The BRIT Awards nominations launch!

It's a passing of the baton of sorts - albeit in a posh hotel down by the river. That's it, the annual glamorous BRIT Awards nomination party where those fresh and feisty up and comers have their performances sandwiched between a load of video montage packages of the nominated artists - fun for all the family basically.

This year, Greg James will be taking to the Savoy Hotel to host the show where Emeli Sande will pick up her Critics' Choice bong from last year's winner Jessie J. Can Emeli repeat Jessie's mega-success? Judging by the rapturous acclaim that greeted her debut single Heaven, the odds look promising.

Her follow-up Daddy was offered as a free download on iTunes last week and it's all kinds of amazing - gorgeous string sections, 90s-inflected beats and of course Emeli's sumptuous vocals right at the heart of it all.

Ed Sheeran will be giving a performance on the night, so there's that to look forward to as well. After the show, you'll be able to catch up on all the highlights at the BRITs official website.

And then it's on to the big show itself, which will be held at the O2 Arena on the 21st February - bring it on!

The BRIT Award nominations & who I'd like to win...

So, the BRIT Award nominations are out! (How cool are the new winner's trophies by the way?!) Every year there's usually some obvious winners as well as those artists who are notably absent from the list. Here's the full list of nominations anyway, with the names of who I'd like to win each category in bold...

BRITISH MALE SOLO ARTIST
Mark Ronson
Paul Weller
Plan B (His album is one of my faves from 2010, really consistent and packed with great singles)
Robert Plant
Tinie Tempah

BRITISH FEMALE SOLO ARTIST
Cheryl Cole (Goes without saying I'd pick Cheryl. Reckon Ellie will be her biggest competition)
Ellie Goulding
Laura Marling
Paloma Faith
Rumer

BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH ACT
Ellie Goulding  (One of the best female talents to come out of the UK in years)
Mumford & Sons
Rumer
Tinie Tempah
The xx

BRITISH GROUP
Biffy Clyro
Gorillaz
Mumford & Sons
Take That
The xx (Take That's The Flood is amazing but I LOVE The XX's album as a whole)

BRITISH SINGLE
Alexandra Burke ft Pitbull - All Night Long (Would love to see Chezza win this too but adore this song so much).
Cheryl Cole - Parachute
Florence & The Machine - You've Got The Love
Matt Cardle - When We Collide
Olly Murs - Please Don't Let Me Go
Plan B - She Said
Scouting for Girls - This Ain't A Love Song
Taio Cruz - Dynamite
Tinie Tempah - Pass Out
The Wanted - All Time Low

MASTERCARD BRITISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
Plan B - The Defamation of Strickland Banks (Again, have to go for Plan B but reckon Tinie Tempah and The XX could be tough competition for him)
Take That - Progress
Tinie Tempah - Disc-Overy
The xx - XX

INTERNATIONAL MALE SOLO ARTIST
Bruce Springsteen
Cee Lo Green
David Guetta
Eminem  (Simply for the brilliance that is Love The Way You Lie)
Kanye West

INTERNATIONAL FEMALE SOLO ARTIST
Alicia Keys
Katy Perry
Kylie Minogue (Aphrodite is my favourite album from 2010 so I'm going for Kylie for this category. I reckon Rihanna will get it though.)
Rihanna
Robyn

INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH ACT
Bruno Mars (Not overly keen on any of these acts, so going for Bruno Mars as he's released a great couple of singles)
Glee Cast
Justin Bieber
The National
The Temper Trap

INTERNATIONAL GROUP
Arcade Fire
Black Eyed Peas
Kings of Leon
The Script
Vampire Weekend

(This is a tough one for me to decide as the Black Eyed Peas were AMAZING on tour, some great memories there. Arcade Fire's album is probably the best of the lot but I'm going for The Script as there's a couple of tracks on their new album that rank amongst some of my faves from 2010)


INTERNATIONAL ALBUM
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (See above, a truly brilliant album. Their best too, in my opinion.)
Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer
Eminem - Recovery
Katy Perry - Teenage Dream
Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown