Brits 2016: Expect Justin Bieber, Adele, Rihanna, And A David Bowie Tribute At Awards Ceremony
The Brit awards are back Wednesday night in the UK, with pop star Adele expected to win the top prize: Album of the Year.
The Brits 2016 will see performances from Adele, Justin Bieber, and others, as well as a special tribute to David Bowie, who died last month. The Weeknd, Coldplay, and Little Mix should also take to the stage, BBC News reports.
Last week at the Grammy Awards, Adele’s performance suffered from some technical issues, which quickly turned into a Twitter feud between those criticizing and defending the artist. Let’s hope there’s no such bad luck tonight.
Coldplay is nominated for Album of the Year and Best Group, and a victory at the Brits 2016 would take their career total to nine awards, making them the event’s most successful band ever.
Justin Bieber is nominated in the Brits’ International Male Artist of the Year category, alongside The Weeknd, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Father John Misty, who recently appeared in Lana del Rey’s “Freak” video.
Lana is nominated for International Female Artist of the Year, along with Ariana Grande, Björk, Courtney Barnett, and Meghan Trainor. Most of the categories at the Brits recognize British artists.
Rumors were spreading over social media Tuesday about a possible surprise appearance in a London club by Justin Bieber, which he denied on Twitter.
And any nightclub in london saying I’m coming tonight to perform. Not true
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) February 23, 2016
Rihanna and Drake could deliver their first live performance of “Work” at the Brits, as reported by the Inquisitr earlier this week.
But the Barbadian beauty could also decide last minute to snub the Brits, as she did the Grammys last week. Although the official explanation for her pulling out was bronchitis, it’s also been reported that RiRi feared her performance wouldn’t be good enough. She was going to sing her newly-released ballad “Kiss It Better,” which she supposedly deemed not impressive enough for a comeback act.
Singing and performing “Work” with Drake at the Brits 2016 would do for a much better show.
Rihanna is already in London for the Brit Awards and was seen leaving a nightclub yesterday. Drake was also present. pic.twitter.com/l4TLwCnkMy
— Joao Fenty (@joao_fentyr8) February 23, 2016
All eyes will be peeled for a repeat of the 2015 Brits mishaps, which included a spectacular fall by Madonna, who tripped on her cape, as reported by Billboard.
Another blunder from the Brits 2015 was Kanye’s performance of his song “All Day,” which was filled with swearwords and consequently had to be bleeped throughout for public release.
Lack Of Diversity
Artists are complaining the Brits are lacking in diversity, with only two non-white acts being nominated for awards. This week, grime star Big Narstie brought up the topic in a Channel 4 news feature.
“Years ago when I was making music,” he told the TV station, “I was sending it off to radio stations and getting told it was ‘too urban’. But what else am I supposed to make? I come from Brixton.
A #Britssowhite hashtag soon appeared on Twitter for people to complain about the lack of black artists and grime music among nominees and performers despite the genre being highly popular in the charts.
Organizers of the Brits 2016 ceremony replied to the complaints, blaming metrics for the lack of diversity.
In a statement, they said, “Given the rapidly changing landscape of music consumption, it may now be time to take a fresh look at the metrics around the BRIT Awards to ensure they reflect the full range of engagement with recorded music.”
Singer Laura Mvula confirmed she would not be attending the ceremony.
“Growing up my black identity is something that is hugely important to me and something that as I’m now going into my thirties I’m thinking lots and lots more about,” she told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.”
The other highly expected event at tonight’s Brits will be the David Bowie tribute, in which Kate Moss is expected to participate, alongside Adele, Bono, Noel Gallagher, and Coldplay.
And speculation continues as to One Direction: will they or won’t they? With all band members in town, fans are hoping the four will on stage to present an award, as their highly controversial hiatus has actually not started yet.
But with all the rumors surrounding Harry Styles going solo and ditching One Direction’s management team, it’s hard to predict just what will happen at tonight’s Brit awards ceremony.
[Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]