The BBC Music Awards celebrated some of the biggest names in music last night as they hosted their 3rd annual event. The awards took place at ExCel London with the likes of Craig David, Kaiser Chiefs and Robbie Williams performing live.
The 1975 kicked off the ceremony with a powerful performance of The Sound taken from their number 1 album, I Like It When You Sleep… The band also won a prize for their cover of One Direction’s That’s What Makes You Beautiful – named best live performance on BBC Radio 1 this year.
Frontman Matt Healy stated that “It’s a bizarre award. It’s for a performance of a song we didn’t write, by an artist who also didn’t write it! I don’t know how far it goes back… but I’ll take it!”
British pop sensation Adele walked away with two of the main prizes – Song of the Year for Hello and Album of the Year for 25. The star dominated the awards for a second year in a row, without making an appearance. In her acceptance speech from Los Angeles she said “I’m so sorry I’m not there, it’s been a long year on the road and this makes me feel a little homesick.”
Following in Adele’s shoes, Coldplay were another absent winner at this year’s ceremony. They won the prize for Best British Artist, and accepted their award as they walked on stage in Australia. Chris Martin sent a video message from Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium saying, “Sorry we’re not there… we love you and we’re so grateful and we’ll see you soon.”
The BBC Music Awards are aiming to replicate the success of the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year, recognizing musical achievements all over the world. BBC Music EditorJames Stirling said that giving awards to artists who were not able to make it on the night proved the legitimacy of the event, explaining that despite some winners being absent it “shows that the awards are all about people who really deserve to win.”
You can see the full list of winners here.
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