, although I personally would give Arcade Fire the nod.
MY PREDICTION: Vampire Weekend MY SELECTION: Arcade Fire

INTERNATIONAL ALBUM (Arcade Fire, Cee Lo Green, Eminem, Katy Perry, Kings Of Leon)
I don't have a lot of personal insight to offer in this category as I have only downloaded tracks from 2 of the nominated albums (Arcade Fire and Kings Of Leon). However, I would anticipate there being a lot of excess filler on a Katy Perry album judging by some of the dirge that her record company persuaded her to release as single cuts. While I am not best placed to appraise the finer workings of Kings Of Leon's latest long play, I have not heard anything particularly inspiring that was released from it. While I'm guessing that lesser known Eminem album tracks probably consisted of a disproprortionately high percentage of cursory invective. That then leaves Arcade Fire and Cee Lo Green, and while Arcade Fire had more critical acclaim, the Reverend Green (I'm not sure he is actually a man of the cloth) has had more mainstream exposure and chart success, so I can see him winning his second award here.
MY PREDICTION: Cee Lo Green MY SELECTION: Arcade Fire

CRITICS' CHOICE (Jessie J, James Blake, The Vaccines)
This award has already been decided with the singer-songwriter Jessie J guaranteed to collect the award on the night. That immediately marks her down as someone to look out for in some of the more senior categories in 12 months time. I am not familiar with her work, or that of the 2 nominees. James Blake seems to have had a career change from the days when he was a bandana wearing, American tennis player that won the pre-Wimbledon Queens Club tournament one year, although judging by his photo, he may also have had a head change since then too. The Vaccines doesn't exactly seem like a very rock and roll name, does it?


In addition to these awards, there is also an award for Best Producer, but your guess on that one is as good as mine. A couple of awards are conspicuous by their absence this year though. There's no 'Best Live Act', which is surprising given the number of festivals there are now. Nor is there a 'Lifetime Achievement' category this year, presumably because they have run out of credible people to give that award to. Surely a band like Texas, back in the recording studio after 20 years in the business, would be a worthy future candidate for that award if it is brought back.

BRIT Award predictions 2010

The past week has seen the BRIT Award nominations for 2010 take place, with the results to be declared on 16 February at the ceremony at Earls Court. In general, the shortlist appears a little lightweight and predictable this year, with pop and dance acts seemingly faring better than indie and rock acts. This reflects the dominance of these genres in the charts during 2009.

In order to build up a sense of anticipation (and to build up my sense of self-importance!), I have decided to provide my lowdown on who is likely to walk away with some decorative pieces for their coffee table or en-suite lavatory, while also stating who I would dish out the gongs to. Let's just hope I don't upset any Russian Pet Shop Boys fans this year. Enjoy!


BEST BRITISH FEMALE SOLO ARTIST (Bat For Lashes, Florence & The Machine, Leona Lewis, Lily Allen & Pixie Lott)
All of these artists have attracted a fair amount of coverage in the past year. Leona Lewis in particular would win a Brit Award for ubiquity. Pixie Lott has enjoyed plenty of chart success in 2009 so I guess she is a frontrunner. I don't like either Lily Allen or her music but she attracted plenty of coverage last year and her album sold well. Florence and her machine have been the darlings of the music press over the past year and her album was one of the top sellers last year, so that suggests she is likely to win this. Brighton's very own Bat For Lashes aka Natasha Khan though released one of my favourite albums last year and so she would get my vote.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Florence & The Machine MY SELECTION: Bat For Lashes

BEST BRITISH MALE SOLO ARTIST (Calvin Harris, Dizzee Rascal, Mika, Paolo Nutini, Robbie Williams)
A curious list of nominees here, not least because I didn't realise Mika was even British! According to Wikipedia, he was born in Beirut. As per usual, you sense that the Brits committee had difficulty drawing up a shortlist for this category. Calvin Harris and Dizzee Rascal have had the most chart success over the past year which puts them in the running to win this. Robbie Williams is being given the lifetime achievement award which is usually a polite way of saying that the music you are releasing now should only be played to scare away stray cats. Paolo Nutini has released a couple of good tracks although I'm not sure he is cut out to sing reggae as he tries on his latest effort. Not a vintage renewal of this award, but I think Calvin might just edge out Dizzee.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Calvin Harris MY SELECTION: Paolo Nutini

