Rapper Tinie Tempah has confirmed his rise to the top of the British music industry by winning two Brit Awards at London’s O2 Arena. The London hip-hop star, who scored two number-one hits in 2010 with singles “Pass Out” and “Written in the Stars” collected Best British Breakthrough Act and Best British Single at the biggest night of the UK’s pop calendar. The singer promised he would toast his success in true pop-star style. “I’m going to get really messed up and everyone here is invited,” he said after the ceremony late on Tuesday. “We are going to get really wrecked.”
The 22-year-old missed out on the most prestigious award of the night, Best British Album, which went to folk-quartet Mumford & Sons for their record “Sigh No More.” “This is very bizarre, very strange. Thank you very much indeed. We are very honoured, very humbled,” lead singer Marcus Mumford said. Tinie Tempah — real name Patrick Okogwu — also lost out in the Best Male Artist category, which was topped by hip-hop and R&B artist Plan B, also known as Strickland Banks.
Canadian group Arcade Fire also won two prizes, claiming the Best International Band and Best International Album awards. The indie collective paid tribute to English artists New Order, The Clash and David Bowie during their acceptance speech. Recently reformed five-piece outfit and Brit veterans Take That opened up the show with a live performance before walking away with the award for Best British Group, 18 years after winning their first Brit award. Robbie Williams, who rejoined the band in July last year, confirmed he would not be joining Tinie Tempah in a post-show blowout. “I can’t wait to get back to the flat, hug the wife and have a cup of tea and biscuits,” the singer said.
The ceremony was punctuated by other live performances from Barbadian superstar Rihanna, British soul singer Adele, the triumphant Mumford & Sons and indie collective Arcade Fire. Folk’s resurgence was recognised in the Best Female category, where Laura Marling, girlfriend of Marcus Mumford, was victorious. There was further Canadian success when teenage phenomenon Justin Bieber was awarded the Best International Breakthrough Act prize. The Brits ceremony has a reputation for controversy and pop-star debauchery, but the assembled divas and rockers were on their best behaviour Tuesday. Michael Jackson’s 1996 performance of “Earth Song” was famously interrupted by Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker’s bottom-wiggling stage invasion, while former deputy prime minister John Prescott had a vat of water dumped on him by group Chumbawamba in 1998.
Anarchic dance-duo KLF pretended to spray 1992s audience with machine gun fire before depositing a dead sheep outside the after-show party. House DJ Brandon Block received a drink in his face in 2002 after drunkenly gate-crashing Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood’s attempts to present an award. – Yahoo News
