Music

David Bowie wasn't nominated for BBC's Album of the Year but Rick Astley was

by Richard Howard

‘Member Rickrolling? Yeah, thanks to the randomness of internet meme-ery, that British dude with the weird voice and kitschy song from the 80s had a surreal resurgence in the late 2000s. One of the funniest gags (and there were a lot) stemming out of the whole deal was Astley being voted “Best Act Ever” at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards. You know, “Ha ha, Astley winning an award in this day and age, how very, very droll, sir.” But it’s 2016 – a year in which the guy with a shitty cameo in Home Alone 2 is now the president of the United States of America. So guess what – Rick Astley is now a nominee for a real award and one of Britain’s most prestigious to boot: BBC Music’s Album of The Year.

To be fair though, this isn’t a Trump-esque “what the fuck, people, you know this guy might be the least qualified or deserving person alive for this, right?” situation. Astley is actually a monster musician and his new stuff is honestly pretty dope. In fact, he produced and played every instrument on his new album 50, a tongue-in-cheek take-off of Adele’s (who’s also nominated) practice of naming her albums after her age.

So okay, Astley is nominated in the category that Adele is clearly going to win. Good on you, sir. But you know who’s not nominated? David Bowie, for his final album Blackstar. Soooo…I haven’t heard 50, but I have heard Blackstar. And chances are, once again through no fault of his own, Astley’s going to get hated on hard for BBC’s decision. Hey Rick – you just brush that dirt of your shoulders and keep killing it. Pretty sure that internet troll bitching isn’t a two-time legend. Roll on, brother.