BEST BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH ACT (Florence & The Machine, Friendly Fires, JLS, La Roux, Pixie Lott)
This looks like a hard one to call as you have a couple of acts that will appeal to teenage girls in the form of JLS and La Roux and then you have a couple of acts that the critics quite like in the form of Florence & The Machine and Friendly Fires. So it really depends on which audience is going to influence the vote the most. Florence has got nominations elsewhere and she will walk away with best British female at least, so I think this might be an award she misses out on here. I'm not sure JLS winning would do the street cred of the Brits much good, although it could cause a crush in the mosh pit. I've got a sneaking suspicion that La Roux might walk away with the honours here.
PREDICTION TO WIN: La Roux MY SELECTION: Florence & The Machine

BEST BRITISH GROUP (Doves, Friendly Fires, JLS, Kasabian, Muse)
I'm trying hard to suppress laughter in seeing that JLS have been nominated for this category. In saying that, it's not really a vintage shortlist in comparison with previous years. The only album out of these acts that I bought last year was by Doves and it was one of those albums I listened to a couple of times and then didn't bother with again, certainly not as good as their previous album. I like Muse but didn't buy their last album, but they have released a couple of good singles cuts. With Oasis having called it a day in a sea of acrimony, Kasabian have entered stage right and they released a couple of good singles too in 'Fire' and 'Underdog'. Acts that are quite popular live tend to do quite well in this category, so maybe JLS have a chance after all! But Kasabian and Muse are both well regarded as live acts, so I think the winner comes from one of those 2 and as Kasabian's album sold particularly well last year, I'd take them to edge it.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Kasabian MY SELECTION: Muse

BEST BRITISH ALBUM (Dizzee Rascal, Florence & The Machine, Kasabian, Lily Allen, Paolo Nutini)
The best British album of last year in my opinion was 'To Lose My Life' by White Lies, but that doesn't appear to have been nominated. What a travesty. I guess it is a sign of the times because for the first time in a good number of years, I don't own any of the albums that have been nominated. That makes it difficult to offer much of a meaningful appraisal on who should win. Kasabian and Florence were responsible for the best sellers last year and so that suggests to me that one of those two acts will probably win. I can't really see Dizzee Rascal winning, that would be a bonkers decision and I don't have the fear that Lily Allen will win (did you see what I did there, did you?). Again, a close call, but I think this might be Florence's second award of the night.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Florence & The Machine MY SELECTION: Erm....I guess Kasabian as it's the only album out of these I've really heard anything of

BEST BRITISH SINGLE (Alesha Dixon: Breathe Slow, Alexandra Burke: Bad Boys, Cheryl Cole: Fight For This Love, Joe McElderry: The Climb, JLS: Beat Again, La Roux: In For The Kill, Lily Allen: The Fear, Pixie Lott: Mama Do, Taio Cruz: Break Your Heart, Tinchy Stryder: Number 1)
As usual, the best single seems to be largely influenced by pop songs. Would I be right in thinking that these nominees are largely determined by the best selling singles of the year? Alexandra Burke would win the award for most annoying song of the year and The Climb was such a good song that it got outsold for Christmas number 1 by a metal song that was originally released 17 years before. Cheryl Cole is bound to be in with a shout for this, as will Tinchy Stryder and Pixie Lott. But I think this award will provide JLS with their moment of destiny.
PREDICTION TO WIN: JLS MY SELECTION: I wouldn't pick any of them, but The Fear is the best of a bad bunch

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEMALE ARTIST (Lady GaGa, Ladyhawke, Norah Jones, Rihanna, Shakira)
Always nice to see Shakira nominated, not least so we can see whether a certain part of her anatomy are as humble as mountains. Rihanna's presence would not be too shabby either. I didn't realise Norah Jones had released anything for about 5 years but I can't imagine I missed anything. I've got Ladyhawke's album. If you haven't heard of her, check her out, she's an Australian singer-songwriter with a sort of electronica/80s feel to her sound and she released a particularly good song called 'My Delirium'. The fact I'm telling you all this though informs you that she won't win the award. There can only be one winner though. Lady GaGa had an incredible 2009 in terms of commercial success and she's performing on the night, she won't be going home empty handed. I imagine her acceptance speech will be worth seeing, as will her outfit.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Lady GaGa MY SELECTION: Ladyhawke

