The Brits Are Coming

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The Brit awards — the U.K. music industry's showcase bash — have been making headlines since they were launched in 1977. But usually those headlines are less about the music being celebrated than the musicians' booze-fueled antics. Pulp's Jarvis Cocker invading the stage to waggle his bottom during an overblown Michael Jackson performance in 1996 remains a memorable hit. So does Chumbawamba drenching Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in water in '98.

But this week's ceremony is meant to be liquor-free, because the Brits are growing up — choosing from a more thoughtful list of nominations and promising to bring the focus back to the music. Relegated to the wings, thankfully, are the winners and losers from the latest reality-TV pop shows. And stepping into the spotlight are the stars of the burgeoning U.K. urban scene, with rappers Ms. Dynamite and the Streets nominated for four awards each. There's even — finally — a category called British Urban. And amazingly Robbie Williams — the hottest young Brit on the planet, with 13 Brits on his mantel — is only nominated for one this time.

"The music industry has woken up," says soulful U.K. garage rapper Romeo, who is nominated on his own and as a member of the garage collective So Solid Crew. "It's been a really good year for urban acts — we've been hitting the Top 10s and making the right songs people want to hear."

Behind the Brit Awards' new seriousness is the sense that the long-battered U.K. music scene may finally be ready to stand up again. After years of watching imports like the Strokes and the Hives redefine neopunk, Britain has a plausible response in the Libertines, who add a distinctive English twist. Mike Skinner — the white rapper who calls himself the Streets — is a young, original talent who could hold his own against Eminem, with less obscenity.

But for many, the U.K. music industry can't be deemed officially revived until it gets its groove back in the world's biggest market. Since the Beatles touched down at J.F.K. Airport in 1964, wave upon wave of British musicians have found global stardom via the U.S. But not lately; there are currently no British artists in the U.S. Billboard Top 50 singles chart. The Top 100 album chart features a more respectable four British acts — but the Rolling Stones, Elton John and Rod Stewart are not exactly fresh faces. Of the four, only the members of melodic rockers Coldplay are not pushing pension age.

Will some of the new seedlings of Brit music grow into the next big thing in the U.S.? They're certainly compelling enough to have a shot. The bright-eyed, lush-voiced woman known as Ms. Dynamite led the urban charge in 2002. The eldest of 11 kids, 21-year-old Niomi McLean-Daley was raised in a North London housing project and broke through emceeing at "open mic" nights. Her debut album, A Little Deeper, mixing U.K. garage and R. and B., was a crossover smash, wowing critics and beating the Streets to the highly respected Mercury Music Prize. Her lyrics denounce the macho posturing and gun culture often associated with the rap scene. Last month she played at an anti-gun event in Birmingham and appeared last week at an antiwar demo in London's Hyde Park. On her hit single It Takes More she raps, "Who gives a damn about the ice on your hand/ If it's not too complex/ Tell me how many Africans died for the baguettes on your Rolex?"