The BRIT Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show. In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, is held in May. The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards. Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event.
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer and primary songwriter, with Owen and Williams initially providing backing vocals and Donald and Orange serving primarily as dancers.
Anthony David McPartlin is an English television presenter, former singer, rapper and actor. He is best known for working alongside Dec Donnelly as part of the presenting duo Ant & Dec.
Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo consisting of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from Newcastle upon Tyne. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's drama Byker Grove, they performed together as pop musicians PJ & Duncan, the names of their characters from the series. For their earliest TV presenting roles they used the aliases Tony & Lan.
Declan Joseph Oliver Donnelly is a British television presenter, television producer, former singer, rapper, comedian and actor from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He is best known for working alongside Ant McPartlin as part of the presenting duo Ant & Dec.
Sheridan Caroline Sian Smith OBE is an English actress, singer, and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as The Royle Family (1999–2000), Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2001–2009), Gavin & Stacey (2008–2010), and Benidorm (2009). She played the role of Joey Ross on the drama series Jonathan Creek (2009–2013) and went on to receive acclaim for starring in a succession of television dramas, such as Mrs Biggs (2012), Cilla (2014), The C Word (2015), Black Work (2015), and The Moorside (2017). Her feature film credits include Tower Block (2012), Quartet (2012), and The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016).
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.
"Gold Digger" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, featuring singer Jamie Foxx, from West's second studio album, Late Registration (2005). The song includes additional vocals from Plain Pat and Don C. West created the beat in Atlanta. He and Jon Brion produced the song. It was originally set to be recorded for Shawnna's debut studio album, Worth Tha Weight (2004), but the song was later passed on to West. On July 5, 2005, it was released to American rhythmic contemporary radio stations by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam as the second single from West's album. The song set a record for the most digital downloads in a week, selling over 80,000.
Beverley Knight is an English singer, songwriter, actress and radio personality. She released her first album, The B-Funk, in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has released eight studio albums. Widely labelled as one of Britain's greatest soul singers, Knight is best known for her hit singles "Greatest Day", "Get Up!", "Shoulda Woulda Coulda", "Come as You Are" and "Keep This Fire Burning".
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, known mononymously as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. Adele has received numerous accolades including 16 Grammy Awards, 12 Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Brit Awards 2014 was held on 19 February 2014. It was the 34th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London and was presented by James Corden for the fourth consecutive year. Leading the nominations was Ellie Goulding with five nominations. Arctic Monkeys and One Direction both won the most awards, winning two awards each. For the first time ever, a backstage livestream was broadcast on the internet, via YouTube. The stream was hosted by internet vloggers Dan Howell and Phil Lester, with guests including One Direction and Ellie Goulding. 67-year-old David Bowie became the oldest winner to date of the British Male Solo Artist award.
"All Day" is a song by American rapper Kanye West. It features Trini-American rapper Theophilus London, Canadian rapper Allan Kingdom, and English musician Paul McCartney. The song was produced by West and ten others. Having initially leaked in August 2014 after being announced for release as a single by West, he premiered the song on March 2, 2015 via Power 106 and Hot 97. The following day, it was released for digital download and streaming as a standalone single, through GOOD Music and Def Jam. The song contains a re-recorded sample of "When the Wind is Blowing" by Paul McCartney and Wings and an interpolation from "Dance with Me" by Jamaican singer Noel Ellis. It includes elements of industrial and drill music, alongside synthesizers. The lyrics center around West boasting about being successful and winning in life, with West comparing certain lyrics to the work of Jay-Z.
Rebel Heart is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released by Interscope Records on March 6, 2015. She worked on the album throughout 2014, co-writing and co-producing it with various musicians, including Diplo, Avicii and Kanye West. The album also features guest vocals by boxer Mike Tyson and rappers Nicki Minaj, Nas and Chance the Rapper.
"Living for Love" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart (2015). It was written and produced by Madonna, Diplo and Ariel Rechtshaid, with additional writing from MoZella and Toby Gad. Originally intended for a Valentine's Day 2015 release, the song was rush-released as the lead single from the album on December 20, 2014, by Interscope Records, after demos recorded for the album leaked on to the internet. An EDM, diva house, disco and electropop track on which Madonna experimented with different musical genres, "Living for Love" contains instrumentation from percussion and piano by singer Alicia Keys, along with a gospel choir. Madonna composed the track as a break-up song, however she wanted to deviate and make the lyrics as uplifting in nature, talking about counteracting negative thoughts with positive responses.
This is a summary of the year 2015 in British music.
Brit Awards 2016 was held on 24 February 2016 and was the 36th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London and were presented by Ant & Dec. Award nominations were revealed on 14 January 2016. British fashion designer Pam Hogg has designed the trophies for this year's ceremony, styling the BRIT statue.
Isobel Bizu Beardshaw, better known as Izzy Bizu, is an English-Ethiopian singer-songwriter signed to Epic Records. Bizu has garnered mainstream radio support from BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac and Phil Taggart and BBC Radio 1Xtra's Trevor Nelson. She has supported Coldplay, Sam Smith, Rudimental, and Foxes. In November 2015, Bizu was shortlisted for a Brit Critics' Choice award and longlisted for BBC's Sound of... 2016. She won the BBC Music Introducing Award at the 2016 ceremony. On 25 June 2016, Bizu performed on the Park Stage at the Glastonbury Festival.
This is a summary of the year 2016 in British music.
Brit Awards 2018 was the 38th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music show, the Brit Awards. It was held on the 21st February 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, with Jack Whitehall as the host. The Brit Award statuette designed by sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor was awarded to the winners. Foo Fighters, Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran were among the global stars nominated for awards in the ceremony.
Brit Awards 2023, the 43rd edition of the ceremony, presented by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), was held on 11 February 2023 to recognise the best in British and international music. The ceremony took place at The O2 Arena in London, and was hosted by British comedian Mo Gilligan, who returns after hosting the 2022 edition. Coverage of the red carpet was broadcast on ITV2 and presented by Clara Amfo, Maya Jama and Roman Kemp. The 2023 Brit Award trophy was designed by Nigerian-born London-based artist Olaolu Slawn.
