Dua Lipa
It would be inaccurate to say that Dua Lipa is entering her flop era – the first singles from her upcoming album, Houdini and Training Season, are currently in or around the top 20 most streamed songs globally on Spotify. But there’s something a little gimlet-eyed in how they’re written – catchy in a grimly determined rather than breezily natural way – that makes them hard to love, and some mean media types (not me, yet!) are wondering if she could be on the way down the other side of fame’s hill.
Well, this performance should quieten them down a bit. Dressed in her second leather ensemble of the night, she launches into Training Season and while I find this song really quite plodding and funkless on record, Lipa lifts this B-tier material with a really robust vocal performance – she sounds like she absolutely has to have the sexual-spiritual connection she’s singing about, and her voice doesn’t waver even when strutting around a populous troupe of acrobatic dancers. That’s the kind of boot-camp vocal training that only peak pop stars can haul themselves through – and it makes for a potent opening.
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Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding
The UK may be a petty, pursed-lipped, radically ungenerous island – but certain things get me waving a Union Jack like I’m the admin for a Facebook page about Spitfire maintenance, and our love of dance music is one of them. More than rap, more than indie-rock, more than Dua Lipa trying really hard, commercial dance is our national pop music, and the way we rallied around Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding’s Miracle to send it to No 1 for eight weeks had me staring wistfully off the white cliffs of Dover. My millennial nostalgia was juiced by Harris essentially splicing trance classics Tell It to My Heart, Castles In the Sky and Seven Days and One Week, and Goulding’s ethereality makes her the perfect trance vocalist. But you don’t get a hit of this stature through nostalgia alone: it’s a copper-bottomed bit of songwriting.
Goulding maintains her ethereal vocal tone throughout the performance, rarely using her signature rougher voice that sets her apart from her peers. Meanwhile, Harris unenthusiastically tinkers with some possibly unplugged equipment. However, just as the performance starts to become lackluster, Harris kicks it up a notch with a hard-trance breakdown borrowed from Hardwell’s remix of the song. Goulding energetically moves around with her backup dancers as if they were children who just lit a toilet on fire at a festival in Leeds. The energy is back!
Tate McRae
This booking may have seemed less prestigious a year ago, but McRae’s rise to fame has made it a major accomplishment. Her song “Greedy” has had great success on streaming platforms and has been nominated for best international song. Her follow-up single “Exes” has also been received well. People who compared her to Billie Eilish after her emotional piano ballad “You Broke Me First” have been proven wrong. She has shown her talent in genres such as deep house, EDM, and new wave.
The performer is becoming excessively selfish, relying on the backing track to do most of the work while she walks with purpose. There is, of course, a section dedicated to her commonly shared fancy street dance moves, but I find myself exhausted after attempting them, whereas she stays within her vocal comfort zone and moves casually in her mid-register. It seems somewhat contrived and I can’t help but feel let down as this is the most highly regarded international star the UK has featured this year. In the meantime, I am also experiencing a typical new father moment as I am confused by her fashion choices on her abdominal area.
Jungle
If you need a précis on who Jungle are, they named themselves after the some of the most forward-thinking music in the UK, and then proceeded to make some of the most backward-thinking music in the UK. They started out with the Fifa-14-loading-screen-core of stuff like Busy Earnin’ and have since graduated to what is very much the “live laugh love” of funk and soul music, with less edge than my toddler-proofed kitchen. Their decidedly un-pyroclastic 2023 album Volcano sound like a tepid mix of other artists with everything that made those artists good removed – it’s no-sodium Sault; not so much the Temptations as the Ooh No I Musn’ts. Or like someone asked that Adobe AI music software that dropped this week for “J Dilla for Tory barbecues”. Indeed, they’re so blah they should probably be put on an Arts Council protection list for artists most under threat of being replaced by artificial intelligence. They seem nice and one of them cried a bit at winning best group and I’m not so jaded to not go a bit gooey at that – but come on, Young Fathers are right there.
The band is performing their lesser known song, Back on 74, which does feature a pleasant chorus melody, although it seems somewhat insignificant. The lively dancers add a touch of sophistication to the overall cruise-ship-like atmosphere. However, this performance is easily forgettable, as if Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones broke through security and used the alien mind control device from Men In Black. Time moves forward, leaving this performance in the past.
Raye
This performance is filled with magical fairytale elements, a crowning achievement for a pop artist who, at one point, was not welcomed to the spotlight and instead had to work tirelessly under a major record label for many years. However, she managed to free herself from that stagnant deal and has now become one of the most accomplished independent artists in the UK. This transformation is exemplified by her incredible seven nominations and six wins.
