The Brit Awards were more than just about music this year
- Meganne Gerbeau
- Feb 22, 2018
- 3 min read
Last night was the 38th annual Brit Awards, and although it was a celebration of talent, there were political undertones until the very end.
Held at the O2 arena, it was Jack Whitehall’s first time presenting the event. He got through the evening by cracking jokes and although he did have litter thrown at him at one point, the overall impression from the public was a positive one.
A favourite was when he introduced the "just about living" Ronnie Wood, to the stage by joking that the Rolling Stone had to “watch the In Memoriam package each year to check he’s not in it”.
White roses were handed out to support the Times Up movement, and many wore black or incorporated the rose into their outfits to support victims of sexual abuse. Lots of artists used their red carpet interviews as an opportunity to raise awareness for the movement.
When Dua Lipa took to the stage to collect her British Female Solo Artist award she thanked every female musician who had previously won the title for giving her the inspiration to dream big.
She also said: “Here’s to more women on these stages, more women winning awards and more women taking over the world.”
Liam Gallagher moved viewers when he sung Oasis’ 1994 hit ‘Live Forever’ as a tribute for the 22 victims of last year’s terror attacks at Ariana Grande’s concert in Manchester. The Mancunian stepped in at last minute to replace Grande as she couldn’t attend due to illness. As well as this, the 2018 awards were dedicated in memory to the victims with their names mentioned in the credits.
When the Gorillaz won Best Britsh Group, Damon Albarn made a dig at Britain’s decision for Brexit when accepting the award. After saying the country was a lovely place, he said: “Don’t let it become isolated, don’t let yourselves become cut off.”
Whilst national newspapers called it a ‘drunken anti-Brexit rant’ and Twitter described the moment as 'awkward', fans of Albarn didn’t seem to mind, even if he was slurring a little.
After winning two of the biggest awards from the night, British Male Solo Artist and British Album of the Year, Stormzy used his closing performance to bring to light the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire from last year.
After solemnly singing ‘Blinded By Your Grace’, he breaks out into freestyle: “Yo Theresa May, where’s the money for Grenfell? What you thought we just forgot about Grenfell?!
“You criminals, and you got the cheek to call us savages, you should do some jail time, you should pay some damages. We should burn your house down and see if you can manage this.”
As the crowd cheers on, he also takes a jab at the right-wing national newspaper The Daily Mail, saying: “They tell us that we’re thugs, I try to bust a myth, but someone tell The Daily Mail they can suck my…”, before closing the night with ‘Big For Your Boots’.
Overall, it was an eventful evening and definitely a memorable one. Since Stormzy's performance last night, PM Theresa May issued a statement in regards to the Grenfell tragedy. Perhaps music really can create change? Time will have to tell.
The best of the rest:
British Female Solo Artist - Dua Lipa
British Male Solo Artist - Stormzy
British Group - Gorillaz
British Breakthrough Act - Dua Lipa
Critics' Choice - Jorja Smith
British Single - 'Human' by Rag 'N' Bone Man
British Artist Album of the Year - Gang Sings & Prayer by Stormzy
British Artist Video of the Year - 'Sign of the Times' by Harry Styles
International Male Solo Artist - Kendrick Lamar
International Female Solo Artist - Lorde
International Group - Foo Fighters
Brits Global Success Award - Ed Sheeran
British Producer of the Year - Steve Mac
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