THE “schmoozy” evening of many a-celeb’s vanity project returns to our satellites with a new primetime slot to trump the falling viewer rates: Brit Awards ’24.
Now, it’s been a mad hot few weeks since the prestigious event, we cast an eye back and see what all the fuss was about.
FIRST THINGS FIRST..
I would like to first acknowledge that I am severely grateful for the invite to such a prestigious award show. A stellar evening trumped with stellar performances and a heinous blitz from RAYE stealing the show, it was rather a marvellous opportunity to see how one of the most prestigious ceremonies in British music works behind the scenes.
Interestingly enough, attending the Brit Awards was almost like a surreal simulation eavesdropping on our music celebrities’ luxury, as they celebrated with one another the mainstream success and adoration they receive from folk society and general public schmucks.
THE SET-UP
For one, it didn’t help with where we were. High in the clouds in Tier 3, the seating arrangements certainly made you feel we were watching from another planet – with the infrequent acknowledgement from the hype man in-between ad breaks bringing us back down to Earth. For many, they resorted to casting their eye over to the big screens. For others, they did their best to squint and spot their favourites down below on the varying table layout before us. There was even some oddballs fashioning binoculars, almost as if they were at the Royal Variety Performance.
You could just about make out each of the quirky individuals seated at each table before the sprawling o2 catwalk or just get an understanding that the front standing section was solely proportioned to those Brit School students, feverishly excited to be so up close and personal to some of the best British artists in the industry right now.
Once you get past the towering height however, the spectacle was marvellous. A dazzling production budget fitting for any prized muso, favourable performances consisted of pop queen Dua Lipa, good vibin’ Jungle, show champion RAYE and global icon Kylie Minogue. It was also really interesting to see the turnover times between one set to the next as one award into another was being read out. Due to the position where we were at, sprawling set designs, lighting displays and positioning dance extras were seen and swapped over like clockwork behind the coveted blanket – a whole heap of co-ordination and understanding is very much missed to that of the average viewer watching it on their boxsets.
GETTING TO THE BRIT GRIT
The Brit Awards is essentially an evening showcasing the very magic of the Brit School and those avid creators and makers that have trickled out of their golden doors. Funnily enough, RAYE was let in the doors, despite doing a Winehouse and leaving the school because she believed that they were stifling her music’s progression. I suppose with such an amazing year the female singer has had, you have to let her in the doors. And so, as it happened, RAYE’s 21st Century Blues swept up a record-breaking six Brit awards. A high-octane and emotional evening for the 26-year-old star, as she took her grandma up to the stage during one of her many acceptance speeches.
While the success of many is inspiring all the same, many artists for their creativity and diversity were ultimately snubbed. The might of Yussef Dayes – who by the way, is a master-extraordinaire with percussive dexterity – missed out on the Alternative/Rock Act to Bring Me The Horizon. Who, arguably, had a slightly tepid year despite the occasional headline slot at a festival somewhere. Young Fathers were also snubbed from Best British Group by Jungle, who despite their funky credentials to their name, won for the sheer scale of volume sold.
This brings me to the big elephant in the room that has been waiting ever so patiently.
Is the Brit Awards just one big popularity contest amongst the highest grossing artists? Or is the voting scale submitted on musicianship alone? While record labels are invited to submit their eligible artists for consideration to a whole host of publishers, agents, managers, agents and media, there is not an awful lot of knowledge on how winners are separated from the nominees.
While the diversity of the voting academy itself is assuring to see – Female / Woman is 45%, Male / Men is 42%, while White ethnicity is 60% – it would be good to note what is taken into consideration and what is not. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not that ignorant to know that the music industry is ultimately a business. A business that is very reliant on sales data and culture dominance. So, it’s not exactly new news to us, this.
Above all else however, it’s a doozy evening jammed packed with industry professional celebrating those artists and their teams behind the magic in what makes the British music industry highly polished and functional. Irrespective of the political limbo with award ceremonies, it doesn’t get better than that.
You can view my highlights via Instagram HERE: https://www.instagram.com/manvmusic/?hl=en-gb
What do you guys think? Let me know!
manvmusic.com 
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