Katy Perry and Arctic Monkeys to Perform at Brit Awards
open the televised show holding in February, with a live set.
The Arctic Monkeys have not had a good relationship with the Brit Awards in the past. The band refused to attend the 2006 Brits where it won the breakthrough act award. In 2007, the band sent a mocking video message as members dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz. When the band did accept an award in person in 2008, its members dressed as country squires and delivered a sarcastic acceptance speech, which organizers decided to drown out for TV viewers.
The band’s decision to finally make peace with the Brits reportedly reflects the group’s acceptance that they have become one of the U.K.’s pre-eminent rock bands following a Glastonbury Festival headline performance earlier this year. The chance to play live before a potential audience of 10 million ITV viewers was also too good to refuse.
Arctic Moneys are the 24th group to have five number one albums in Britain, but only the fifth to do so with their first five albums, following The Beatles, Oasis, Coldplay and Keane.The band’s fifth studio album AM hit number one in the U.K. charts on release, mirroring the top spot debuts of their previous four albums.
Perry said: “It’s an honor to play at such a prestigious event where musicality shines at its brightest.”
This year’s Brits Awards boasted several U.S. stars, including performances by Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake, and winners’ stage visits by Frank Ocean and Lana Del Ray.