Madonna falls off Brits stage

The Brit Awards, the annual flagship UK music awards show, brought out stars and industry folks alike in the British capital Wednesday night.

The British version of the Grammys was held at London's O2 Arena where Madonna, Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Paloma Faith, George Ezra, Royal Blood and Take That were among the performers. Madonna's first performance at the show in 20 years was marred by a nasty fall, as the singer was accidentally pulled off the stage by a back-up dancer. However, she recovered and returned to the stage to finish her song, “Living For Love”.

As for the awards, Sheeran and Smith took home two each. Smith won for album of the year, for “X”, and best British male solo artiste, while Smith nabbed British breakthrough act and global success award. Other winners included Swift, Pharrell Williams, Foo Fighters, One Direction, and Mark Ronson. Already announced before the event, was the Critics' Choice winner, James Bay.

British TV personalities Ant and Dec took on the hosting duties this year.

The awards ceremony aired live on ITV in Britain, and was also available to a global audience via a live stream on YouTube. 

The Brit Awards are determined by a 1,000-strong academy of music industry folks and fan votes.

Source: THR