Brit Awards 2008 - Part 1 - Mika, Take That, Rihanna & Klaxons, Adele, Mika Again!

8pm - Mika opens the show with his distinct brand of high pitched camp goodness. There’s no flashy backgrounds or staging, with the focus seeming to be on his actual singing, and stage presence instead. Which is a refreshing change.

Beth Ditto arrives on stage, and the two of them embark on a duet combining Love Today and Standing In The Way Of Control. Once she’s disappeared behind the curtain, Mika goes in to a bit of Grace Kelly.

Already I can see that the crowd is the combination of enthusiastic fans, and industry types who are just there to get drunk and nothing else.

8.05pm - The whole Osbourne clan come up out on to the stage, all dressed in black, and all looking fantastic… yes, even Kelly.

8.08pm - Chris Moyles takes the stage to present the award for Best Live Act. It’s a good job he’s on radio more than telly as he’s put more weight on, if that’s possible.

Nominations - Muse, Take That, Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons, Kaiser Chiefs. And the winner is…

Take That!

That’s a shocker, from boy band to man band, to winner of best live act. Muse have won for the past two years in a row, and I fully expected them to get it again, but there you go.

Gary Barlow does the speech, and is as down to earth/boring as ever.

8.12pm - Rihanna and The Klaxons take the stage for their long awaited collaboration… a very bizarre pairing which actually ends up working really well.

Rihanna providing the vocals while a laser show works its way across the crowd’s heads.

The fact that the songs mege so well has to say something about how derivative Rihanna’s songs are in the first place. Has she had a hit which hasn’t sneakily sampled something else?

8.23pm - The Critics Choice Award goes to Adele, a fact we already knew. Is Sharon Osbourne on something?

Will Young enters stage left to present the award and delivers the tribute in his usual well spoken manner. It seems Adele is a former student of the Brit school, a fact I didn’t actually know about her.

Adele has a really nice singing voice, but unfortunately speaks like someone from Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.

8.26pm - British Breakthrough Act, presented by Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Err why?

Nominations - Leona Lewis, Klaxons, Kate Nash, Bat For Lashes, Mika. And the winner is…

Mika!

Good, the right result, although I really thought Leona Lewis would have had it in the bag.