Pharrell tops BBC Music Awards

The BBC Music Awards are out - and in a star studded show featuring Coldplay, One Direction, Gregory Porter, Clean Bandit, Paloma Faith, Ed Sheeran, Take That and George Ezra amongst others. International artist of the year was Pharrell Williams and the US producer-songwriter won song of the year for his exuberant, gospel-inspired single Happy, the only award that was voted for by members of the public,  Ed Sheeran was named British act of the year, and played a rousing version of his Pharrell-produced single, Sing, using just a guitar and loop pedal. Newcomers Catfish and the Bottlemen also played to their biggest-ever audience, after winning the BBC Introducing award for best new act, in a music rather than awards focussed show at Earls Court in London. Radio 1 DJ Greg James dismissed the worries that the BBC were out to compete with the BRITS, hosted by rival channel ITV, saying the BBC ceremony was "not really just about the awards" and the BBC also made use of its Concert Orchestra to embellish some of the year's biggest hits and the BBC said the main message from the night was how the BBC supports and promotes new music.