BEST INTERNATIONAL MALE ARTIST (Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, Eminem, Michael Buble, Seasick Steve)
As ever, this category should be sponsored by Stannah Stairlifts or Saga Holidays given that both Bruce Springsteen and Seasick Steve would probably qualify for a bus pass. Let's hope that the latter chooses to fly to the ceremony. Michael Buble seems to be one of these crooners who is popular with the ladies, so he's not without a chance. But that then leaves us with the battle of the rappers and although Eminem returned to the fold last year, Jay-Z seemed to be everywhere. When he wasn't recording his own material, he was collaborating on other people's. His work ethic probably gives him the nod for this award.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Jay-Z MY SELECTION: Jay-Z

BEST INTERNATIONAL ALBUM (Animal Collective, Black Eyed Peas, Empire Of The Sun, Jay-Z, Lady GaGa)
As with the best British album, for the first time in several years, I own none of the nominees in this category either. Must say that I'm surprised U2's album didn't make the shortlist though, as it was their best album for quite some time. Animal Collective are one of those bands that critics talk up a lot but I've not heard any of their material. Not really familiar with Empire Of The Sun either, other than the film with a young Christian Bale in the lead role. Black Eyed Peas had another good year and they are not without a chance here, but I expect the assembled audience will be going GaGa again.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Lady GaGa MY SELECTION: Don't care

BEST INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH ACT (Animal Collective, Daniel Merriweather, Empire Of The Sun, Lady GaGa, Taylor Swift)
You know who aside, these artists all made such an impact in breaking through last year that I barely heard any of their material. Daniel Merriweather and Taylor Swift have their followers and the other 2 bands may well go on to bigger and better things, but there is a certain air of inevitability about who will be winning this award. Hat-trick for the poker faced oddball.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Lady GaGa MY SELECTION: Pass

CRITICS' CHOICE (Ellie Goulding, Delphic, Marina & The Diamonds)
Not sure if this award has already been decided, but I remember Florence & The Machine won this last year before the ceremony took place. Given that, presumably Marina & The Diamonds must stand a good chance this time. Ellie Goulding just came top of the BBC's 10 acts to follow this year, so that must give her a very good chance too. Judging by how last year's winner fared in the award nominations this year, whoever wins is likely to be up for some of the main awards next year.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Ellie Goulding MY SELECTION: Ellie Goulding

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION (Robbie Williams)
I suppose you tend to forget how long Robbie's been around now. His first solo song was released in 1996 and his first album came out the following year, plus if you include all his early Take That work then he's been in the industry for nearly 20 years. His past 2 or 3 albums have been pretty mediocre from what I've heard of them and I wouldn't say I was a massive fan of his earlier stuff, but he has always been about his live performances rather than someone who releases great albums that live long in the memory. In terms of showmen, he's always managed to put bums on seats and made money for the record execs, so given that this is their awards showpiece, they were bound to show their gratitude sooner or later.

BEST BRITS ALBUM OF LAST 30 YEARS (Coldplay: Rush Of Blood To The Head, Dido: No Angel, Dire Straits: Brothers In Arms, Duffy: Rockferry, Keane: Hopes & Fears, Oasis: Morning Glory, Phil Collins: No Jacket Required, Sade: Diamond Life, The Verve: Urban Hymns, Travis: The Man Who)
As this is apparently the 30th BRIT Awards, there are a couple of extra categories this year and the first of them is the best album of the past 30 years. Considering some of the great British albums that could have been chosen but weren't, you have to wonder about the sanity of the shortlisting panel for suggesting Phil Collins and Duffy for an award that marks the best of music in the past 30 years. Phil Collins might just be eligible to win an award for best portrayal of a Great Train Robber on film, but there is very little else he is best at. As a fan of both Coldplay and Oasis, I would question whether the albums nominated are those respective bands' best albums. There is a case for Definitely Maybe and X&Y being their best work. Nonetheless, these albums are their most commercially successful which is why they are here. I think 'The Man Who' is an excellent album and would come very close to winning this. But if pushed, Morning Glory would have to get the honours.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Oasis MY SELECTION: Oasis

THE BRIT HITS 30 - BEST BRITS LIVE PERFORMANCE
Some rather odd nominations in this category which is for the best live performance at the BRIT Awards in its 30 year history. As you'd expect, Robbie Williams, Take That, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney are all nominated. Rather more surprisingly, Bros and the Spice Girls are also nominated. Coldplay's performance of Clocks a few years ago rocked and is certainly a contender. I also remember the Scissor Sisters set being well received a few years back, so they have a chance. And of course, how can we forget Kylie? But I'd go for Michael Jackson, although not so much for his performance but because Jarvis Cocker's stage invasion which is one of those iconic BRIT Award moments. I'm not so certain the judging panel have a sense of humour though, so I expect this award may be heading elsewhere.
PREDICTION TO WIN: Paul McCartney MY SELECTION: Michael Jackson with special credit to Jarvis Cocker's derriere, just edging out Kylie and her, erm, derriere

Brit Awards predictions

Well, it is the Brit Awards next Wednesday night, with those idiots out of Gavin & Stacey presenting it this year, along with Kylie. And as promised in my last blog post, I am previewing the Brit Awards and making my predictions on who will win, as well as saying who I would vote for if I was canvassed for my vote. So here's my rundown in each of the award categories.

