The nominations for the 2011 Q Awards, presented by the British music magazine of the same name, were announced last Thursday (September 15th), with the awards ceremony scheduled for October 24th in London. Adele, Arctic Monkeys, Jessie J and Ed Sheeran lead with three nominations each, with a further five artists receiving two nominations.
Nominees in the Best New Act category include Foster the People, whose breakthrough song ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ is also nominated for Best Track; and dubstep duo Nero, after their debut album Welcome Reality topped the UK Albums Chart. Jessie J and Ed Sheeran pick up their first nominations in the Breakthrough Artist category, with their second coming in Best Female Artist and Best Male Artist, respectively. Also nominated in Best Male Artist are Cee Lo Green, whose huge 2010 singles ‘Forget You’ and ‘It’s OK’ were still making their rounds on the charts this year; and rapper Example, who topped the UK Singles Chart twice this year with ‘Changed the Way You Kiss Me’ and ‘Stay Awake’. In Best Female Artist, Adele is rightfully recognised, as is veteran R&B star Beyoncé.
Adele’s 21 is the best-selling album of the year
The highest-selling album of the year, Adele’s 21, is strangely absent from the Best Album category, but has spawned two nominations in Best Track, in the form of ‘Rolling in the Deep’ and ‘Someone Like You’, which reached second and first in the UK Singles Chart respectively. Aloe Blacc’s number-two single ‘I Need a Dollar’ and Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’ complete the list of Best Track nominees. Arctic Monkeys appear again in the Best Album category, as does Best Female Artist nominee PJ Harvey, whose eighth album Let England Shake recently beat names like Adele and Tinie Tempah to win the Mercury Prize. Mega-stars Katy Perry and Lady Gaga pick up their only nominations of the awards in Best Video, for ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)’ and ‘Judas’ respectively, both of which made the UK Singles Chart top ten.
Coldplay are nominated for two awards
The final two categories are Best Live Act and Best Act in the World Today. In the former, two-time nominees Coldplay, rock force Biffy Clyro and R&B diva Beyoncé are amongst the nominees. In the running for Best Act in the World Today are six hugely popular rock bands, including Muse, who for the last two years have been touring the world in promotion of their fifth album The Resistance which reached number one in 14 countries; Coldplay, who have won the award twice before and will release the hugely anticipated follow-up to Viva la Vida in October; and U2, who have spent the year earning millions on the highest-grossing concert tour of all time.
Voting is currently open online at awards.qthemusic.com, where you can find the full list of the nominees, with a chance to win tickets to the awards ceremony in London in October.
