Brit Awards 2016: Why Amy Winehouse is up for best solo female five years after her death

Amy Winehouse is up for a Brit Award, nearly five years after her death.

Her nomination for best British female puts her up against Adele, which guarantees headlines.

It is a great story. But how did Amy even get nominated? Is there a chance this was manufactured by Brits' organisers to ensure people talk about the awards?

They insist that the selection process is totally transparent and that's not the reason she's made it onto the list.

Amy did have music out in 2015

There was no new material but she is still a genuine contender, according to a statement given to Newsbeat from the Brits.

It says: "Amy's able to be nominated for British female solo artist because her album Amy (Original Soundtrack Album) was released and went into the Top 40 between 21 July 2014 and 10 December 2015 - the eligibility period."

So Amy gets in because of a soundtrack.

But Adele can also count herself lucky.

Her album was released in November, weeks after the usual cut-off point for eligibility.

But this year, organisers shifted that date to December.

That's a sensible move - as it would've been a bit odd to have the Brits without the biggest-selling artist in the world.

But if Amy's music was all old material, who really voted for her?

There was certainly a bit of surprise at the nominations...

Tweet that questions why Amy was chosen.

Tweet asking how Amy got chosen over Selena and Demi.

People like the idea of a shadowy bunch of music bosses, chomping on huge cigars and coming up with a list of whoever they want.

But it's not like that.

First, the Official Charts Company works out how many albums are eligible for nomination. This year, it's 510.

The whole process is checked by the Electoral Reform Services, which also keeps tabs on the General Election.

That album list is then sent to the Brits Voting Academy.

Amy died from alcohol poisoning in 2011. She was 27

According to the Brits website, the academy is "made up of over 1,000 music enthusiasts representing every sector of the music industry: record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, NUS Ents officers and, introduced last year, the nominated artists or award winners from the previous year".

They then vote for their top five in each category.

Once they're all in, a shortlist of nominations is drawn up.

And Amy was on that list.

So it might seem odd but it could be nothing more than people seeing her name on the list, hearing her music and remembering what a brilliant talent she was.

The Brit Awards 2016 take place on 24 February.

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