Who is going to be the best of the BRITs?

Hello everyone!
So...in a couple of days, it is the big day. It is the day when the BRIT award nominations are announced so I thought that I would give my opinion about who should be nominated what. We already know who has won the BRIT icon (Robbie Williams) and the Critics' Choice award (Rag N Bone Man). But what about the other categories? Well...here are the people that I have loved listening to over the past year and therefore feel should be nominated.

Best Male

There are a couple of people who I feel should be nominated for best male. First of all, the two comeback kings of 2016, Craig David and James Arthur, should be nominated as despite having time off, (in Craig David's case, he has been away for 10 years!) they have both managed to match their initial success. Additionally, it would not be the BRIT awards without a nomination for Robbie Williams. Ok...yes...he has already won the Icon award but in 2016, he managed to get his 12th Number one album with The Heavy Entertainment Show, a headline slot for Big Ben Rocks on New Year's Eve 2016 and a sold out stadium tour. Also, if he wins, it would be his 19th BRIT award.

Best Female

One female that comes to mind is Louisa Johnson. Now, just because she is from The X Factor doesn't mean she should be written off.  She has had two top 10 hits in the form of her debut single, Forever Young, which reached number 9, and her collaboration with Clean Bandit, Tears, which reached number 5. Furthermore, her recent single, So Good, entered the chart at number 15. Therefore, I feel a BRIT nomination is well deserved for her.

Best International Female

There is one main female that I feel should be nominated for this award and that is Beyonce. 2016 was a massive year for her, mainly because she got everyone talking with her controversial album, Lemonade. The main question everyone was asking was "Who is Becky with the good hair?!" That mystery was never fully solved but Lemonade managed to give Beyonce another number one album. Also, it's Beyonce.

However, there are other contenders that should be considered and one such example, who is certainly big competition for Beyonce, is Rihanna. She returned with her first album in four years, with Anti, which was featured in many "Best albums of 2016" lists, such as the NME and the Guardian. She also had a hit with Work and her second collaboration with Calvin Harris, This is What You Came For, with both songs hitting number two in the UK chart. Having won this award in 2011 and 2012, will she manage a nomination and, possibly a hat trick in winning?

Another worthy contender would be Zara Larsson. One of the stand out singles of 2016, in my opinion, has to be her brilliant single, Lush Life, which peaked at number 3 in the UK chart. With other top tunes in the form of Ain't My Fault and I would Like,  both hitting the top 20, surely she is in with the chance of being nominated?

Best International group

The first band that come to mind for me, when looking at this category is Twenty One Pilots. They have had a great 2016. Not only were they playing many festivals, such as Reading and Leeds and Radio 1's Big Weekend, they have also success with their singles, Stressed Out, which entered the UK chart at number 12, and Heathens, which entered the UK chart at number 5.  Heathens was also given the honour of being part of the Suicide Squad movie soundtrack. Will they add a BRIT nomination to this list of their successes?

Best International Male

I think purely for having the longest reigning UK number one single in 2016, for One Dance, this nomination should be given to Drake. I mean, it would be pretty unfair not to give him a nomination after this success wouldn't it. Oh, and also for creating possibly (in my opinion) the most annoying song with Rihanna. Yep, I'm talking about Work.

Best British Group

Two groups that immediately come to mind when thinking about this category are Bastille and The Last Shadow Puppets. Both have had successful comebacks, with Bastille releasing their album Wild World, 3 years after their debut, Bad Blood, and The Last Shadow Puppets releasing their second album, Everything You've Come to Expect, 8 years after The Age of the Understatement. With both bands' albums hitting number one on the UK charts and them going on world tours and numerous festival slots, will they both be nominated for a BRIT?

Best British Breakthrough

One  band that should be nominated for Best British Breakthrough is Blossoms. Yes, they only emerged onto the scene in 2016 but since then, they have had slots at Glastonbury, Radio 1's Big Weekend and Reading and Leeds, supported The Last Shadow Puppets on their Dublin dates on their tour and had a number one album, with their-self titled debut. With their debut tour selling out and a March tour being announced, I reckon that 2017 is going to be an even bigger year for Blossoms. Will a BRIT nomination for best British Breakthrough be part of this? In fact, I reckon they also have a good chance at being nominated for Best Group as well.

Best British Album.

Yep...it's the big one of the night. The Best British album award. There are three albums that I have loved in the past year and these are Everything You've Come To Expect by The Last Shadow Puppets, Wild World by Bastille and Blossoms by...well...Blossoms. All these albums have a different sound so I couldn't possibly pick my favourite one. However, there is one thing I do know...they are all worthy enough for a BRIT nomination.

