THE NRMB AWARDS 2017 - YOUR WINNERS

After over one hundred votes, a high profile retweet or two and weeks of procrastination from our writing team, it gives us great pleasure to finally reveal the winners of the first ever NRMB Awards...

BEST MALE ARTIST - JAMIE T

The last few months have been huge for Jamie T, releasing the critically acclaimed album 'Trick', selling out a raucous autumn UK tour and continuing to cement his status as one of this generation's most popular alternative acts. With an impressive 38.54% of the vote, Jamie beat hugely talented multi-instrumentalist Jack Garratt (17.71%) and rising star Declan McKenna (16.67%) into second and third place.

BEST FEMALE ARTIST - BEYONCÉ

Recently breaking the record for the most liked Instagram photo ever, Beyoncé made possibly her most talked about record yet in the form of 'Lemonade', featuring tracks as varied as 'Hold Up' and 'Daddy Lessons', and is still one of the planet's most famous, admired singers. It was close between Bey (28.74%) and Christine and the Queens (25.29%), with Gabrielle Aplin (17.24%) placing third in anticipation of a new album and tour this year.

BEST GROUP - CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN

A band we have discussed a fair deal on the blog, Catfish ascended to arenas and soared to stardom in 2016, with The Ride topping the UK album chart and selling over 100,000 copies since release. A huge show at Castlefield Bowl show and their first ever arena tour followed. The only way is up for Catfish (28.89%), whose closest competition came from Blossoms (22.22%) - whose own growing popularity shows they are on a similar trajectory.

BEST NEW ACT - INHEAVEN

The Awards' most closely contested category, with five acts split by just a few percentage points, Best New Act was won by South London alternative four-piece INHEAVEN (18.82%). Combining huge tunes with a punk spirit and charged lyrics, the band are set for massive things this year if their upcoming festival and support slots are anything to go by. Hot on their heels were The Magic Gang, Dantevilles, Cabbage and VANT.

BEST ALBUM - BLOSSOMS BY BLOSSOMS

Another category where only a few votes separated Catfish (20.22%) and Blossoms (23.60%), this one went to the eclectic Stockport five-piece for their self-titled debut. Kicking off with the huge Charlemagne and At Most A Kiss, the album explores a range of styles while developing Blossoms' signature sound. The stripped back My Favourite Room and almost psychedelic Deep Grass show just how diverse and impressive Blossoms' first LP is.

BEST LIVE ACT - FRANK TURNER

Playing his 2000th gig (no mean feat!) to a sold out Rock City in December, there are very few better live acts than Frank Turner, whether he's performing acoustically or with the equally brilliant Sleeping Souls. Close behind him in this category were the incredible Foals and ska legends Madness, but it's safe to say that this is a fully deserved win for Frank, whose live shows combine love, energy, reflection and, above all, top quality music.