Winter days may be short and gloomy, but when nighttime comes, the glitz and glamour of awards season on both sides of the Atlantic never fail to dazzle and delight. With a steady calendar of ceremonies reaching its finale at last Sunday’s Oscars, here’s how news brands have followed every gown, gong and controversy
“And the nominees are…”
Awards season arguably starts weeks before a single stiletto graces a red carpet. When organisers release nominations in advance of the big night, the buzz begins to bubble and the debates over who has been scandalously shunned inevitably start.
This was particularly true in the run up to February’s BRIT Awards; with categories such as Best Artist becoming gender-neutral, many felt male-dominated shortlists had been an unintended step back in progress for the music industry. The Guardian’s Laura Snapes and The Evening Standard’s ‘The Leader’ podcast dissected the backlash, including which female artists fans felt had been unjustly missed off.
Meanwhile, predictions for gongs were well underway, with the Telegraph’s look at the favourites for the Baftas on Instagram joined by who perhaps deserved to win but might miss out. Elsewhere, The Independent narrowed the field down to two legends at the Grammys’: Adele and Beyonce.
Meanwhile, for those looking for a flutter before the big night, the Express amped up the excitement by looking at what the bookies’ favourites in the run up to the Grammys. The news brand had Adele’s ‘Easy on Me’ seeing off Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ for record of the year, but only time would tell.
The nominations were also a perfect opportunity for readers to get to better acquainted with some of the biggest stars of sound and screen. One such moment came in The Sunday Times’ Culture supplement, as it caught up with Oscar and Bafta-nominated Bill Nighy about his lifelong battle with self-doubt and why the photographically shy actor often stops for selfies.
The best from the red carpet
For some, the winners are of passing interest: the red carpets are where the excitement happens, as stars do turns in some of the most glamorous, shocking and downright bizarre outfits of the year.
Spreads across print news brands gave readers a full flavour of some of the glamour on display, with the best dressed of the rich and famous offering readers a bit of inspiration. Florence Pugh and the Prince and Princess of Wales dazzled on the Baftas’ carpet, while Harry Styles’ black suit and Tallia Storm’s winter bikini look turned heads at the BRITs.
But for every moment of drop-dead glamour, there’s always a moment of bafflement — Sam Smith’s infamous Bowie-esque outfit certainly raised a few eyebrows.
Surprises, sweeps and shoo-ins
While the fashion followers gathered for the red carpet, the stars themselves gathered for the awards, and news brands recapped the big winners as well as the notable runners-up. After the Grammys, The Sun’s gave a recap of all the main talking points from the night on its YouTube channel, while the Daily Mail highlighted a record-breaking night for Beyonce.
Sometimes even more headline-making than the winners being revealed are the stars’ speeches on stage. Harry Styles courted controversy at the Grammys, while Dame Helen Mirren used the stage to honour the late Queen Elizabeth II at the Baftas.
Behind the scenes
But, like most of us, if you missed out on tickets to the hottest nights in entertainment, the Mirror’s TikTok channel took readers along for the ride at the BRIT Awards as well as a whistle stop of the Academy Awards museum. From entering the venues to snooping Stormzy’s starter and lifting an Oscar, it was like we were there with them all along.
The final curtain
Finally, with the awards season reaching its climax, the 95th Academy Awards saw coveted Oscars given out to the very best of cinema from across the world. The Daily Mail featured a particularly special guest brought on by host Jimmy Kimmel, while the Evening Standard had the lowdown on the winners from a huge night for Everything Everywhere All At Once and its lead Michelle Yeoh.
