ACM has a long-running reputation for producing and supporting outstanding creative talents – and this year’s BRIT Awards lineup showcased a range of exceptional ACM success stories.
Celebrating their 39th year in 2019, and located at London’s iconic O2 Arena since 2011, the BRIT Awards are always memorable for a list of notable reasons, from hard-working and deserving winners to instant-classic performances. The night itself has been one of the most hotly anticipated and star-studded events in the British music industry’s calendar for decades, while 1.4 million music fans follow the latest developments through social media. As nominees are selected by over 1,000 music industry professionals – as well as the previous year’s nominees and Award winners – a BRIT Award nomination is naturally a huge honour, while wins either mark the recipients as legends in the making, or cement their status as immortal superstars.
While The 1975 proved to be arguably the biggest winners of the night, topping off their evening’s festivities with a captivating performance of “Sincerity Is Scary” (featuring additional ACM alumnus Ky Lewis), they were far from the only ACM-related talents to make an impact on the BRIT Awards. Rudimental – whose lineup includes ACM alumnus and tutor Renell Shaw – and Clean Bandit, for whom ACM alumna Kirsten Joy sings live, were also separately nominated within the same two categories (namely ‘British Artist Video of the Year’ and ‘British Single’), adding up to four nominations between them. Elsewhere, three-time Brit winner Rag’n’Bone Man, who was discovered and developed by ACM Production graduates Dan Priddy and Mark Crew, performed as part of a supergroup alongside Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa, and Sam Smith; Little Mix (who have previously worked with ACM Production Tutor Shea Stedford, Production School graduate Ben Taylor, and Production alumnus Dom Liu) scooped the ‘British Video of the Year’ Award; and ACM alumnus Ed Sheeran was awarded a special ‘Global Success’ BRIT as his latest album Divide became the biggest-selling record in the world for two years in a row.
ACM’s partners at Metropolis Studios – Europe’s largest independently owned recording and creative complex, at which over 50% of the UK Chart is mixed, mastered, or recorded in an average year – also had an overwhelmingly exciting night, as Metropolis clients won almost every single 2019 BRIT Award that ACM’s own alumni didn’t claim for themselves. The Metropolis Studios team had mastered 60% of the night’s British Single nominees; 80% of the British Female Solo Artist category; 40% of British Group contenders; and two out of three Critic’s Choice candidates, while renowned Metropolis mastering engineers John Davis and Stuart Hawkes worked on a grand total of 24 nominated releases from the likes of Anne-Marie, Florence + The Machine, Lily Allen, Craig David, Gorillaz, Clean Bandit, Dua Lipa, Rudimental, and Rita Ora.
In order to ensure concision and clarity, here’s a full list of Metropolis-related 2019 BRIT Award winners:
• George Ezra (British Male Solo Artist)
• Jorja Smith (British Female Solo Artist)
• Tom Walker (British Breakthrough Act)
• Sam Fender (Critic’s Choice)
• The Carters (aka Beyoncé and Jay-Z, International Group)
• Drake (International Male Solo Artist)
• Ariana Grande (International Female Solo Artist)
• Calvin Harris (British Producer)
• Ed Sheeran (Global Success)
• Little Mix (British Video of the Year, “Woman Like Me ft. Nicki Minaj”)
• Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa (British Single, “One Kiss”)
At the very end of the Awards ceremony, Pink – for whom Metropolis CEO Richard Connell managed marketing campaigns during his time at Sony – won the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award. Even the evening’s performers were primarily Metropolis clients – including Jess Glynne, whose makeup-removing performance of her hit Thursday was particularly impactful. ACM Guitar alumnus Nick Tsang has also worked with Jess Glynne, having co-written on her album I Cry When I Laugh. Additional performers included the aforementioned George Ezra, Jorja Smith, Little Mix (featuring Ms Banks), and of course Pink herself, punctuating the evening’s festivities with zeitgeist-defining songs.
With all of the above in mind, ACM’s BRIT Awards delegation of students, graduates, and staff were delighted to witness the celebrations in person. Check out the video below to see what they got up to:
If you dream of one day achieving widespread recognition from the British music industry and developing into a future superstar, ACM’s team of industry experts can help guide you as you pursue a challenging and immensely rewarding journey. Come along to one of our Open Days, and join the family!
