Singer Sande in line for big prize at BRIT awards

|     Mike Collett-White     |

LONDON (Reuters) – Scottish singer Emeli Sande is favourite to win the coveted British album of the year honour when the BRIT Awards are handed out in London.

Sande, whose profile received a major boost when she took part in the opening and closing ceremonies at the London Olympics last year, has been nominated for three prizes on British pop’s biggest night.

A file picture dated March 31, 2012 shows British singer Emeli Sande performing live at Paradiso, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. According to reports on January 11, Emeli Sande received four nominations for the 2013 Brit Awards. EPA

She was shortlisted for best British female, which she is expected by bookmakers to win, and best British single for “Next to Me”. Sande also features on another contender for the single prize, Labrinth’s “Beneath Your Beautiful”.

Arguably the biggest category is British album, where Sande’s “Our Version of Events” is up against other acts who each picked up three nominations – Mumford & Sons for “Babel” and Alt-J for “An Awesome Wave”.

Sande, who had Britain’s best-selling album in 2012, has hit back at critics who have questioned whether she had been over-exposed in the last 12 months.

“I feel like it’s a bit unfair,” she told the Sun tabloid. “I actually haven’t done that much, but it’s just what I have done have been huge events.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I worked so hard to get any exposure at all, so I don’t see that as a negative.”

Adele looks set to add to her groaning trophy cabinet with the best single award for James Bond theme “Skyfall”, while US acts Lana Del Rey and Frank Ocean are bookmaker Ladbrokes’ favourites for best international female and male respectively.

“There’s a nailed on favourite in every category and it’s hard to see any last minute upsets at this stage,” said Ladbrokes spokeswoman Jessica Bridge.

It may be that the big surprises this year at the BRITs, which have a reputation of rewarding commercial success over musical originality, came at the nominations stage.

Last month eyebrows were raised when Amy Winehouse was nominated in the British female solo category some 18 months after her death for a chart-topping album of unreleased songs and demos called “Lioness: Hidden Treasures”.

And veteran rockers the Rolling Stones were shortlisted for best live act after they returned to the stage for a short, sellout tour of London and the United States at the end of 2012 to mark 50 years in the business.

The last time the group was nominated for a BRIT was in 1996, and the Rolling Stones are the only act to be nominated both at this year’s ceremony at the O2 Arena and at the first BRIT Awards staged in 1977.

Performing at the awards ceremony will be Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Muse, Robbie Williams, Sande, Mumford & Sons, Ben Howard and One Direction.

FACTBOX

THE BRIT Awards, Britain’s top pop honours, are held at London’s O2 Arena on Wednesday.

Following is a list of the main categories:

British Breakthrough Act:

- Alt-J; Ben Howard; Jake Bugg; Jessie Ware; Rita Ora

British Female Solo Artist:

- Amy Winehouse; Bat for Lashes; Emeli Sande; Jessie Ware; Paloma Faith

British Group:

- Alt-J; Mumford & Sons; Muse; One Direction; The xx

British Live Act:

- Coldplay; Mumford & Sons; Muse; The Rolling Stones; The Vaccines

British Male Solo Artist:

- Ben Howard; Calvin Harris; Olly Murs; Richard Hawley; Plan B

British Producer of the Year:

- Damon Albarn; Jake Gosling; Paul Epworth

British Single:

- Adele/Skyfall; Alex Clare/Too Close; Coldplay & Rihanna/ Princess of China; DJ Fresh Ft Rita Ora/Hot Right Now; Emeli Sande/Next To Me; Florence & The Machine/Spectrum; James Arthur/Impossible; Jessie J/Domino; Labrinth Ft Emeli Sande/Beneath Your Beautiful; Olly Murs Ft Flo Rida/Troublemaker; Rita Ora Ft Tinie Tempah/R.I.P.; Rizzle Kicks/Mama Do The Hump; Robbie Williams/Candy; Rudimental Ft John Newman/Feel The Love; Stooshe/Black Heart

Critics’ Choice:

- Tom Odell (Winner); AlunaGeorge; Laura Mvula

International Female Solo Artist:

- Alicia Keys; Cat Power; Lana Del Rey; Rihanna; Taylor Swift

International Group:

- Alabama Shakes; The Black Keys; Fun; The Killers; The Script

International Male Solo Artist:

- Bruce Springsteen; Frank Ocean; Gotye; Jack White; Michael Buble

MasterCard British Album of the Year:

- Alt-J/An Awesome Wave; Emeli Sande/Our Version Of Events; Mumford & Sons/Babel; Paloma Faith/Fall To Grace; Plan B/Ill Manors.