Brit Awards 2012 was held on 21 February 2012. This was the 32nd edition of the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

's annual

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

. The

awards ceremony An awards ceremony is a type of ceremony where awards are given out. The ceremony may be arranged by a government organization, a society, a school, a trade association or even a company that specializes in running awards ceremonies. Typically a ma ...

was held at

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...

in London for the second time. The ceremony was presented by James Corden. Leading the nominations was

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

with four, followed by

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

and Jessie J with three, whilst

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles " I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in t ...

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

and Florence and the Machine all had two.Adele, Coldplay Lead BRIT Award Nominations
one direction Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 February 2012The BRIT Awards 2012 nominees
Brits.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2012

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

received remembrance tributes due to their deaths in July 2011 and February 2012, respectively. Adele picked up two awards for Best British Album and British Female, whilst Sheeran also won two awards for Best British Male and British Breakthrough. Blur received the Outstanding Contribution to Music award. The statue was designed by Peter Blake.

Performances

Winners and nominees

Outstanding Contribution to Music

* Blur (presented by

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...

)

Multiple nominations and awards

Acceptance speech controversy

Adele and Blur

was cut off by host James Corden during her acceptance speech for the MasterCard British Album of the Year award, causing her to "

give the finger In Western culture, "the finger", or the middle finger (as in giving someone the (middle) finger, the bird or flipping someone off) is an obscene hand gesture. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent i ...

" on national television. Adele stated that the gesture was aimed at "the suits", not her fans. ITV issued an apology to the show as a spokesman for the network stated: Corden was also upset by the occurrence, stating afterwards: Due to the over-running, Blur's set was also cut off, prior to their performance of " Tender".

Emeli Sandé

There was more controversy later on in the show when

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...

wasn't allowed to give a speech after winning the Critic's Choice Award. Sandé was said to be distressed by the bosses of the show and also angry after Adele got an apology for being cut off, whereas she did not. During the presentation of the award, previous winner Jessie J was asked to give her advice on her career instead of Sandé giving a speech. A friend of Sandé's said to the '' Daily Record'': A spokesman for ITV later gave an apology to Sandé, stating:

References

External links

Brit Awards 2012 at Brits.co.uk
{{Brit Awards Brit Awards

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...