Months after pledging to be less white, Brit Awards announce Michael Bublé as 2017 host

by Jeremy Mersereau

October 7, 2016

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The Brit Awards honour their promises to be more diverse... by tapping Michael Bublé to host?

Free pro tip to all lily-white awards shows out there (I’m looking at you, Crocheting Guild of America Awards): if you respond to criticisms of ‘ignoring black artists’ with a public pledge to “be less white,” don’t follow it up with announcement that your next host is going to be Michael Bublé, aka the patron saint of Caucasians everywhere.

The Brit Awards, the long-running UK music awards show, has been criticized for its lack of diversity, with the 2016 edition being particularly egregious in its under-representation of minority artists. Some critics and viewers accused the awards show of ‘completely ignoring’ black British music, and completely disregarding musical genres that are a huge part of British youth culture. Things got so conspicuously monochrome that back when the show originally aired in February, it generated in its own social media hashtag, #BritsSoWhite.

In response, Brit Awards chairman Ged Doherty (geez, somebody give dude the award for “most English name ever”) penned an open letter saying he would ‘update’ the 1100-strong Brits voting academy and establish an ‘advisory committee’ composed of “members of the black and minority ethnic music community.” Doherty said he was aiming for at least 15% BAME participation” in future Brits voting, “in line with national trends… so that it can be more truly representative of modern British music.” And, 8 months later, he went and hired Michael Bublé for the 2017 ceremony.

The choice of host doesn’t necessarily mean the 2017 show as a whole won’t take lessons from the previous year and follow through on Doherty’s promises, but, as every marketing professional worth their thick-rimmed glasses and undercut says now, “the optics aren’t good.” Aside from the “optics,” Bublé is a solid choice to host: he’s wildly popular in the UK, is a world-class entertainer, and has been nominated for a Brit three times previously. Plus, more Cancon across the pond isn’t a bad thing.

Hopefully things will balance out when the next Brit Awards air in early 2017, with tepid Michael Bublé jokes interposed between some Stormzy performances or something.

Tags: Music, News, michael buble

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