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 The BRIT Awards, held in London's O2 arena, are the
mainstream British music industry's most prestigious awards
ceremony, having been held every year since 1982. On the bill at
this year's bash were international stars Rihanna and Justin
Bieber, as well as home-grown artists James Bay and Coldplay.
Adele's "25" album missed out on a Grammy nomination because its
November release date made it ineligible for this year's awards,
so the BRITs gave the British songstress her first major award
show recognition for her third studio album, which became the
best-selling album of 2015.
"To come back after so long away and be so warmly received is
really lovely – thank you so much," said Adele, dressed in a
floor-length red gown, as she picked up her first award of the
night for best British female. Her previous album, "21", was
released four years earlier.
The London-born singer also scooped awards for best British
female, best British single, and the "BRITs Global Success"
award. She was the only artist or group to receive more than one
award at the ceremony.
After a shaky and out-of-key performance at the Grammys earlier
in the month, after which Adele said she cried all day, she
closed the show with an accomplished rendition of "When We Were
Young", a song from "25", having changed into a star-spangled
glittery gown before her performance.
Adele also said she wanted to "publicly support" American pop
star Kesha, who alleges that her former music producer, "Dr.
Luke", raped and emotionally manipulated her. Dr. Luke, whose
real name is Lukasz Gottwald, denies the allegations.
A judge ruled last week that Kesha could not be released from
her six-album recording contract with Sony Music.
BOWIE HONORED
The late British rock star David Bowie, who died last month, was
paid an emotional tribute by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, who
called Bowie a "quintessential visionary" who would be "loved
and revered for as long as the earth still spins".
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Bowie's friend, British actor Gary Oldman, picked up a posthumous
"BRIT Icon" award for the singer, while New Zealand's Lorde
performed Bowie's hit song "Life on Mars".
The ceremony, which mainly recognizes British music, also saw
international awards handed out to Justin Bieber, Tame Impala and
Bjork.
The awards have come under fire for not representing non-white
artists, just as the Oscars ceremony has. Black British singer Laura
Mvula said she would not attend the ceremony, citing the lack of
diversity, and "#BritsSoWhite" was trending on Twitter.
"It is a shame," guitarist Joff Oddie from BRIT-nominated band Wolf
Alice told Reuters on the red carpet before the show. "You look
through the nominations and there is not one...British black person
nominated. That isn't representative."
Barbados-born Rihanna marked her first performance on British soil
since 2012 with a raunchy performance of "Work", her new song with
Drake, which featured a surprise appearance from the Canadian
rapper.
There were also performances on the night by Britain's James Bay,
who was awarded best British male, and Justin Bieber, who was
awarded best international male. Bieber performed an acoustic
version of his song "Love Yourself" with James Bay before running
onto the main stage to perform his hit "Sorry" with a troupe of
backing dancers.
British group Coldplay had kicked off proceedings with their song
"Hymn for the Weekend", and also picked up the award for best
British group.
(Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Additional reporting by Holly
Rubenstein)
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