Another year, another February punctuated by an array of self-congratulatory awards ceremonies. On Wednesday night it was the turn of the Brits: the annual opportunity for the great and the good of the British music industry to unite for an evening of back-slapping, brown-nosing and casual racism. However, if one viewed the show with sufficiently low expectations, the uneasy combination of exciting live performances, light entertainment and touching tributes was definitely worth watching. Conventional Brits wisdom dictates that the real interest isn’t to be found in the winners or nominees themselves. Particularly with regard to the British categories, 2016 was no exception. There were no surprises on a night that saw James Bay pip the excellent Jamie XX to Best British Male Solo Artist. Moreover, I’m almost embarrassed for Coldplay, whose fourth award for Best British Group came as no surprise to anyone, least of all the bands themselves.

Thankfully, the international awards were altogether more interesting. Justin Bieber’s award for International Male Solo Artist was thoroughly deserved given the success of his reinvention, even if it did come at the expense of Kendrick Lamar. It was also a delight to see Björk, and her wonderful headgear, win the corresponding female award. It’s worth noting that in the international categories the nominees were far more racially diverse.

While this can in part be explained by the comparatively high profile of US artists, it’s a shame that the Brits seemed more like a celebration of America’s vibrant urban music scene than our own. In response to widespread criticism a Brits spokesperson said that “The artists who are honoured tend to be those who have achieved the very highest levels of chart success.” This is simply not good enough. How can British BME artists achieve significant commercial success when their own industry’s awards show refuses to acknowledge their existence?

Once again, the live performances were the truly memorable aspect of the show. Unfortunately, while Coldplay’s ‘Hymn to the Weekend’ provided a suitably bombastic opening, the British contingent passed in a blur of James Bay and Jess Glynne’s nostalgic 90s dance pop. In light of this, it was left to the Americans to inject some adrenaline into the event. Rihanna’s lighting technician deserves some credit here; her performance looked great on TV and its thoroughly modern feel supplemented the gyrating beat of ‘Work’. Drake’s sexually charged appearance during the song managed to stay just the right side of creepy and in all it was a highly successful return to our screens for Rihanna. Moreover, the decision to allow Drake’s fellow Canadian artist, The Weeknd, to showcase his unique brand of dead-eyed soul on Primetime ITV was a masterstroke. His short performance of ‘The Hills’ was cheerily uncensored and its chorus of “I only fuck you when it’s half-past five” provided the provocative edge that the night was desperately lacking.

In reality, the sole ray of light from a British perspective was the imperious Adele. In total, she won four awards: Global Success and British Female, Single and Album. No one can deny that she deserves her success. At an awards show that predominantly exists to recognise the most commercially successful artists of the last twelve months it’s no surprise to see Adele mopping up given that 25 is still sitting pretty at the top of the album chart three months after its release. It was fitting that her (heavily bleeped) acceptance speeches went uninterrupted, not only because she was so rudely cut off in 2012 but also because she is single-handedly responsible for the rude health of the British Music Industry.

The most significant portion of the night, though, were the moving (if repetitive) tributes to the late David Bowie. In particular, Gary Oldman’s declaration that “the world lost a man, an artist of transcendent talent” added a touch of class to proceedings. The eulogies were followed by a medley of Bowie hits performed by the astute pairing of his backing band (who last performed together in 2004) with Lorde, who last year Bowie himself anointed “the future of music”.

While her undeniable talent allowed her to do justice to an emotional rendition of ‘Life on Mars’, it’s a shame that it added to the sense that this current generation of British artists lacks the originality to do David Bowie’s legacy justice.