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
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
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
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.
This post was written by intern Kamara Williams.
Links
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For a list of all the 2014 Brit winners and nominees head here
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Fan of Bruno Mars? Head to the 2014 Brit winner's official website here
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Want to keep up to date with 2014 Brit winners One Direction? Visit their official website here
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For all the latest celebrity news and gossip follow @FlameTreePop on Twitter here
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:
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Digital version of Bruno Mars by Alice Hudson
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Digital version of One Direction: One and Only by Nadia Cohen
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Digital version of Beyoncé by Caroline Corcoran
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Digital version of Katy Perry: Rebel Dreamer by Alice Hudson
2013 is almost at an end and the world of music has not been quiet this year, oh no! From Bieber goes bad to Rihanna gets raunchy the music world has given us some memorable moments that need to be remembered before the bells of Auld Lang Syne chime! Here, in the first of two blog posts, we count down the most memorable music moments of 2013 from ten to six.
Kicking off our countdown at number 10 is David Bowie and his surprising release of new album The Next Day. His first in almost a decade, the iconic singer not only pleased his millions of original fans but also won an army of new ones. Released in March after an announcement on his 66th birthday in January, the album topped the number 1 spot and brought Bowie well and truly into the 21st century. 
Our music countdown wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of pop music’s good boy turned bad, Justin Bieber. 
We used to think that nothing Lady Gaga did or wore would fail to shock us, but 2013 turned out to be the year that Gaga didn’t live up to her name. Billed as the comeback of the year, after a lengthy break due to hip surgery in 2012, Gaga tried desperately hard to create hype for her new album ARTPOP, even releasing it as an app and getting naked on stage in London. Lady Gaga pictures were everywhere. But all the crazy outfits and Twitter meltdowns failed to excite critics for what is actually a pretty good album! Let’s hope we get the Gaga we know and love back in 2014!
There’s only one JT! No not John Terry – Justin Timberlake of course! And as we reach the end of this blog post and our countdown from ten to six of the most memorable music moments, we salute Mr Timberlake for releasing not only one album but two! The 20/20 Experience was released in March and went straight to number one.
