Brit nominations - 2007

A belated post this, but I though I’d chip in with my two penn’orth on the Brit award nominations, which were announced on Tuesday (the full list of nominations can be found here, in case you’re curious.)

It might, at first glance, seem unusual for a grizzled music fan such as myself to be commenting on one of the most rampantly commercial music awards around (after all, the Brits is an industry award, with most gongs being voted for by record company execs who invariably will vote for whoever scores the most sales), particularly since the bands/artists I’m into are largely bypassed when it comes to the nominations. However, against my better judgement, there’s always the odd award that manages to get me worked up (when some lesser known band/artist gets a token mention); in the case of this year’s awards, it’s not so much the mention of the Arctic Monkeys or the Kooks that have got me hyped up (after all, both bands have already well and truly made their breakthrough this past year), but rather the inclusion of the brilliant Cat Power in the best international female category. I suspect that part of it is my clamour for an underdog to win one of these awards; the Arctic Monkeys and the Kooks arguably have a strong chance of winning one or two of the awards they’ve been nominated for, but Cat Power is probably rank outsider in her category (despite being the best of the nominees by quite some distance; I would argue that Shakira probably has a stronger claim to such an award than the rest of the nominees.) I must admit to being a bit disappointed that Cat Power’s most recent album wasn’t nominated in the best international album category (do the awards panel honestly think Justin Timberlake and the Scissor Sisters made better albums last year?), but I guess one can’t have everything

Anyway, to close with, here are my predictions for who the winners will be:

Best British Male Solo Artist – James Morrison (should be Jarvis or Thom Yorke, but won’t be; also, why was Morrissey not nominated?)

Best British Female Solo Artist – Lily Allen (no prizes for guessing that one.)

Best British Group – Arctic Monkeys (again, no prizes for guessing that one.)

Best British Album – Arctic Monkeys (Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not): Well, it was the fastest selling album since records began…

Best British Single – Take That (Patience): Expect all the female, 30-something Take That fans to come out of the woodwork and vote in droves for this one.

Best International Male Solo Artist – Justin Timberlake (ought to be Beck or Dylan, but Trousersnake wins on sales.)

Best International Female Solo Artist – Beyonce (although we all know who should win.)

Best International Group – Red Hot Chili Peppers (though that one could be close.)

Best International Album – Gnarls Barkley (St. Elsewhere): The combination of critical acclaim, high sales, and the novelty of THAT single (you know the one I mean) should give Cee-Lo and Dangermouse the gong.

Best International Breakthrough Act – Gnarls Barkley (see Best International Album section above.)

As ever, any predictions you have, as well as any other viewpoints on the awards (who you think should/ shouldn’t win, who deserved to be nominated but didn’t, who shouldn’t have been nominated but did, and the like), will be gratefully received.

Liam