Katy helps choose BRIT winners
ECHO REPORTER PICKED TO JOIN BRITS VOTING ACADEMY
An Echo reporter has played her part in choosing this year’s BRIT winners.
The list of those in line to receive the biggest awards in British music, which was revealed at the weekend in a live nominations show on ITV hosted by Emma Willis, is selected by The Brits Voting Academy.
At the end of last year, our entertainments editor Katy Wheeler was one of 700 people invited to join the academy as part of a shake-up.
The new members of the academy, which is made up of 1,200 people drawn from across the UK music industry, were invited to join in a bid to refresh the voting.
Though new members were invited in a bid to achiever greater gender balance, as well as increased black and ethnic minority representation, all members are also selected on the basis of their expertise across different aspects of music.
The shake-up has been led by Ged Doherty, the BPI chairman (the organisation that owns and runs The BRIT Awards), who earlier this year gave a public undertaking to review the Voting Academy.
TheinviteelistfortheAcademy is made up from all areas of music throughout the UK.
Katy said: “It was a total, but pleasant, surprise to be asked to join The BRITS Academy as it’s not something I’d applied for. It was great fun making my votes for the awards, which celebrate the cream of British music.”
Ged Doherty, BPI chairman, said: “I’m really proud that we’ve taken firm action to refreshtheacademytoensure that it keeps up with trends.”
DavidBowie received posthumousnominationsfor best British male and best album, for his haunting swansong Blackstar. Craig David, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka and Skepta, who beat Bowie at the Mercury Prize, are all up for the title.
Little Mix, who feature South Shields singers Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall, have three nominations including best group and best single for their song Shout Out To My Ex.
The winners of the BRIT Awards 2017 with Mastercard will be broadcast live on ITV on Wednesday, February 22 from London’s O2 Arena.