THREE is the magic number for next month’s Brit Awards, as Roman Kemp and Clara Amfo are now booked to host alongside the already confirmed Maya Jama.
Show insiders told me the pair had signed contracts to front the show on ITV on March 2.
It is a huge gig for Roman and Clara, who will be joining Maya front and centre on stage at London’s O2 Arena on the biggest night in British music.
A source said: “Getting three people hosting the Brits is really retro but bosses think it’ll go down a storm.
“The last time there was a trio on stage was in 2009, when Kylie Minogue presented the show with James Corden and Mathew Horne.
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“Maya, Roman and Clara are all very good broadcasters and the Brits are in good hands with them at the helm.
“Each of them will have different roles on the night and it’ll keep the ceremony really fresh and upbeat.
“All three are also well known to the audience at home, so the Brits and ITV think it’s going to work perfectly.”
Maya said tonight: “I’m really excited to be hosting The Brit Awards alongside Clara and Roman.
“It’s always one of the best nights of the year for me and a real celebration of British music, culture, and talent.”
I love all three of them and knowing how well each gets on with some of the nominees on the night, I think this move could be a real success.
The Brits has lacked fun over the past couple of years, with Jack Whitehall the last host I can remember who actually made me laugh out loud.
But I’ve got high hopes for these three.
Fans can now start voting on Instagram for the winners in the five public categories, Alternative/Rock, Dance, Hip-Hop/Grime/Rap, Pop and R&B.
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And it seems the Rolling Stones are desperate to get their fans counting as they go up against Blur.
An email sent out by their team today called on them to vote twice a day, every day, for the next six weeks.
Do they know what Instagram is?
Piano Man Billy is back on track
BILLY Joel has returned with his first pop single in three decades after dropping Turn The Lights Back On today.
The track, which fits in with his back catalogue as a classic Billy tune, is four minutes long and sees him back at the piano.
And fans will be chuffed to hear his voice is still as strong as it was on his last album in 1993.
There will be plenty of new releases tomorrow, with Tom Walker dropping his single Head Underwater.
He said: “This is about keeping my inner demons at bay and the constant battle I’m having with myself, sometimes feeling suffocated and overwhelmed.”
For something a bit different, check out Wes Nelson and Craig David’s garage collaboration Abracadabra.
Wes said: “Craig has been a big inspiration to me since I was a kid, so when the opportunity arose to jump into the studio together it was a no brainer.
“There have been some comparisons between the two of us as singers, we’re on a similar sort of wave.
“It’s a collaboration that people wanted.”
SJP’S BECKS IN THE CITY
SHE professed her love for the Underground today – kudos to my least favourite London mayor Sadiq Khan – now Sarah Jessica Parker has gone all OTT about another British institution.
Punters who drink at The Gate House in Highgate, North London, told me the Sex And The City actress, has made the boozer her local after setting up home in London for her new play Plaza Suite.
And it seems she just can’t get enough of it.
One said: “Sarah and her husband Matthew Broderick are becoming regulars now they are staying in town.
“She seems to like how ‘quaint’ it is and has said she likes how British the pub feels.
“They stop off together for a pint after the shows and sit quietly in a corner.
“People have tended to leave them alone, too, which is probably why they’re using it as their local.”
The Gate House used to be a Wetherspoons before it changed hands, which is a shame, really, as I’m sure Sarah would have gone nuts over the curry club.
Telling of her love for the Tube this week, SJP said: “I want to know Jubilee, Piccadilly, Northern.
“I want to know Edgware. I want to know all of it.”
Trust us, Sarah, the excitement soon wears off.
JUSTIN’S JIBE SO SELFISH
JUSTIN Timberlake has sunk even lower in my estimation by appearing to mock his ex Britney Spears.
He was performing new single Selfish at a gig in New York on Wednesday, just hours after Britney apologised to anyone she’d hurt with the revelations in her book, The Woman In Me – notably Justin.
Before his performance he appeared to mock her statement, saying on stage: “I’m going to take time to apologise – to absolutely f***ing nobody.”
And absolutely f***ing nobody has bought your new single, Justin, which won’t even make tomorrow’s Top Ten. That’s karma.
MORE than 50 acts have been added to the line-up for Reading and Leeds including Two Door Cinema Club, Pendulum and The Wombats.
Mean Girls actress and singer Renee Rapp, Fontaines DC, Kenya Grace, Nia Archives and Beabadoobee are among others on the bill from August 21 to 25.
BIG ACTS OUT OF TIKTOK
UNIVERSAL Records has pulled all of the music by its acts – including Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande – from TikTok, causing a huge online row.
Both sides have thrown a strop over how much should be paid for plays of songs on the video app and they have come to a stalemate - much to the annoyance of the artists themselves.
New acts are often told to become popular on TikTok to make it big, so it is a real slap in the face for artists like that.
Rising star Caity Baser said of TikTok: “Why hurt and punish the people that are smaller and up and coming? Why don’t you just pay artists what we work and spend so much time on making?”
Ed and Amy celebrate free love
WEDDINGS cost an arm and a leg, and that’s after you’ve had to put on an engagement bash for all your mates.
But Ed Westwick and his new fiancée Amy Jackson have solved that issue, as they celebrated their big news at EE Bafta’s Rising Star party in the Pavyllon restaurant in West London.
The pair, who got engaged this week, toasted their romance with free-flowing Taittinger Champagne and posh canapes including spicy crab cakes and moutabal tartlets.
I’ve noted this down in case any poor sod ever pops the question to me again.
Ed and Amy were in good company at the bash, with stars including Brits host Clara Amfo, Frankie Bridge and Paloma Faith all partying.
I caught up with Vernon Kay on the night, who took along his gorgeous daughter Phoebe as his date because his wife Tess Daly was busy working.
Vern is in the middle of hosting Radio 2’s epic Piano Room series and told me he is most excited about seeing Johnny Marr perform live in the Maida Vale studios next Wednesday.
Bring it on.
DANNII Minogue is hoping her back catalogue can help make her latest song a hit.
Insiders told me Kylie’s big sister has recreated scenes from some of her previous releases in the video for new track Thinking About Us.
Dannii even goes old school with her dance moves, pulling out choreography she learned for Love And Kisses in 1990.
I can’t see Dannii’s song matching the success of Kylie’s comeback juggernaut Padam Padam but she’s certainly giving it a go.