Brit Awards Ringtones

It's that time of year when the record industry celebrate their own achievements. The Brit nominations were announced January 10 and here is a round up of the major contenders.

First up are the nominations for Best British Album won last year by Keane. No surprises here with Coldplay(WINNER) heading the list with X&Y. Hip Hop is represented by the made-up band Gorillaz for their Demon Days album while the north are represented by the Kaiser Chiefs from Leeds. The dreary James Blunt gets a look in with his tedious derivative Back To Bedlam while perhaps the only surprise in this category is the comeback album from Kate Bush (pictured) - Aerial.

Blunt surprisingly receives a nomination in the British Breakthrough category where he will be up against the excellent Arctic Monkeys (WINNER) (of I Bet You Look Good On The Dance floor fame), The Kaiser Chiefs as well as the overrated pair KT Tunstall and The Magic Numbers. Both Radio 1 listeners and the academy itself have voted for this section. Note - Radio 1 has more than two listeners.

Mercury Music Prize winner Antony and The Johnsons (pictured) is in line to take the British male solo artist award where he faces competition from ex-Stones Roses lead singer Ian Brown, the ever-present James Blunt (WINNER) and the ladies men Robbie Williams and the non-stuttering gay icon Will Young.

The British female solo artist looks set to go to a Kate, Katie or a KT with Kate Melua looking a popular choice with Kate Bush not far behind and KT Tunstall (WINNER) also having a squeak. The buxom Charlotte Church and Natasha Bedingfield look to be making up the numbers in this section. This award was won last year by the anonymous and ultimately disappointing Joss Stone.

The weak Franz Ferdinand won last year's Best British Group and hopefully this year's winner will have more longevity. The darlings of America Coldplay deserve their place in the line-up as do the inventive Gorillaz while a surprise choice is Hard-Fi. Songs such as Living For The Weekend and Cash Machine should see them go close but they all may have to play second guitar behind the teeny band the Kaiser Chiefs (WINNER).

There are some strange choices for Single of The Year. Shayne Ward (pictured) sneaked into the picture with his late in the year hit That's My Goal while Coldplay 's Speed Of Sound(WINNER) is another strange choice. Listeners of independent radio vote for the award so that tells a story. The fabulous Push The Button by the Sugababes has to have a live chance while Peter Kaye's Amarillo will be a popular choice. Sadly the award may well go to James Blunt for his You're Beautiful. Last year the prize went to the forgettable Will Young with his forgettable track Your Game.

There are five nominations in the best British Black (sorry Urban) Act. All are pretty poor. Ms Dynamite is the most well known followed by Dizzee Rascal. Voted for by viewers of MTV Base (all of seven probably) the other acts in line for an award are Kano. Lemar(WINNER) and Craig David. Do the MOBO awards have a section for best white act? I think not.

The Best Rock Act nominations don't really contain any rock acts. Franz Ferdinand head the list followed by the underrated Kasabian. The award is voted for viwers of minority music channel Kerrang!. Others hoping to win are the soft Hard-Fi, the omnipresent teeny boppers Kaiser Chiefs (WINNERS) and ageing rockers (?!?) Oasis.