LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – In an age when celebrities
are born overnight via YouTube and reality TV, to call
Belgian-Australian electro-pop musician Gotye an internet
sensation may be to do him a disservice.

Long before his catchy “Somebody That I Used To Know” and
accompanying “paint by numbers” video notched 84,487,757 (and
counting) hits on YouTube, he was a musical experimenter
enjoying limited success in Australia.

LONDON (Reuters) – Singer Adele had the tabloid press up in arms on Wednesday and TV executives running for cover over a middle finger gesture after her moment in the sun at British pop’s biggest awards was cut short for programming reasons.

The 23-year-old was midway through a brief acceptance speech at the packed O2 Arena in her native London after picking up the big prize — best British album for her chart-conquering “21.”

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Soul singer Adele added to
her awards haul at the 2012 BRITs on Tuesday and set the biggest
night in British pop alight with a rousing performance of
“Rolling In the Deep”.

At the start of the evening, Adele picked up the statuette
for British female solo artist and finished off proceedings by
scooping the coveted best album honour for “21″ at the end of a
two-hour televised show.

LONDON (Reuters) – Adele claimed the first award at the 2012 BRITs in London on Tuesday, setting the tone for a night when the global chart sensation is expected to dominate.

After opening performances from Coldplay and Florence + The Machine, and a short video tribute to the late Whitney Houston, it was down to business at a packed O2 Arena.

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Coldplay opened the 2012
BRIT Awards on Tuesday with a rendition of “Charlie Brown” from
their hit album “Mylo Xyloto”, raising the curtain on the
biggest night in British pop.

The performance at a packed O2 Arena in London was followed
by a brief video tribute to the late Whitney Houston, whose
death in California on the eve of the Grammys earlier this month
shocked the music world.

LONDON (Reuters) – Sotheby’s will offer the only privately owned version of Edvard Munch’s haunting work “The Scream” at an auction in New York on May 2, where it expects it to fetch more than $80 million.

The 1895 work is owned by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father Thomas was a friend, neighbor and patron of Munch, the auctioneer said on Tuesday.

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Sotheby’s will offer the
only privately owned version of Edvard Munch’s haunting work
“The Scream” at an auction in New York on May 2, where it
expects it to fetch more than $80 million.

The 1895 work is owned by Norwegian businessman Petter
Olsen, whose father Thomas was a friend, neighbour and patron of
Munch, the auctioneer said on Tuesday.

LONDON (Reuters) – Ed Sheeran may have been the surprise package of the BRIT Award nominations last month, bagging more than anyone else, but the show itself looks set to follow a more predictable script on Tuesday — another Adele triumph.

Sheeran, who just turned 21, was nominated in four categories — best album for “+,” single (“The A Team”), breakthrough act and male solo artist.

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Ed Sheeran may have been
the surprise package of the BRIT Award nominations last month,
bagging more than anyone else, but the show itself looks set to
follow a more predictable script on Tuesday — another Adele
triumph.

Sheeran, who just turned 21, was nominated in four
categories — best album for “+”, single (“The A Team”),
breakthrough act and male solo artist.

BERLIN (Reuters) – “Caesar Must Die”, a docu-drama in which murderers and mafiosi act out a Shakespearean tragedy in a high-security Italian jail, won the Golden Bear award for best picture at the Berlin film festival on Saturday.

The black-and-white movie, called “Cesare deve morire” in Italian and directed by veteran brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, was among the favourites to scoop the coveted honour.