Celebrity News and Gossip

Celebrity News and Gossip: The Brits 2014

celebrity news and gossip, Brit Awards 2014 On February 19, London’s O2 Area was home to one of music’s biggest events, the 2014 Brit Awards. The star-studded award show, hosted by comic actor James Corden for the fifth and last time, was broadcasted live on ITV in the UK. Performances by 'Drunk In Love' singer Beyoncé, as well as Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding, Lorde and Pharrell left audiences electrified at home and in the arena.

Bowie's Back

celebrity news and gossip, david bowie There were certainly some historical moments at this year’s Brits. David Bowie was nominated for the MasterCard British Album of the Year 2014 and British Male Solo Artist 2014, which he won for the second time – an amazing 30 years after winning it for the first time. Artic Monkeys snagged the MasterCard British Album of the Year title from Bowie this year. The band seems to be on a winning streak since this is their third time winning this category. Artic Monkeys also took home the Brit for Best British Group 2014 beating nominees such as Bastille, Disclosure, One Direction, and Rudimental.

Guy Power

celebrity news and gossip, one direction Other big winners for the night were Bruno Mars and One Direction. Mars won the Brit for International Male Solo Artist for the second time after facing such stiff competition as Drake, Eminem, John Grant and Justin Timberlake. The two-time winner later performed on the Brit award stage for the 2nd time singing his hit-single ‘Treasure’.

One Direction took home one of the night’s biggest awards, Best British Video 2014 for 'Best Song Ever'. The teen sensation was also nominated for British Group and British Single but only walked away with one Brit this year. But with such tough competition, one is better than none after all. Maybe that could be the name of their next single!

Other Lucky Stars

celebrity news and gossip, ellie goulding The French duo Daft Punk is still getting lucky as they landed the award for Best International Group. This was their first time winning a Brit after competing with nominees such as Arcade Fire, Haim, Kings of Leon, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Another first-time winner was Lorde, the vocalist behind the worldwide anthem ‘Royals’. The 17-year-old won International Female Solo Artist, beating huge superstars such as Janelle Monaé, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Pink.

Ellie Goulding and Bastille also won awards, Goulding for British Female Solo Artist and Bastille for British Breakthrough Act.

Night Highlights

Some unforgettable moments from the night included iconic supermodel Kate Moss steeping in to accept David Bowie’s award, Harry Styles arriving late on stage and appearances by Prince, Nile Rodgers and Beyoncé who performed ‘XO’ from her self-entitled album Beyoncé.

The 2014 Brit Awards was definitely a memorable event. It left audiences even more excited about the future of music and pop culture at large. It’s a shame that we have to wait another year to experience something as awesome as the 2014 Brits but in the meantime can keep up with this year’s winners and nominees.

celebrity news and gossip, beyonce

This post was written by intern Kamara Williams.

Flame Tree Pop Titles

Wanting to delve deeper into the lives of your favourite pop stars? Check out our fantastic biographies of today’s most popular celebrities. Here’s a small selection of some of Flame Tree’s amazing pop culture illustrated ebooks:

Digital version of Bruno Mars by Alice Hudson
Digital version of One Direction: One and Only by Nadia Cohen
Digital version of Beyoncé by Caroline Corcoran
Digital version of Katy Perry: Rebel Dreamer by Alice Hudson

Celebrity News and Gossip: Little Mix, How It All Began

Little Mix Salute Official Album Cover Sassy girl band Little Mix are going from strength to strength as they forge their pop career, currently taking America and Canada by storm as they join Demi Lovato on her immense 'The Neon Lights Tour'. This comes just in time for them to celebrate getting their second album Salute into the US Top Ten this week. How did they get here? Let's take a look back at their humble origins…

How It All Began

Like One Direction before them, they were put together during the X Factor, having never met each other beforehand. All four had had something in their auditions but not managed to wow the judges. Gary didn’t like Jesy’s version of ‘Bust Your Windows’, giving her a ‘No’ and telling her it was ‘generic’, while Tulisa, incredibly, told Perrie: ‘I like you, but I’m not in love with you.’

Kelly Rowland felt differently, shouting, ‘Your voice is crazy, yo!’ after Perrie’s performance of Alanis Morissette’s ‘You Oughta Know’. When Leigh-Anne auditioned with Rihanna’s ‘Only Girl (In The World)’, Kelly told her, ‘I do see you in a girl band.’ The seeds were sown and although the four girls got through to Boot Camp, their journeys as solo artists would end there.

Boot Camp Brainwave

Instead, they were placed in two different groups: Jesy and Perrie in Faux Pas, alongside two other girls, and Jade and Leigh-Anne in a band called Orion. Neither group made it to Judges’ Houses but then The X Factor bosses had a brainwave and the four girls were placed in a band together, performing under the name Rhythmix.

During the live shows, their performance became the one you tuned in for. What would they do this week? The girls mixed it up, jumping from Nicki Minaj to ballads and mash-ups. They even managed to ride out a name change; it turned out that a Brighton charity were also called Rhythmix so the girls decided to take on a new moniker: Little Mix.

Little Mix Salute photo shoot

Natural Born Winners

In week seven Little Mix performed En Vogue’s ‘Don’t Let Go’, which became the turning point, perhaps, and the moment when the British public decided that, actually, maybe a girl band could win this – if a girl band were this good.

As they appeared on the Marks & Spencer Christmas advert, one fan tweeted after their victory was announced: ‘Well its obvious little mix were gonna win, they were the ones at the end of the marks and spencer advert’. They weren’t alone in that theory, especially considering the prominent vocals that the girls – in particular Perrie – were given on The X Factor charity single ‘Wishing On A Star’; it was obvious that they were positioning themselves as winners.

Nonetheless, everyone was still surprised – none more so than the girls, perhaps – when in December 2011, after performances of Florence and The Machine’s ‘You’ve Got The Love’, and a mash-up of ‘Empire State Of Mind’ and ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ with mentor Tulisa, they actually did beat Amelia Lily and Marcus Collins to become the first ever group to take The X Factor crown.

little mix win the x factor

Fast forward to 2014, and they've already notched up 2 Top Ten albums, as well as 7 Top 20 singles. No doubt they'll absolutely smash their tour later this year to support their second album Salute, and their success will just keep on coming. They're bringing Girl Power to a whole new legion of fans – long may it continue!