The BRITs Reviewed

For those of you who didn't catch last night's annual BRIT awards, we're sure you had something better to do. If you are however stuck for activities on this day, why not take a look at the Collegetimes re-cap of the loudest night in music below?

It started off with a bang as Britain's hottest rock band, the Arctic Monkeys, kicked off with a stellar performance of "R U Mine?"; a large "A" and "M" emblazoned with fire, dominating the scene. This would of course be their night! Then, the show was brought down a peg by fourth-time host James Corden, whose hit-and-miss jokes hit softly (e.g. sleeve on fire-"Those Arctic Monkeys and their bloody fire...,"). He would show up occassionally to speak with guests but thankfully, the show was a pretty swift affair and notably more entertaining than last year's. Why was this?

Firstly, it was more credibile. Last year was dominated by a saturation of hip hop and pop acts but this year there was variety of victors. Arctic Monkeys took home "Best British Group" and "Best Album." David Bowie, in his 60s, managed to obtain the award for "British Male Solo Artist," with a strange acceptance speech given by Kate Moss. Daft Punk were 2014's "International Group" and rising acts like Bastille and Rudimental established themselves further (for full list of winners, see below).

Secondly, the performances were well spaced (because let's face it, people want to see who wins!) and were admittedly, not bad. Besides the Arctic Monkeys, Bruno Mars also gave a bombastic performance of "Treasure" and Beyonce of "XO" (her first time performing at the BRITs in a decade). There were also of course, collaborations. Bastille, Rudimental and Ella Eyre performed a mish-mash of "Pompeii" and "Waiting All Night," Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers did "Get Lucky," "Good Times" and Happy," and Diclosure/ Lorde brought us "Royals"/ "White Noise."

Lastly, it didn't drag on. Acceptance speeches were short and quirky (Harry Styles had to race up to the stage after having gone for a "wee" and Alex Turner's ode to rock n' roll's endurance was... something else). Awards were presented without rambles (the best presenters being Noel Gallagher and Jimmy Carr). And though it passed the two hour mark on ITV, it felt slightly less than two hours!

With the sometimes-awkward antics of James Corden and the "Best Single" category aside, this was therefore an improvement on last year's drudgery. One can only hope they continue to display the variety of acts Britain has to offer because while the BAFTAs may never overtake the Oscars in terms of prestige, Britain's pre-eminent music awards' ceremony can at least try to stave off the endless boredom of the Grammys.

Winners

British Male Solo- David Bowie (accepted by Kate Moss)

British Female Solo- Ellie Goulding

British Group- Arctic Monkeys

International Group- Daft Punk (accepted by Nile Rodgers)

British Breakthrough- Bastille

Critics' Choice- Sam Smith

Mastercard Album- AM

Best Single- "Waiting All Night"- Rudimental ft. Ella Eyre

International Male- Bruno Mars

International Female- Lorde

British Producer- Flood and Alan Moulder