As ever, these are purely my own thoughts and wherever any of you reading this blog have any disagreements, I will be very interested to hear your take on things. So here goes then.

BEST MALE SOLO ARTIST (Ian Brown, James Morrison, Paul Weller, Streets, Will Young)
With no Robbie Williams material these days, there is no longer a monopoly in this category. I didn't even know Ian Brown had released anything in the last year. I've never really enjoyed his solo stuff as much as his work with the Stone Roses in any event. Paul Weller last released a good song about 10 years ago and surely is just paying for his retirement fund these days. Streets misses out simply because how can you take the man seriously when a) he calls himself Streets and b) his songs come up with the kind of rhyming scheme that a 6 year old would be embarrassed by. There are 2 contenders for this award, Will Young and James Morrison, and although I wouldn't profess to being a huge fan of his, James Morrison's recent duet with Nelly Furtado was pleasant enough (although I think Nelly is the main reason for that) and with that song riding high in the charts, I think Morrison shades this award because he is currently in people's consciousness.
MY PREDICTION: James Morrison MY SELECTION: James Morrison

BEST FEMALE SOLO ARTIST (Duffy, Adele, Beth Rowley, Estelle, MIA)
Well, Estelle is by far and away the most aesthetically pleasing of these artists, but sadly I don't think this is going to be the judging panel's criteria for picking the winner. Can't say I know anything about Beth Rowley and I thought MIA was some dodgy action movie starring Chuck Norris and while I'm sure they both have their followers, I don't think they have the mainstream support required to win this award. Estelle had one of the big hits of last summer with "American Boy" which I liked when it came out, but got bored with by the time the radio played it for the 10,000th time. Adele and Duffy sold bucketloads last year so they are the two real contenders, although I can't stand Adele and "Warwick Avenue" aside, Duffy's voice is the kind to shatter glass from ten paces. Rockferry was the best selling album of 2008 though and so on that basis, I see this award heading over the Severn Bridge, although I would have liked to have seen Sharleen Spiteri nominated for this award after her impressive debut album was released in 2008.
MY PREDICTION: Duffy MY SELECTION: Estelle

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ACT (Adele, Duffy, Last Shadow Puppets, Scouting For Girls, Ting Tings)
This is rather an uninspiring list, I have to say. I would have said that the Ting Tings were the most annoying act to emerge last year until I saw the presence of Scouting For Girls among the nominees. I'm sure most of their songs came out the year before last anyway, although it is so hard to tell with Scouting For Girls as all of their songs sound the same. The Last Shadow Puppets are basically the lead singer out of the Arctic Monkeys' side project and I always thought they were overrated anyway. That just leaves us with Adele and Duffy again and although it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the judges might come over corinthian and split the awards between Adele and Duffy, I expect the Welsh songstress to win this award too.
MY PREDICTION: Duffy MY SELECTION: Duffy (by default!)

BEST BRITISH GROUP (Coldplay, Elbow, Radiohead, Girls Aloud, Take That)
The Brit Awards are the only music awards where you'd see this shortlist of nominations slugging it out for Best British Group, aren't they? I doubt Girls Aloud or Take That would feature in the Q Awards, nor would I expect Elbow or Radiohead to feature in the Smash Hits Awards (not least because Smash Hits doesn't exist any more!). Girls Aloud and Take That continue to churn out songs that appeal to their audience and sell well, so they are not without a chance, especially given how Take That tickets sold like hot cake last year. Elbow's album Seldom Seen Kid was fantastic and fully deserved to win the Mercury Music Prize last year but I don't think they are mainstream enough to get the vote in this award. That just leaves Coldplay and given that in the last year they have released 4 great singles, 2 fine albums and currently have genuine claims to being the biggest band in the world, I expect them to wipe the floor in this category.
MY PREDICTION: Coldplay MY SELECTION: Coldplay

