Pink to star at British pop music’s big night

LONDON: Dua Lipa, The 1975 and George Ezra are some of the big names vying for prizes at British pop music’s annual celebration on Wednesday ( Thursday in Manila), with US singer Pink also set to be honoured.

The 39th annual Brit Awards at London’s O2 Arena will recognize Britain’s top talent of 2018, and also feature live performances from Hollywood A- lister Hugh Jackman and Pink.

The coveted Best Album of the Year Award will be fought out between pop rockers The 1975, rising star Anne-Marie, Florence + The Machine, indie singer George Ezra and Grammy-nominated diva Jorja Smith.

Electro-stars Clean Bandit are up for two awards for their collaboration with US actress/singer Demi Lovato while Dua Lipa, the 23-year- old star of last year’s show, is up for four prizes and will perform with hit producer Calvin Harris during the glitzy ceremony.

Three categories recognize foreign artists, with hip- hop giants Eminem, Drake and The Carters all up for awards, along with Ariana Grande and French star Christine and the Queens.

The Brit Awards have recognised the cream of British pop music since they were first held in 1977. The country’s music industry contributed £ 4.5 billion ($ 5.8 billion, 5.1 billion euros) to the UK economy in 2015, and British artists accounted for one of every eight albums purchased worldwide.