Ask anybody that has ever existed what it is like to sit in the back row of a concert. I would be willing to bet that they would give you a less than enthused answer. Now, ask me what it was like sitting back row at the BRIT awards. I will give you an answer that is so enthusiastic that it covers everyone else’s lack of enthusiasm.
Wednesday night I had the amazing opportunity to attend the BRIT awards. No, I was not a special guest (see back row seating arrangement), but that didn’t matter. As a pop culture buff exchange student, I knew about the BRIT awards, but, being new to London, I didn’t know they were open to the public. I spent my first few weeks here checking Ticketmaster every day to see if tickets had become available and then Monday, they did. I jumped on the opportunity to attend the award show, because to me it felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity (yes I’m very into clichés).
The excitement in the arena started almost immediately when we arrived. We walked inside and took our mandatory pictures with the signs, for proof in case anyone didn’t believe that we went, and then went in search of a place to grab a quick drink while we waited for the doors to open. A mob of girls walked past us; it wasn’t until they were almost gone that I realized Kanye West was walking in the middle of him. Apparently he’d had a craving for Nando’s that just couldn’t wait.
Now for the actual show. As a newbie to the London celebrity scene I will admit that I didn’t know who Ant and Dec were, but as presenters I thought that they did a good job. Their opening was filled with dancing waiters, and kept me entertained until they introduced Taylor Swift. Swift in my opinion is a show stealer. You can’t see her name in the lineup and not focus on guessing which song she’s going to sing, or how she is going to perform it. Her Blank Space performance was no different, and was no disappointment. She utilized her dancers, the stage space, and the lengthy catwalk to strut while glitter cannons went off around her to close her performance and officially kick off the show. Her act would be a hard one to beat, and this was all in the first ten minutes!
The celebrity line-up of presenters never failed to impress me from Orlando Bloom and Rita Ora, to Karlie Kloss and even Russell Crowe. They didn’t need to perform, being in the presence of these big names, was enough to light my fan-girl spark, heck I was even excited when Simon Cowell accepted One Direction’s award for them, though a little disappointed they didn’t at least record a video for the crowd of their acceptance.
Performers following Swift included Royal Blood, who won best Best British Group, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Paloma Faith, Kanye West, George Ezra, Take That and Madonna. Every performance lit up the stage and enlivened the audience. Even from the back row you could feel the energy in the O2 shift when the music started.
Ed Sheeran, who walked away with two awards, played his newest single, Bloodstream as a solo act on stage. Where Sheeran has been seen performing at award shows with a band, which is unusual, he went back to his roots for this performance relying solely on his guitar and his voice. Sam Smith, with the backup accompaniment of a choir, sang Lay Me Down, his voice sounding as smooth as velvet as it reached the back walls. Kanye West rocked it with the first performance of his song “All Day,” which included impressive pyrotechnics.
Royal Blood, Paloma Faith, Take That, and George Ezra were filed into a different mind folder for me. I hadn’t ever heard of any of them before coming here, but they all blew me away. From bringing literal rain to the stage, to having crowds of dancers emerge bringing with them loads of confetti, I was never bored, even if I’d never heard the song.
Of course I’m sure you’re thinking that I’ve forgotten an important performer of the night; perhaps the woman who people actually believe stole the show—Madonna. I will admit, I was there for the fall. I will also admit that I missed it because I was getting my phone out to record her, and had to watch it via a video as I was waiting to leave the arena. Madonna performed for the first time at the BRIT awards in 20 years, which in and of itself is newsworthy. At the age of 56, Madonna still commands your attention and respect when she takes the stage. Her energy never fails to match that of her dancers, and she puts on a show. She is such a seasoned performer that, I didn’t even know she had fallen until I asked someone about it afterwards. She recovered with such speed and skill that you almost didn’t know that it had happened. Madonna was a great pick to end the show because she put on the perfect finale to a perfect night. I would give this BRIT awards an A+!
What do you think? Who would you like to see perform at next year’s BRIT awards? Were you disappointed in any winners? Did your friends have to keep you from pulling a Kanye? Let us know!