Image Credit: Samir Hussain / Getty Images
Whatever you could wish to say about the inherent awfulness of the BRIT Awards, last night’s ceremony managed to completely embarrass its Stateside equivalent the Grammys regarding how it handled its tribute to the late David Bowie.
Beginning with an emotional Annie Lennox and Gary Oldman awarding Bowie with a posthumous Icon Award, the stage was then set for a musical medley of Bowie’s most famous hits, concluded by a wonderful rendition of ‘Life on Mars?’ by the young singer/songwriter Lorde.
Lorde, backed by Bowie’s old live touring band, was met with a minute-long standing ovation following her performance. Watch it below:
Lorde sings Life On Mars in Bowie tribute at Brits
Lorde performs Life On Mars? in fitting tribute to David Bowie at the BRIT Awards after he called her the “future of music”.Was it better than Lady Gaga’s Bowie tribute at The GRAMMYs? Tell us what you think below:
Posted by ITV News on Wednesday, 24 February 2016
Here’s Lennox and Oldman discussing Bowie’s impact upon the music industry:
The tribute was a stark contrast to the one staged at the Grammy Awards, in which Lady Gaga erratically hopped between a series of obscenely tacky set-pieces that served to undermine Bowie’s legacy rather than celebrate it. Lorde’s performance was evidence of how a tribute to such a profoundly influential personality should be handled, with Bowie remaining its focal point and it not being sponsored by fucking Intel.
So even if the BRIT Awards was hosted by Ant ‘n’ Dec, Adele picked up every award under the sun and U2 were somehow in contention for the Best International Artist gong, at least the ceremony did one thing right this year.