by Valirie Morgan
The BRIT Awards have always been the biggest night on the UK music calendar, and last night was no exception: the annual event was a star-studded affair with the likes of One Direction, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora and Beyonce gracing the red carpet at O2 Arena. Arctic Monkeys kicked off the show with their song “R U Mine?” and then the awards ceremony got underway. The first award of the night, British Female Solo Artist, was presented to Ellie Goulding, who shimmered in a gold dress.
The infamous David Bowie proved he can certainly make a comeback by winning the award for British Male Solo Artist. Bowie wasn’t present to accept his trophy — award presenter Noel Gallagher joked that the singer was “too cool to turn up” — but supermodel Kate Moss went up to collect it for him, looking as fierce as ever in Bowie’s original, iconic Ziggy Stardust costume. The 67-year-old Bowie became the oldest artist to ever receive a BRIT Award!
Arctic Monkeys were the evening’s big winners, taking home two of the top awards: British Group and MasterCard British Album of the Year. One Direction fared well during last night’s awards, as well. The band was presented with the Global Success award and the British Video award, the latter of which was decided by the BRITs’s first-ever social media vote. But as the boys collected their first award, one of them was noticeably absent: Harry Styles ran onstage mid-speech, announcing that he missed the cue because he was in the loo! Niall Horan, who is recovering from recent knee surgery, echoed our sentiments at seeing the five boys together onstage when he raised a celebratory crutch in the air upon Harry’s return.
Performances at the 2014 BRITs were spectacular, including Katy Perry’s neon-Aztec rendition of “Dark Horse,” Beyoncé’s first live performance of “XO,” and Bruno Mars’s groovy hit “Treasure.” Pharrell Williams, who showed up to the awards show sans headwear, broke out his now-infamous Vivienne Westwood hat for his performance of “Happy” at the ceremony’s close. One of the night’s best performances was Bastille and Rudimental featuring Ella Eyre, who collaborated for a incredible mashup of “Pompeii” and “Waiting All Night.”
The full list of winners:
British Female Solo Artist – Ellie Goulding
British Male Solo Artist – David Bowie
International Female Solo Artist – Lorde
International Male Solo Artist – Bruno Mars
British Breakthrough Act – Bastille
British Group – Arctic Monkeys
International Group – Daft Punk
British Single – Rudimental feat. Ella Eyre, “Waiting All Night”
British Video – One Direction, “Best Song Ever”
MasterCard British Album of the Year – Arctic Monkeys, “AM”
Critics’ Choice Award – Sam Smith
Global Success – One Direction
Take a look at some of the red carpet royalty, Instagram-style…