Brit Awards 2014: Bastille and Disclosure head nominations but Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus are snubbed
Bastille are nominated for four awards but Robbie Williams misses out
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Your support makes all the difference.A changing of the musical guard will see breakthrough artists including Disclosure, Laura Mvula and Bastille compete for the 2014 Brit Awards at the expense of veteran stars such as Robbie Williams.
Although David Bowie, 67, receives two nominations following his surprise return with a new album last year, several of 2013’s biggest-selling artists, including the record Brits-winner Williams, Gary Barlow, Rod Stewart and Sir Paul McCartney, have failed to make the nominations list for next month’s awards.
Disclosure, the electronic music duo formed by brother Guy and Howard Lawrence who have enjoyed a series of club hits, head the list with four nominations alongside Bastille, the pop/rock quartet whose single "Pompeii" became an international hit.
Rudimental, the dubstep inspired dance quartet from Hackney who topped the singles and album charts last year and became a festivals favourite with their exuberant live show, receive three nominations.
John Newman, the Yorkshire soul singer who collaborated with Rudimental and scored a number one with his single "Love Me Again", edges out the 17-Brit winning Robbie Williams from the British Male category.
Laura Mvula, the classically-trained singer from Birmingham who combines soul and jazz and Tom Odell, winner of last year’s Brits Critics’ Choice awards both receive nominations.
A change in the Brits voting academy, giving a greater voice to artists, is credited with the shift away from established names who once dominated the music industry’s annual showcase. Aside from Bowie, the other British Male nominees are aged 25 or below.
Arctic Monkeys are favourites to repeat their feat of 2007 and 2008 by winning the Best British Group and Album categories. Their acclaimed AM album and headline Glastonbury appearance prompted the Brits organisers to invite the Sheffield band to open this year’s show.
One Direction will battle Arctic Monkeys for Best Group after another successful year for the money-spinning boyband.
Although excluded from Best Album, Harry Styles's group are favourites to take the Global Success award, given to the British act which has achieved the greatest international sales.
Bowie’s Best Male nomination arrives 30 years after he last won the award. The Next Day, released last March following the surprise appearance of an iTunes single, is Bowie’s first Best Album nomination.
John Grant, the American musician whose confessional electro-indie songs address his HIV-positive diagnosis with dark humour, wins a Best International Male nominee. The international categories also include Daft Punk, New Zealand teenager Lorde and Lady Gaga.
But the Brits voters have snubbed Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus, who achieved notoriety with the help of sexually-explicit music videos.
A new British Video category has been added, reflecting the dominance of YouTube and Vevo as the preferred platform for music consumption during a year which again saw conventional album sales slide. Viewers will vote for the award, live on the night, from a shortlist of 5 videos based on YouTube views. There will be no Outstanding Contribution award this year.
James Corden will return for what the comic actor says will be his final appearance hosting the awards, held at the O2 Arena and screened live on ITV on February 19.
The 1,000-strong Brits voting academy, which now includes a greater share of artists and previous nominees, snubbed several of 2013’s top 10 best-selling albums. Williams’s Swings Both Ways, the 4th best-seller, Rod Stewart’s Time (7) and Gary Barlow’s Since I Saw You Last (9) all missed out. Disclosure’s Settle, by contrast, was only the year’s 40th best-seller.
The nominations may reflect a shift away from albums bought in CD and download form to streaming services like Spotify, which allow fans to share playlists and cherry-pick their favourite songs from an album.
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