Initially, she plays Ice Cream Man on piano, a track detailing her experience of being sexually assaulted while recording. It’s an unfiltered and honest piece of songwriting that she wasn’t able to fully explore during her time with Polydor Records. Moving on, she proceeds to perform an orchestral rendition of Prada, the hit that gained her a nomination for song of the year, followed by a 1920s lindy-hop introduction to Escapism – her second song of the year nomination. Finally, she switches it up once more with a luxurious big band arrangement.
To me, what stands out most about the original version is the crispness of the rap drum programming. This adds a sense of urgency to the song and complements the theme of nihilistic revelry. It’s fitting, as this is something that one might actually listen to during such an event. However, I don’t believe that the orchestral version adds anything necessary to the uniquely anguished nature of the song. It may have been too overwhelming in this combined performance. Nevertheless, there is no denying Raye’s passion, star power, and ability to convey her suffering to even the far reaches of the largest venues.
Chase & Status and Becky Hill
In the past two years, Becky Hill has been the winner in the dance category and her demeanor while accepting the award was on par with Olivia Colman’s endearing Oscars speech. She is someone who truly loves dance music culture and doesn’t try to be too cool to embrace it. This is evident in her singing voice, which is filled with emotion and passion. She has become a role model for those wild nights out at clubs where we may make questionable decisions. Rumor has it that if you write “motive” on a Be At One mirror in lipstick and chant her name three times, she will appear with a shot of Jägerbomb. On the other hand, Chase & Status’s popularity has skyrocketed. Despite the decline of drum’n’bass in the music charts in recent years, they remained loyal to the genre and were prepared to capitalize when it made a comeback. Their track “Baddadan” was a massive success.
The performance begins with Irah singing a snippet of Baddadan, followed by Hill launching into the energizing Disconnect, with its hypnotic melody that is perfect for getting lost in on the dancefloor. We then hear a return to Baddadan, albeit for a short time, before switching back to Disconnect. It’s not an easy feat to recreate the sensation of seamlessly switching between two tracks in a packed nightclub at the massive O2 Arena, but the performers do a great job, with Hill showcasing her usual incredible vocals. Overall, this performance injected a much-needed burst of energy into the somewhat lackluster Brit Awards.
Rema
The diaspora in this area has long advocated for it, but finally the rest of the UK has been won over by the appeal of African popular music. Artists such as Burna Boy, Libianca, and Tyla have had enormous chart-topping success in recent times. However, the biggest hit of all has been Nigerian singer Rema’s song “Calm Down,” which is the type of catchy tune that not only stays in your head all day, but also manages to secure a permanent place in your subconscious.
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Similar to Raye, the artist receives an enhanced version of the band’s arrangement that complements the song much better. The tempo has been slightly increased to maintain a high level of energy and perhaps to allow host Maya Jama to discuss her experiences with partying, as she often does. However, there is still enough room for the song to slow down and build up to a powerful finale. Rema has a beautiful and expressive voice, effortlessly navigating the song’s intricate melodies, making it one of the best performances of the night. He also wears a furry hat that would be perfect for braving the harsh winters of the Yukon, and as a journalist and father, it must be noted that he must be quite warm wearing it.
Kylie Minogue
Since 2010, Kylie had not indulged in any substance. However, in the past few years, she delved into genres like country and disco, releasing a Christmas album. Some thought she was shifting towards a more comfortable Radio 2 sound, but she surprised everyone by making a sharp return to pop with the malevolently sensual track “Padam Padam.” With its modern sound and production, the song received positive reviews in the summer of 2023. Although, the repeated question of “Padam?” did get tiresome after a short while.
The music begins with a nod to “Spinning Around,” followed by a dramatic fanfare that resembles the score of a gloomy movie directed by Christopher Nolan. However, the mood quickly changes to “Padam Padam,” as Kylie makes her entrance on a tall platform often seen on shows like X Factor and Eurovision. She exudes the approachable, down-to-earth energy that she displayed during her memorable performance at Glastonbury, clearly having a great time on stage. Unlike Robbie Williams, who didn’t deliver in this same slot a few years back, she pleases the audience by performing hit after hit, starting with “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” followed by “Slow” and “Love at First Sight.” Her performance evokes more dancefloor excitement than Calvin & Ellie and Chase & Status could ever hope to achieve. She maintains this euphoric energy until the very end, closing with “All the Lovers” and jumping around enthusiastically for the final drop, like a child who has just consumed handfuls of candy. It’s a wonderfully authentic and joyful ending, perfectly matching Raye’s elation at her historic wins.
Source: theguardian.com
