At the 2018 BRIT awards, held at the O2 Arena in February, perennial, ginger, singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran looked set to clean up again after his multi-million selling album 'Divide' spawned the seemingly omnipresent single 'Shape of You'.
However, it was not to be.
Best British Album and Solo Artist
In a category that in previous years seems to have been reserved for Sheeran, this year the Brits had other ideas and both awards were scooped by the grime artist Stormzy. Even Best Single could not be taken home by the Yorkshire born singer. That award went to Rag N Bone Man for his single 'Human'.
Grammys 2018
Curiously, Sheeran's omission from the main awards echoes what happened in the 2018 Grammys event held in Madison Square Gardens, New York in January. Although nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance and Pop Vocal Album, Sheeran was not nominated for any of the four major categories of award. Is it just possible that despite his enduring success the music world is falling out of love with him?
Divide
The singer's latest album sold over 10 million copies last year and will have softened the blow a little of being overlooked for the major awards as he walked away with the Global Success award at the ceremony last night.
So what has gone wrong for Ed Sheeran?
BRITs So White
After last year's awards, the hashtag #BRITSsowhite began trending and stung the BPI ( British Phonographic Industry) into reviewing the proportion of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) representatives on its' 1000 strong voting panel.
The percentage of reps from BAME groups went up from 17% to 24% in one year. Similarly, the BPI increased its' number of female voters on the panel.
This change could well have had the impact needed to see Croydon Grime artist Stormzy carry home the prestigious Best British Album and Best Solo Male awards and Dua Lipa,22, born in London, to Albanian parents won the Breakthrough award.
What's next for Sheeran?
After what must have been a disappointing night for him, Sheeran has a lot to look forward to. He will be performing at a special show as part of the War Child BRITS week and his upcoming US Tour due to start later this year has had eight extra dates added. So whatever happens next for Sheeran, it looks like this year's snubs at two of the major music awards ceremonies won't have done anything to dampen his enthusiasm or his ambition to dominate the world of pop for many years to come.
