BRIT Awards 2011 Nominations Finally Show Some Progression

It's been a confusing twelve months for British pop music. Take That have continued to ride the wave of popularity as a man band, their journey may last even longer with Robbie Williams completing the reformed line-up; unlikely success story of indie minimalists the XX and folk-popsters Mumford & Sons have been keeping the middle-classes happy, whilst Tinie Tempah, N-Dubz and Chimpmunk have been singing for the kids, and Plan B has helped the thirty-somethings thinking they are cutting-edge. We now live in a disposal culture, music is not just easy to throw away but there is now so much to discover. There has been trends and subcultures popping up everywhere, artists have realised they can't survive on being a copycat any more.

Yesterday the shortlist for the BRIT Awards was announced. The annual awards have become another night for d-list celebs to get in the tabloid gossip columns. This year, after a change in the hierarchy in the awards organisers, the voting system has been transformed, meaning the Chief Executive's of major record labels, who have probably not heard music since 1980 and want to increase the profile of the artists they've been splashing their cash on over the last year, have found themselves in a less powerful position.

The nominations have shown how vastly popular music has become recently; there isn't an obvious winner in each category, which celebrates all music, across all genres. Take the Best British Male Award nominations, for example. There is Plan B, Mark Ronson, Paul Weller, Tinie Tempah and former Led Zepplin singer Robert Plant. I expect grime's new hero Tinie to take the award home but it could go anyway. The Best British Album Award is equally eclectic, Tinie is up against Plan B again, as well as Take That, the XX and Mumford & Sons. You couldn't imagine the latter two bands picking up a BRIT Award nod five years ago.

It might not excite the purists and some part-time music listeners might be unaware of some nominees, but at least it shows progression. What do you think?