This year’s Brit awards nominations have thrown up a few unexpected curveballs. Alongside the expected stack of nominations for Adele, who features in four categories, there is also recognition for Amy Winehouse – who died in 2011 – and Eagles of Death Metal, whose Paris concert was targeted by terrorists in November 2015.
Winehouse’s inclusion in the British female solo artist category is not her first posthumous nomination. She was nominated in the same section in 2013, following the release of her rarities album Lioness: Hidden Treasures. This year’s nomination comes after the release of the documentary film Amy, with its accompanying soundtrack, and sees Winehouse in a group that also features Adele, Florence + the Machine, Jess Glynne and Laura Marling.
Eagles of Death Metal are among the nominees for international group, which seems likely to be recognition for the dignified way they responded to fans following the attack at the Bataclan concert hall, which left 89 people dead. The band’s lead singer Jesse Hughes spoke movingly following the tragedy about wanting to connect with his fans, and remained defiant that the terrorists would not prevent the group from continuing to perform live. The band have never previously been nominated for either a Brit or a Grammy, and their most recent album, Zipper Down, reached only No 32 in the UK charts.
The group’s singer, Jesse Hughes, said: “You know how you always hear people say that it’s nice to just be nominated? Well, in this particular case, it honestly is. We are truly humbled by the outpouring of support Eagles of Death Metal has received from all of the people of Europe, and we pledge to continue rocking and rolling for many many more years to come. Thank you so much for recognising and bestowing us with such a wonderful honour.”
Elsewhere in their category are U2, who invited Eagles of Death Metal to perform with them onstage in Paris less than a month after the Bataclan attack, Alabama Shakes, Major Lazer and Tame Impala.
There is no surprise that Adele jointly leads the nominations list. With gigantic sales of her comeback album 25 – it has sold more than 2.5m copies so far in the UK alone – she will be tipped to win all four of her categories: British female solo artist, Mastercard British album of the year, British single and British artist video of the year, the latter two for her comeback song Hello.
The new artists Years and Years and James Bay – who won the BBC sound of 2015 and Brits critics’ choice awards last year, respectively – both match her for nominations. The electropop band feature in the categories for British group and British breakthrough act, and also British single and British artist video of the year for their song King. Singer songwriter Bay gets the nod for British male solo artist, British breakthrough act, Mastercard British album of the year and British single.
Elsewhere on the list are nominations for electronic maverick Aphex Twin (British male solo artist), dance-popster Jess Glynne (British female solo artist, British breakthrough act and British single for Hold My Hand) and Coldplay, who feature in British group and Mastercard British album of the year for A Head Full Of Dreams.
The international categories hold more weight in terms of credibility. Father John Misty and Kendrick Lamar are up for international male solo artist, while Björk and Courtney Barnett are among those competing for international female solo artist.
The Brits ceremony will be held on Wednesday 24 February at the O2, with Ant and Dec hosting. There will be live performances from Adele, Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Jess Glynne, James Bay, the Weeknd and Little Mix.
The nominations in full
British male solo artist
Aphex Twin
Calvin Harris
James Bay
Jamie xx
Mark Ronson
British female solo artist
Adele
Amy Winehouse
Florence + the Machine
Jess Glynne
Laura Marling
British group
Blur
Coldplay
Foals
One Direction
Years & Years
British breakthrough act
Catfish and the Bottlemen
James Bay
Jess Glynne
Wolf Alice
Years & Years
Mastercard British album of the year
Adele – 25
Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams
Florence + the Machine – How Big How Blue How Beautiful
James Bay – Chaos and the Calm
Jamie xx – In Colour
British producer of the year
Charlie Andrew
Mark Ronson
Mike Crossey
Tom Dalgety
British single
Adele – Hello
Calvin Harris and Disciples – How Deep Is Your Love
Ed Sheeran and Rudimental – Bloodstream
Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
James Bay – Hold Back the River
Jess Glynne – Hold My Hand
Little Mix – Bad Magic
Olly Murs ft Demi Lovato – Up
Philip George – Wish You Were Mine
Years & Years – King
British artist video of the year
Adele – Hello
Calvin Harris and Disciples – How Deep Is Your Love
Ed Sheeran – Photograph
Jessie J – Flashlight
Little Mix – Black Magic
Naughty Boy ft Beyoncé and Arrow Benjamin – Runnin’ (Lose it All)
One Direction – Drag Me Down
Sam Smith – Writing’s on the Wall
Years & Years – King
International male solo artist
Drake
Father John Misty
Justin Bieber
Kendrick Lamar
The Weeknd
International female solo artist
Ariana Grande
Björk
Courtney Barnett
Lana del Rey
Meghan Trainor
International group
Alabama Shakes
Eagles of Death Metal
Major Lazer
Tame Impala
U2