BEST BRITISH LIVE ACT (Coldplay, Iron Maiden, Elbow, Scouting For Girls, The Verve)
Some rather odd nominees for this award. Iron Maiden have been performing for 30 years now, so why have they suddenly been nominated this year? I didn't even realise The Verve had performed together on tour since they reformed other than at Glastonbury, but I've never really regarded them as a great live act and have been disappointed with their material since their surprise comeback. Scouting For Girls's inclusion here is surely a joke, especially when there are some notable absentees, such as Razorlight, Keane and Kaiser Chiefs, who were all active in 2008. I enjoyed Elbow's sessions at Abbey Road on the red button the other week and they are a good live act, but Coldplay are up there with the best stadium bands in the world right now, so again this is another award in the bag for them.
MY PREDICTION: Coldplay MY SELECTION: Coldplay

BEST BRITISH SINGLE (Coldplay - Viva La Vida, Duffy - Mercy, Girls Aloud - The Promise, Leona Lewis - Better In Time, Scouting For Girls - Heartbeat)
I would really question whether these are the best five songs of the past year. Mercy wasn't even the best song that Duffy released last year, if Warwick Avenue was nominated then I would agree. Equally, as much as I think Viva La Vida is an epic tune, I'd have put Violet Hill ahead of it out of Coldplay's singles released in the past year because, just in my personal opinion, I think Violet Hill is the best song they have ever recorded. They are some fine tunes from different genres that are strangely absent and yet that dreary glass shatterer Leona Lewis gets nominated along with those talentless idiots Scouting For Girls. Viva La Vida is head and shoulders above the other nominated songs, but pop oriented songs often win the best single award which is why I have a hunch this award will end up in the Cole household.
MY PREDICTION: Girls Aloud MY SELECTION: Coldplay

BEST BRITISH ALBUM (Coldplay - Viva La Vida, Duffy - Rockferry, Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid, Radiohead - In Rainbows, Ting Tings - We Started Nothing)
What on earth would possess someone to buy an entire album of Ting Tings songs? The only reason they are so popular are because there's a real shortage of guitar bands with a female lead singer now. If Sleeper and Garbage were still around they would show just how ordinary the Ting Tings are. I notice Sharleen Spiteri's Melody album was cruelly overlooked, which is a pity as it is a mighty fine album. I haven't heard Radiohead's album although I predict it was just the usual cure for sleep deprivation, while Rockferry has a lot of filler on it outside of the singles. The 2 albums I own are Viva La Vida and Seldom Seen Kid and both are fantastic albums in their own way, although they are very different. My slight gripe with Viva La Vida is that I feel it was a half finished album in as much as some more songs appeared on an 8 track EP just a few months later with Life In Technicolor being much better for having words in it rather than the instrumental that is track 1 on Viva La Vida and Lovers In Japan sounding better as a standalone track on the EP rather than one half of a track on Viva La Vida. I'm nitpicking really though because it is a really polished album where each track fits with the next one, and although Seldom Seen Kid is very, very good, I think Viva La Vida edges it. Radio 2 listeners pick this award I think and so because I expect more 30 and 40-somethings to listen to Coldplay rather than Duffy, I think they will win.
MY PREDICTION: Coldplay MY SELECTION: Coldplay (although it's very close between them and Elbow)

BEST INTERNATIONAL ALBUM (AC/DC - Black Ice, Killers - Day and Age, Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night, MGMT - Orancular Spectacular, Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes)
The international group and album categories look far stronger than the British equivalent categories this year. All five of these nominees have got some valid claim for winning this award. AC/DC came back after a long hiatus and hit number 1 with this album and with them you always know what you are getting and they do what they do very well. MGMT have had a couple of quite funky tunes out in recent months and look like they could be a band to follow in the next couple of years. I would also draw your attention to Fleet Foxes (as I did in my last blog), who are probably less known than the other bands nominated, but whose album is a lovely composition. If you like late 60s music like the Beach Boys, Mamas & The Papas and Simon & Garfunkel, you will probably quite like their mellow harmonies. Nonetheless, I think this award is a straight battle between the 2 Ks. The Killers's latest album is a better all-round album than their previous two efforts. Whereas after a while, I grew to just like repeating certain songs on their first 2 albums, there are several mighty fine tracks on their 3rd album. In any other year, they would clean up this award, but the Kings of Leon are huge right now and 2008 was their breakthrough year. I can't see past them winning this award.
MY PREDICTION: Kings of Leon MY SELECTION: The Killers

