Gennaro Castaldo, Head of Press and PR at HMV, is the man in the know about all things music. Here he takes us through some of his favourite musicians who appeared at The Brits…

This year there are quite a few new artists who have been recognised at The Brits such as Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding and Mumford and Sons, and whilst they’ve sold quite a few albums already, there are plenty of music fans out there that haven’t yet got hold of their CD or download tracks.  If you’re unsure of who you should be listening to right now, these are my top picks from the winners of The Brit Awards…

Tinie Tempah pretty much represents where British music is at right now – an exciting and intelligent fusion of pop and urban music – and it’s great that The Brits have so quickly recognised his talent and impactful arrival on the scene. ‘Disc-overy’ has already been selling really well in recent months, but thanks to his Brits success a lot more people will now buy his CD or download their favourite tracks. HMV is expecting sales of his album to rocket – at least a three or four-fold increase over the next few days, leading to a likely re-entry into the top 3 of the charts.

Plan B’s success completes a remarkable transformation from being just another hip hop and rap performer to becoming a multi-talented artist with a stand-out soul voice that really connects with the wider record-buying public. ‘The Defamation of Strickland Banks’ has already sold in huge quantities, but with millions tuning in to the ceremony HMV is expecting a further lift in sales that will take his album past the million mark and which will create a platform for increasing global success.

For Take That these days it’s as much about their status as chart icons and national treasures as it the increased album sales that will inevitably follow this success and show-stealing performance. ‘Progress’ is already the most successful album of the past twelve months, but this Brits success will help nudge UK sales over the 2m mark, so HMV has ordered in more stock to cope with the likely increase in demand!

HMV has seen sales of Mumford and Sons’ debut album ‘Sigh No More’ leap by nearly six fold with a massive rise of 594%! With their distinctive sound, Mumford and Sons may already be firm favourites with Middle England, but this success will now help cement their appeal with an even broader audience. Their album just keeps selling as the band keep picking up new fans, and with a substantial post-Brits bounce still to come it will now go through the landmark of a million sales, which is remarkable when you think relatively few people had heard of them this time last year.

Gennaro Castaldo, HMV