BBC Music has announced the five artists shortlisted for BBC Music British Artist of the Year ahead of next week’s BBC Music Awards ceremony in London.
Voted for by the BBC Music Committee, the shortlist for BBC Music British Artist of the Year is:
· Adele
· Calvin Harris
· Coldplay
· David Bowie
· Jess Glynne
The winner of the coveted title will be revealed at the BBC Music Awards 2016 hosted by Fearne Cotton, Claudia Winkleman and Gemma Cairney at the ExCeL London on Monday 12 December, which will be broadcast live on BBC ONE.
Stars performing at the BBC Music Awards include Kaiser Chiefs, Craig David, Lukas Graham, Zara Larsson, John Legend, Emeli Sandé, Robbie Williams and The 1975. They will take to the stage to perform to an audience of thousands in London’s ExCeL and to millions more across the nation on BBC ONE and bbc.co.uk/music. The BBC Music Awards will also premiere in the US on BBC AMERICA on 14 December.
Singer-songwriter Izzy Bizu, who was longlisted for BBC Music Sound of 2016 earlier this year, will also join the stellar line-up as well as being crowned BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year.
Celebrating an amazing year of music, the star-studded event will feature five awards in total: BBC Music British Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year and two new awards for the 2016 ceremony celebrating the best of live and recorded music: BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge Performance of the Year and BBC Radio 2 Album of the Year.
The nominees for BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge Performance of the Year as voted for by the Radio 1 Playlist Committee chaired by Radio 1 & 1Xtra Head of Music, Chris Price, are:
· Christine and the Queens performing Sorry (Beyoncé cover) on 13 September 2016
· Craig David performing Love Yourself (Justin Bieber cover) on 7 January 2016
· Emeli Sandé performing Hurts on 16 September 2016
· The 1975 Live Lounge Symphony performing What Makes You Beautiful (One Direction cover) on 30 September 2016
· Usher performing Climax on 2 September 2016
The nominees for BBC Radio 2 Album of the Year as voted for by the Radio 2 Playlist Committee chaired by Radio 2 and 6 Music Head of Music, Jeff Smith, are:
· Adele – 25
· Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams
· Jeff Lynne’s ELO – Alone in the Universe
· Michael Kiwanuka – Love & Hate
· Rick Astley – 50
The nominees for the Song of the Year award will be announced shortly.
On the day of the Awards, Radio 2 will present the Steve Wright Show Music Awards Special between 2-5pm, with live inserts from the dress rehearsals at the ExCel London. Radio 1 joins the party between 4-7pm as Greg James broadcasts live from backstage and the Red Carpet with exclusive interviews and sessions. It’s then back to Radio 2 from 8-10pm as Jo Whiley continues the exclusive programming from backstage, giving listeners a sneak peek behind the scenes whilst the Awards are broadcast on BBC ONE.