So...there are my predictions. It'll be interesting to see whether I'll be right when the BRITs nominations come out on Saturday! I'll be posting my thoughts about these when they are revealed so keep your eyes peeled.

Em
x

Review of the year!

Hi guys!
 I thought it would be good to do a review of the year for 2016. Yes, I know what everyone is thinking...2016 was a terrible year for music.  Yes, you're right but we did have some good times in 2016. Right? Well...let's see. Here are the highs (and lows) of 2016.

What was Happening with all our well loved Celebrities?

Yes...I thought I might as well get the lows out the way. From the very start, it seemed that celebrities were going to be doomed. In one year, we lost David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Viola Beach, Terry Wogan and others. These deaths sparked multiple tributes, particularly with Bowie, whose songs were covered by a variety of people throughout the year, such as Lorde, Lady Gaga and The Last Shadow Puppets. All I can say is let's hope 2017 is a better year for celebrities!

We're so Glad You Came Back...We've Missed You!

Throughout 2016, there have been so many notable comebacks, many of whom have matched their success from when they were first around. From The Last Shadow Puppets, who after 8 years returned with their second album, Everything You've Come to Expect, scoring another number 1 album in the process, to Craig David, who after a decade away, proved people still love early noughties R & B. Craig David managed to score a sell out tour, the honour to do the Children in Need single and singles in the top 30 in the UK Official Charts.

Other notable comebacks include Radiohead, whose latest album A Moon Shaped Pool charted at number 1 on the official charts and was nominated for a Mercury Prize, whilst the band have also been confirmed to play Glastonbury 2017. Also, James Arthur has returned, having released his number 1 album, Back to the Edge, and his second number 1 single, Say You Won't Let Go. Emeli Sande also made her long awaited comeback. In fact, overall, 2016 has been a big success in terms of comebacks.

The Show must go on!

Yes, 2016 has been terrible to some extent yet we have had some light relief due to many bands being on tour as well as festivals, such as Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds.

Coldplay lighting up Wembley Stadium

Personally, my highlights have been seeing both Coldplay and Bastille live. All I can say regarding Coldplay...Wow! Coldplay are great anyway but I think the concert was made even better by the Xylobands that lit up, creating a light show that shone throughout Wembley Stadium. During the show, they played tribute to David Bowie and Prince, covering Heroes and Raspberry Beret. They are doing some more dates for their Head Full of Dreams tour in 2017 so, if you get a chance, I recommend you grab a ticket and go and see them.

Regarding Bastille, I had been a fan of them since 2013 but I had never chance to see them live but 2016 was my year...and I loved it. They had such energy and had the audience in the palm of their hands.  They have been confirmed for Reading and Leeds 2017 so if you are going, make sure you don't miss them as they are a brilliant live band.

A collage of Bastille photos...I took too many good ones. 

Speaking of festivals, there has been so many highlights. Personally, my highlight has been reliving Coldplay's concert. I watched it at home and to be honest, it was the best thing to do because I got to see Glastonbury light up fully, compared being in the crowd. Other highlights included Muse rocking out at Glastonbury, Sigma performing with Take That at Radio 1's Big Weekend (yes...this actually happened) and The Last Shadow Puppets, who performed Moonage Daydream, as a tribute to David Bowie. Finally, Coldplay, instead of covering Bowie's Heroes, created an "alternate future" for the band Viola Beach, a up-and coming band who tragically lost their lives in a car accident, by covering their song Boys That Sing

And finally...Welcome Newbies!

Throughout the year we have seen some new acts emerge and have big success, such as Anne-Marie, who has not only had a BRITs nomination already, for the Critics' choice award, she has already had a huge hit, with her collaboration with Clean Bandit and Sean Paul, Rockabye. This song earned the 2016 Christmas number one, as well as spending six weeks at number one in the weeks up to this coveted number one spot. Other newbies who were also nominated for the Critics' choice award were Dua Lipa, who has had success with Blow Your Mind, and, eventual winner, Rag N Bone Man, whose song Human fits prefectly with his voice.

However, I think apart from Anne-Marie and other emerging acts, I think one of the big success stories of 2016 is Blossoms. This Stockport based indie band have had huge success, notably with their self-titled debut album that went on to become the biggest selling debut album of 2016. They have also had slots at festivals such as Glastonbury, Radio 1's Big Weekend and Reading and Leeds, as well as supporting The Last Shadow Puppets for their Dublin dates on their tour. With dates recently being released for their second tour (they went on their first tour earlier this year), I highly recommend getting tickets for these guys because I have a feeling they will become bigger and better.

Hope you enjoyed my review of the year for 2016. Here's to more musical highlights in 2017!

Em x