BEST MALE INTERNATIONAL SOLO ARTIST (Beck, Neil Diamond, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Seasick Steve)
This album should be sponsored by Stannah Stairlifts given how old a couple of the nominees are. Blues singer Seasick Steve must be about 70 and Neil Diamond can't be far off it either. I didn't know who Seasick Steve was until I saw him on GMTV the other morning and I think if I heard him perform for long, I'd start feeling nauseous. I didn't know that Beck had released anything this side of the millennium so not quite sure what he's doing here and Neil Diamond is surely just nominated to remind people that he is still alive and well. Although I'm not a great fan of the rap genre, Jay-Z and Kanye West have been by far and away the most active acts during the past year and so it would be somewhat surprising if these 2 were not contesting the award. Jay-Z has been busy collaborating on other artists' work as well and I think that is what just edges this award in his favour.
MY PREDICTION: Jay-Z MY SELECTION: Er, Jay-Z I suppose, don't really like any of their stuff

BEST FEMALE INTERNATIONAL SOLO ARTIST (Beyonce, Gabriella Cilmi, Katy Perry, Pink, Santogold)
This looks quite a tough category to call with all of these artists having had their moments in the sun during the past year. I must confess to a guilty pleasure where Gabriella Cilmi is concerned as not only is she a good looking girl, but I thought that "Sweet About Me" was one of the best pop songs from last summer. That said, I do wonder whether she will end up being a one hit wonder who gets picked out of the Buzzcocks ID parade in 10 years time. Pink continues to churn out hit after hit although I haven't really liked the music she has released since the "Misundazstood" album. I'm not all that familiar with Santogold's music, although I would say that Ladyhawke is conspicuous by her absence from the nominees. Katy Perry was one of the more irritating personalities from last year but she is performing live on the night and I'm sure that having got her to come all that way to perform, the organisers will ensure she has something to put in her luggage for the flight home, however much we all like a bit of Beyonce.
MY PREDICTION: Katy Perry MY SELECTION: Beyonce

BEST INTERNATIONAL GROUP (AC/DC, Fleet Foxes, MGMT, Killers, Kings Of Leon)
The line-up here is identical to the line-up for best international album and that reflects the popularity of these acts over the past year. I think with both MGMT and Fleet Foxes, they are bands who probably have not been discovered enough by the wider public for them to win this award just yet, although their time could come. There would be a minor earth tremor in central London if AC/DC managed to win the award after all these years, but they don't realistically stand a chance of winning this accolade. It comes down to the 2 Ks again who are both at the top of their game at the moment, both had worldwide smashes in 2008 and both have genuine claims to being the biggest band on the planet right now. It's a close call, but once again I think the sheer volume of copies and downloads that have been shifted of Kings of Leon's last 2 singles demonstrate just how popular they are at the moment and I expect that to be the determining factor.
MY PREDICTION: Kings Of Leon MY SELECTION: The Killers

CRITICS' CHOICE (Florence & The Machine)
The winner saw off Little Boots and White Lies to win this award, although I would expect in the long run that the White Lies will be the act that go on to have the most amount of success and longevity. If the White Lies had released their album a couple of months earlier, I think this award would have gone to them but as it only came out at the start of this month when the award had already been decided, they missed out. If you like The Killers, chances are you will quite like the White Lies, as their music is quite new wave influenced and has quite dark, edgy lyrics. I am really enjoying their album at the moment. I've only heard one of Florence's songs and it seemed alright, but I think she just happened to be flavour of the month when the music execs were deciding this award.
MY PREDICTION: Florence & The Machine (not difficult given the result has already been announced) MY SELECTION: White Lies

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC (Pet Shop Boys)
Did anyone suppress a laugh when reading that sentence back? Quite apart from being responsible for covering that song that gets used at football matches for "Stand up if you hate Man U" they also were responsible for releasing a cover version of "Where The Streets Have No Name" by U2 which has to be up there with Leona Lewis's version of "Run" as one of the worst cover versions of all time. It's A Sin and West End Girls were good I suppose but they were released 20 odd years ago and I can't recall them releasing anything in the last 10 years or so. I think they have a new album out this year, but then so too do Simple Minds and so have The Cure, so if you are giving out lifetime awards to bands who have been around a long time and released some good songs, they have as much right to win this as the Pet Shop Boys.
MY PREDICTION: Pet Shop Boys (obviously) MY SELECTION: Simple Minds or The Cure