BRITs Critics’ Choice Winners: Their Biggest Hits and Album Sales Revealed

15/02/2014

By Justin Myers

 

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We take a look at what happened next for the past winners of the prestigious BRIT Critics’ Choice Award – who comes out on top?

 

2014 is set to be a massive year for Sam Smith, and what better way to kick it off than being named as the Critics’ Choice at the 2014 BRIT Awards?

 

Winning this award is like a golden ticket to superstardom and Sam, who first found fame as vocalist on Naughty Boy’s Number 1 hit La La La, is in very good company. Between them, the six previous winners of this award have amassed sales of over 14 million albums, proving they’re not just the critics’ choice – they’re yours too!

 

Here we take a look back at what happened next for our big winners.

 

2008: Adele

It’s only fitting that the lady who won the inaugural award should be the huge success story everyone else would love to emulate. Since being named as the very first Critics’ Choice in 2008, Adele has become a global megastar, winning a host of awards and breaking records left, right and centre. 2013 was a huge year for Adele: she won a Golden Globe and an Oscar toad to her BRITs and Grammys awards hauls, plus she was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

 

First album 19 was a chart-topper and double million-seller, while its follow-up 21 is the fourth biggest selling album of all time in the UK. Yes, that's right. Of. All. Time.

 

BIGGEST HIT: Someone Like You, which Adele sang in an emotionally charged performance at the BRIT Awards in 2011. It’s sold 1.5 million copies.

ALBUM SALES: 6.8 million

BRITS: Since that initial Critics’ Choice win, Adele has picked up seven nominations, taking home three BRITs. She won MasterCard British Album of the Year and British Female Solo Artist in 2012, and picked up the BRIT for British Single in 2013.

 

2009: Florence + The Machine

Florence Welch and her machine almost invented a new genre of music when they were named BRITs Critics’ Choice for 2009. Debut hit Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) was first of eight Top 40 hits, including two Number 1s in 2012. The first, Spectrum, remixed by Calvin Harris and the second Sweet Nothing, where Florence returned the favour and featured on Calvin’s song. Both albums, Lungs and Ceremonials, have been chart-toppers.

 

BIGGEST HIT: Florence’s cover of You’ve Got The Love, made famous by Candi Staton, was a Top 5 hit in 2009 and has sold 700,000 copies. She even had a hit with it again the following year, in a slightly rejigged version with Dizzee Rascal, which they first performed at the BRIT Awards in 2010.

ALBUM SALES: 2.3 million

BRITS: Since that first win, Florence has been nominated six more times and won once – Lungs was named Mastercard British Album of the Year in 2010.

 

2010: Ellie Goulding

Her first hit was Starry Eyed, and Ellie has remained pretty stratospheric since then, boasting 11 Top 40 hits, including huge Number 1 from 2013 Burn. Ellie has also collaborated with other huge UK music stars like Tinie Tempah and Calvin Harris. Halcyon ­– her follow-up to debut album Lights – took 65 weeks to reach the top spot in January.

 

BIGGEST HIT: Ellie’s cover of the Elton John classic Your Song was a Number 2 hit in 2010, thanks in part to its appearance in the John Lewis Christmas advert, and has sold 775,000 copies.

ALBUM SALES: 1.5 million

BRITS: Ellie has landed a BRITs nomination this year for British Female Solo Artist, her fifth since winning Critics’ Choice.

 

2011: Jessie J

Since winning, Jessie’s career has gone from strength to strength – two Number 1s and a further five Top 10s and two Top 10 albums: Who You Are (2) and Alive (3). She also sat on the judging panel of BBC 1’s talent show The Voice for two seasons, before making way for Kylie Minogue this year.

 

BIGGEST HIT: Jessie’s first chart-topper Price Tag is her big one, with over 1.1 million copies sold.

ALBUM SALES: 1.4 million

BRITS: Jessie has picked up five nominations since her 2011 victory, including British Female Solo Artist.

 

2012: Emeli Sandé

It’s hard to believe it’s only two years since Emeli was named Critics’ Choice. Since then, she’s featured on 10 Top 10 hits, including two chart-toppers – Read All About It with Professor Green and Beneath Your Beautiful with Labrinth. Her debut album, Our Version Of Events, has spent 10 weeks at Number 1 and 100 non-consecutive weeks in the Official Albums Chart Top 40. Not only that, but she’s written hits for other artists too including Leona Lewis and Cheryl Cole.

 

BIGGEST HIT: Beneath Your Beautiful has sold over 880,000 copies. Emeli’s biggest solo hit is Next To Me, shifting 695,000 copies.

ALBUM SALES: 2.1 million

BRITS: Emeli won Best British Female and Mastercard British Album of the Year last year

 

2013: Tom Odell

Chichester-born Tom was the first male winner of the award, beating AlunaGeorge and Laura Mvula. Discovered by none other than Lily Allen, who signed him up to her label straightaway, Tom released his debut album Long Way Down in summer last year. And the BRIT nods don’t end there. He’s nominated in two categories this year: ­ Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act.

BIGGEST HIT: Another Love hit Number 10 in 2003.

ALBUM SALES: 260,000

 

Can Sam Smith match the success of his very esteemed predecessors? It’s all up to you! Take a look at the video for Sam’s debut solo single Money On My Mind, which is out next week – we reckon he’s got what it takes to go all the way!

BIGGEST HIT: Another Love hit Number 10 in 2003.

lol at that typo

 

Ouch at Tom Odell's album sales, they're not bad, but compared to the other winners they aren't exactly good (I know most of the others have an advantage of having multiple albums, but all their debuts did better than 260k) . Sam Smith will probably shift more than Odell as he's more commercial plus Money On My Mind is a certain top 3 smash, something which Odell never had.

Since winning, Jessie’s career has gone from strength to strength

 

The response to 'Alive' begs to differ...

 

Also, poor Tom Odell. His sales figures really stick out like a sore thumb there.

Oh Tom :( The album hasn't done badly at all, especially in this climate, but I hate how much he sticks out like a sore thumb here. In a perfect world, he'd have sold a couple of million copies of the album :teresa:

He's been overshadowed by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard and even Jake Bugg, doing similar things with probably better songs and better voices. I'd quite happily listen to a Tom Odell album all the way through, but wouldn't necessarily be encouraged to go out and buy it in the first place (if that makes any sense)

He's been overshadowed by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard and even Jake Bugg, doing similar things with probably better songs and better voices. I'd quite happily listen to a Tom Odell album all the way through, but wouldn't necessarily be encouraged to go out and buy it in the first place (if that makes any sense)

I get what you mean with that. I really love Another Love and Can't Pretend, and I like the other songs I have heard of his, but I have no interest in getting the album itself. With all the other artists I have wanted to invest in them as such, which is why I have bought a lot of their albums and will follow their careers. I haven't ever got that with Tom. I think in part it is a promo thing, as I feel I have no idea who Tom is and I have never seen him in interviews or on tv performances. Even when he won the Brits he didn't have a performance slot which surprised me and could have been a big opportunity for him. You haven't really been able to avoid artists like Ed Sheeran and his music, so everyone knows who he is and can name at least one of his songs. Most of the general public don't know who Tom Odell is.

I sort of think the opposite actually - I think he's one of those people (like Michael Kiwanuka, say) who make music that's perfectly OK and would sound fine if you just heard it gradually but because he was launched with all this hype you expect to be wowed or at least for there to be something distinctive going on, and there isn't. Whereas say I don't particularly like Jessie J but she's a big, bold attention-grabbing sort of star that will provoke strong opinions.

Ellie has not been stratospheric all the time.