Mika, Take That Lead Brit Award Nominations

The Brit Awards (the U.K.'s version of the Grammys) announced their nominations this morning, with British boy-band revivalists Take That (a.k.a. Robbie Williams' old group) and piano-pop crooner Mika leading the way with four nominations each. For the non-Anglophiles out there, here is Rock Daily's handy guide to the nominated artists you might not know. The awards will be handed out on February 20th.

Leona Lewis: Also nominated for four awards, Lewis had several gigantic hit singles in England after winning the third season of the American Idol-esque show X-Factor. Her debut album Spirit will be released in the U.S. in March.

Richard Hawley: A former member of Nineties indie stalwarts the Longpigs and Britpop legends Pulp, Hawley's fifth solo album Lady's Bridge reached number six on the U.K. charts.

Newton Faulkner: If Prince was an English hippie who was obsessed with Bobby McFerrin-esque percussion and had long cinnamon dreadlocks, you'd have Faulkner. His album Hand Built By Robots peaked at Number One on the U.K. charts.

Bat For Lashes: Natasha Khan plays exquisite chamber pop that includes string quartets, zithers and lyrics about magical horses. Though her album had a minor breakout here, Fur and Gold was a minor phenomenon across the pond.

Jamie T: Equal parts rock, rap and bedroom folk, Jamie T’s debut album Panic Prevention is a jittery, eclectic concept album about his own panic attacks. Because of his high-strung nature, he has gained a reputation as a damaged genius in his home country.

Related Stories:
• Rolling Stone's 10 Artists to Watch: Mika
• Paul McCartney to Receive Special Brit Award
• Breaking Artist: Bat for Lashes

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Song Stories

“Piano Man”

Billy Joel | 1973

Billy Joel’s first hit, “Piano Man,” was – ironically – an autobiographical lament about how his first album wasn’t a hit. When Cold Spring Harbor didn’t take off, Joel briefly became a lounge pianist in Los Angeles, and this song, about that experience, expressed his frustrations and fears at the time: “And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar/And say, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’” “It was all right,” Joel said later, about the gig. “I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady money I’d made in a long time.”

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