What a year its been; through the many lows, there have also been some almighty highs and so to celebrate these, we asked some of our favourite music-makers, including Kano, Jojo, Craig David and Lady Leshurr to talk us through their best bits.
Shazney Lewis, All Saints
Track of the Year:
Bruno Mars – 24k Magic.
Book of the Year:
“The Jungle Book.”
Person of the Year:
“My mum.”
TV Show of the Year:
“Narcos.”
Moment of the Year:
“The shock of Brexit and the rise of Trump.”
Personal Highpoint of the Year:
“Our All Saints headline show at Brixton Academy.”
Hopes for 2017:
“Peace on earth, health and happiness.”
Craig David
Track of the Year:
“Lukas Graham: 7 Years.”
Book of the Year:
“Shakti Gawain: Living In The Light.”
Film of the Year:
“Passengers.”
Person of the Year:
“Jennifer Lawrence.”
TV Show of the Year:
“Match of The Day.”
Moment of the Year:
“Skepta winning the Mercury Prize.”
Personal highpoint of the Year:
“Announcing an Arena tour for 2017.”
Hopes for 2017:
“That we can all love a little more.”
Lady Leshurr
Track of the Year:
“Giggs – Whippin’ Excursion. His flow on this is sick.”
Book of the Year:
“Fail! I haven’t had a chance to read one this year.”
Film of the Year:
“Suicide Squad. I wasn’t expecting to like it but it had me hooked from the start.”
Person of the Year:
“Lady Leshurr of course!”
TV Show of the Year
“Rupaul’s Drag Race, I love it, I love it, I love it!”
Moment of the Year
“Me winning a MOBO – It has been a personal goal of mine for a while now.”
Personal highpoint of the Year
“Gaining millions of views on YouTube.”
Hopes for 2017
“To perform at or win a Brit Award.”
Jojo
Track of the Year:
“Come Down: Anderson .Paak. Pretty much my favourite get-hype song of 2016. Makes me think of my journey and how exciting it is to do what I love for a living.”
Book of the Year:
“Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert. We are all creative beings by birth. This book gives everyone permission to live an artistic life.”
Film of the Year:
“Arrival. Most thought-provoking alien movie I’ve seen in a while. Ya girl definitely shed a tear in the theatre.”
Person of the Year
“Michelle Obama. ‘When they go low, we go high.’ Lovely, inspiring, legend of a woman.”
TV Show of the Year:
“Westworld, HBO. That shit CRAY!!!!! Had me GLUED to the screen every Sunday, just LIVING on the edge of my seat.”
Moment of the Year:
“Just recently, when THE PEOPLE of America won and DAPL [Dakota Access Pipe Line) was reversed. Finally, a semblance of justice for the native people of our country.”
Personal Highpoint of the Year:
“First high point was releasing my first official album in 10 years! But I also have to mention both locking eyes with Smokey Robinson as I sang his songs to him for a tribute, or holding hands with Chaka Khan after joining her onstage while she sang I’m Every Woman. LEGENDS.”
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Hopes for 2017:
“Forward motion, constructive discussion, understanding, and MAD LOVE.”
Wretch 32
Track of the Year
“Kojo Funds & Abra Cadabra – Dun Talkin.”
Book of the Year:
“Robyn Travis – Mama Can’t Raise No Man.”
Film of the Year
“Deadpool.”
Person of the Year:
“John Boyega had really a great year!”
TV Show of the Year:
“Has to be Eastenders for me.”
Moment of the Year:
“Skepta winning a Mercury was a big moment for the culture.”
Personal highpoint of the Year:
“Performing my song I.O.U at my Growing Over Life show for the first time to my mother and sister. It was a highpoint as the song’s about them.”
Hopes for 2017:
“To reach more ears with my music.”
Tulisa
Track of the Year:
“Blinkie – Don’t Give Up On Love.”
Book of the Year:
“I’ve been catching up on my Sumerian history and loving it. So, the 12th Planet by Zecharia Sitchin.“
Film of the Year
“The Gods of Egypt.”
Person of the Year:
“After watching his documentary The Flood, it would have to be Leonardo DiCaprio.”
TV Show of the Year:
“The Walking Dead all the way. I’ve never been a huge TV series fan until now. I’m literally obsessed with it. One of the most powerful pieces of writing and acting I’ve ever seen.”
Moment of the Year:
“Surviving eight days on juiced fruit and veg!”
Personal Highpoint of the year:
“Finally putting a few challenging and difficult years behind me.”
Hopes for 2017:
“Personally I look forward to seeing some long term plans step into action!
But peace & love to all of course.
Kano
Track of the Year:
“Mist: Ain’t The Same.”
Book of the Year:
“This Is Grime.“
Film of the Year:
“Before The Flood.”
TV Show of the Year:
“Power.”
Person of the Year:
“NOT Donald Trump.”
Moment of the Year:
“Brexit. Not in a good way.”
Personal Highpoint of the Year:
“My Brixton Academy show, which sold out in a week.”
Hopes for 2017:
“Another good year for UK music… Fake rappers piss off forever…. A new The Streets song. Or two.”
Emily, The Staves
Track of the Year:
“The Magician by Andy Shauf. The album is called The Party and it’s an absolute delight. The music feels soft, but also completely full and really interesting – it never goes where you think it will. The string arrangements send me into a wonderful trance. Also a shout out to Rayland Baxter, Michael Kiwanuka, Bon Iver, Christof & Amanda Bergman for making some of our favourite music of 2016.”
Book of the Year:
“Alan Partridge: Nomad. Does it count if you’ve only listened to it on Audible? We have all been pretty obsessed with I, Partridge: We Need To Talk About Alan since it came out and this one really is just as good. So funny. A great thing to listen to on long van drives.”
Film of the Year:
“Hunt For The Wilderpeople. I thought it was hilarious and heartwarming in a perfectly not-too-over-the-top kind of a way. The kid in it was bloody brilliant. Makes me want to go back and visit New Zealand again, too.”
TV Show of the Year:
“Stranger Things. The whole retro 80s thing was realised with such skill. We all jumped, screamed, loved the music and generally enjoyed the shit out of it. We’re still in mourning for Barb.”
Person of the Year:
“David Bowie. The tragedy of his death lead to a glorious dive into his back catalogue. It became a real celebration of his life. He left us with the ultimate level of grace possible. A rare diamond in the world of celebrity – and just about every other sphere he occupied. What a hero.”
Moment of the Year
“2016 US Election night. We were in Wisconsin as we watched the hideous car crash unfold on television. The collective depression, despair, anger, hurt and incredulity felt by everyone we were with coloured the next few days like a huge storm cloud. We had to play a gig the following evening and Camilla likened Trump to Lord Voldemort on stage. That’s the only time I’ve seen people walk out of one of our gigs.”
Personal Highpoint of the Year:
“Performing at the Sydney Opera House with Bon Iver. It was our first time in Australia and we played four nights there. The band and all the crew are really inspiring people to work with. The way they see art, music, people and the world is so beautiful. It does me good to be around them. Especially in the sunshine.”
Hopes for 2017
“Being from the UK & living in America, I hope that the divisions between all people in the UK, Europe and the USA lesson. That knowledge and understanding increases. That love wins out over fear.”