To the soon to be demolished Hammersmith Palais for the Brit Awards launch party. And what a bizarre affair the whole thing was, a mini-Brits in itself, with all the weirdness of that annual jamboree, where records executives thank the stars for making them money and spit on the fans whose money they've made. TV cameras and ITV2 presenter Fearne Cotton flicked on and off. Regular fans screamed at the Feeling (pictured) and the Fratellis in their pen, roped off from the VIPs and their free bar. Jarvis Cocker ambled about looking thoroughly disgusted with himself for being there at all. It all makes much more sense on telly, believe me. You didn't miss much.

What can we say about the nominees? Full list HERE by the way. It's a pretty lively selection, actually, reflecting quite a fun crop of new talent. Of course, all the wrong people will win - but this is who I think should. I will pretend I work for The Sun and bolden up the names of celebrities. I will also put in one flagrant lie. It's up to you to spot it.

James Morrison, a nice lad but a dull one, looks a shoe-in for the British Male Solo. He's sold a lot of records and he looks uncannily like Chris Martin part morphed into James Blunt, which will prove irresistible to the kind of people that vote on such things. Jarvis Cocker would be a worthier winner, a belated acknowledgement by the committee that he was right to have attacked Michael Jackson all those years ago. At the launch, Russell Brand, this year's host, did express a hope that we might see a repeat of such shenanigans at the Valentine's Day ceremony, which will be screened live for the first time since 1989. Fingers crossed.

Amy Winehouse, that nasty drunk, is perhaps most likely to do a Jarvis this year and commit an act of craven amusingness, though I reckon Lily Allen will probably edge her in the Best Female Solo category (she's just that bit cuter). Either would be okay - though I would prefer it if the judges declared a draw and made them slug it out with an arm wrestle. As long as boring Corinne Bailey Rae doesn't scoop them, justice will be done.

The Best Group statuette tends to reward a combination of commercial success and a certain cultural it-ness; while Snow Patrol have the former with this year's biggest selling album, Eyes Open, they're just that bit too BORING to win. A Muse triumph would be just desserts for a band who have grown with each new release.

Arctic Monkeys' claims for the keenly contested Best British Album (sorry, MasterCard  British Album) will not be helped by the fact they already seem a bit last year; Whatever People Say I Am was already out at the time of the last Brits and has already won the Mercury Prize. Nice to see Lily and Amy battling it out on this front too, though I fear Snow Patrol's personal dullness will prove less of a hindrance to them nailing this category.

The Breakthrough Act award confuses things; all nominees are represented in other categories. It is perhaps the one Lily Allen will win if she loses out in all other areas (she's got four nods overall); otherwise, a triumph for The Kooks would not be unreasonable. The Live Act category looks lively, with Guillemots a canny choice, though a nod for George Michael or Muse again would be good. Note: this is the only category that finds room for Robbie Williams.

In the international categories Justin Timberlake and Beach House are deserving and likely winners for Best Male and Best Group respectively, though no one really dominates the Female category. (Somewhere in fantasy land, Joanna Newsom will walk this one). Of the extant short-list, Nelly Furtado (whose Maneater was a treat) would make a worthy Prom Queen , though I dearly wish Cat Power stood a hope in hell. The Killers' pompous Sam's Town may just display the ambition to win the Best Album bunfight; Gnarls Barkley's St Elsewhere makes a strong case with its appealing innovations. Shame there's no International Single award for Crazy to run away with.

The public get to vote for the Best Single; over to you, listeners of hit40uk and The A List. Such votes are notoriously unpredictable, but as long as the Great British Public don't opt for the Satanic Sandi Thom's evil I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) then the future of Planet Pop looks safe for another year...

Fair? Who do you think should win then?