'Madonna sees ticket searches soar by 164%,' says one press release. 'Madonna experiences surge in record sales,' claims another. The old adage that all publicity is good publicity rings true, but it's mainly the Brit Awards that wins here. Let's face it: without Madonna's tumble - and the thousands of memes, gifs and Vines it has spawned - the show would have been a very safe affair.

"Everyone's too scared to say anything," Paloma Faith recently told us when we brought up the subject of the Brit Awards being rather tame these days. "The fact that I'm considered outspoken is bizarre to me, because I think I'm probably the most punk person in music, so we're absolutely screwed." But even on the night, Paloma - who gave a touching winner's speech, as well as a powerful performance in the rain - kept things firmly within the guidelines.


What Twitter said about the Brit Awards 2015
Brit Awards 2015: Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift are big winners

Don't get us wrong, the performers were all outstanding. Sam Smith's rousing performance of 'Lay Me Down' was exceptional, and Ed Sheeran's loop pedal never fails to impress, but once again the Brit Awards missed that extra bit of spark. It used to come with unplanned moments like stage invasions and arrogant acceptance speeches, but even back then it felt like some thought was going into making a thrilling show with the organisers' efforts to pair up interesting collaborations.

Those are the moments music fans enjoy the most. Obviously there are a lot of behind the scenes agreements to be made for such pairings, and schedules are always a nightmare to sync up, but to be left without a single interesting/awkward duet is slightly disappointing. When will we have the next Kylie and Justin Timberlake moment? Or even a Florence + the Machine and Dizzee Rascal type mash-up? Those are the memorable highlights from years past.


Nevertheless, Ant & Dec did a good job, even if their selfie gag with Kim Kardashian West went straight over her head, and their interviews at the stars' tables felt too much like awkward small talk in an elevator at times. The duo's visual gags and natural chemistry kept things ticking over nicely without becoming too tiresome, though - and the bingo draw for the presenter pairings was a great touch. It was a fairly balanced effort, but it would have been better if they actually got Kanye in on the joke to confront them about their recurring stage invasion gag.

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Speaking of Kanye, the energy always dips when an artist decides to perform a completely brand new track at an awards show. That said, 'All Day' was inspired by the Brixton riots, so London is a fitting place for Yeezy to debut the track. He also, quite literally, added plenty of much needed heat to proceedings, walking away with one of the more striking stage shows of the night.


That was, until Madonna fell down hard. It was a moment that visibly stunned the star and the thousands of people watching her at The O2. It immediately created an awkward atmosphere with people genuinely clasping their mouths and looking at each other with disbelief. It was a massive shame, because the performance of 'Living For Love' was fantastic. OK, it was basically the same as her Grammys outing with slightly less budget, but Madonna closed the show with a big pop moment the same way Taylor Swift opened it. Music shows need spectacle and the Queen of Pop offered just that.

However, up until the point when Madonna's Armani cape decided to pull her off her podium, the ceremony was firmly on a straight and narrow path. Maybe that's not a bad thing? The Brits were set up to celebrate and shine a spotlight on the best homegrown and international talent. The line-up of performers was strong, and the night's winners weren't undeserving, so it fully realised its aim. Nonetheless, this is the UK and we like a spot of anarchy. Some of the best British music was founded on rebellion, and so the expectation for a bit of a ruckus will always be in our nation's fibre.

What did you think of the Brit Awards 2015? Leave your comments below.