The Brits Breakdown

So as all music followers know the Brit Awards is back for 2017 and a list of the nominees expected to win big or go home weeping into their gold records has been released. Throwback to the Brits 2012 five years ago, and the list of nominees and victors rarely varied in genre and looked like the party playlist for a Super Sweet 16 birthday, with the likes of Bruno Mars, One Direction and Rihanna. As much as these artists are ever present today, producing music and hitting the charts hard like a stag night in Magaluf, there is also the presence of a dynamic change in the world of mainstream music.

Brit Awards 2017 promises an array of possible winners, ensuring that music lovers from across genres will tune in to watch their beloved’s name read out by some on-screen joker. If you look across the categories, you can see that music has come a long way in the last five years; there is less pop, more alternative and rock artists and a channel for the once overlooked grime. British Breakthrough Act has both Skepta and Stormzy in the running, which is going to be rap-off that we all should gather in the street for and Mastercard British Album of the Year sees Skepta snatching another opportunity to win along with fellow ‘grimestar’ Kano. However also in the running for the latter award is the late David Bowie (RIP Starman) for Blackstar and The 1975 for i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful, yet so unaware of it (how wrong it feels to write a title in lowercase but Matty Healy obviously wanted all grammar experts screaming in harmony and burning their textbooks). It marks a revolution in music awards, that alternative, rock and grime artists can all be up for the same award as no one places them as any less of an artist than the other, even if personal taste suggests otherwise.

Of course there is still the same mainstream artists anticipating a win, as it would not be all fair to cut out the masses who deserve awards in their own right. The mainstream artists are in a true battle, all producing the same music for an audience who soak it up and define who will hit the top spot of #1, rather than a smaller demographic where success may be deemed easier as there is less competition. So hats off to Beyoncé, Sia and Rihanna for their running in International Female Solo Artist, to Bruno Mars, Drake and The Weeknd for nominations for International Male Solo Artist and all the known names for British Single. Speckled in these categories are unexpected names such as David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and Solange but these are few and far between, but a promising observation either way.

With all the legendary artists lost in 2016, it is not surprising that some artists nominated will not be able to collect their awards, but will instead receive posthumous recognition for the incredible music they have produced. For International Group, A Tribe Called Quest may reap a reward for their lost group member Phife Dawg who had significant contribution to their latest album We got it from Here…Thank You 4 Your service released 18 years after their previous album. International Male Solo Artist sees Leonard Cohen’s unforgettable husky voice acknowledged and last but certainly not least David Bowie for British Male Solo Artist. It is especially touching to see game changers in the music industry being honoured for their contribution to the scene, as it shows that their impact surpasses their own lifetime and will continue to inspire people young and old in countless ways. These awards are not just for the artists but also for the loyal fans that feel as though they have lost a friend.

Stay tuned for further updates on the Brits 2017 and to see the full list of nominees, click the link below!

http://www.brits.co.uk/nominees#

#music