The big winner of the evening at the BRITs 2026 was the British Olivia Dean, who after recently winning the Grammy for Best New Artist, took four of the five statuettes for which she was eligible and established herself as one of the great promises of the current music scene.
The London performer, only 26 years old, was one of the favorites of the edition and she did not disappoint. She won the two main categories: British Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for ‘The Art of Loving’, as well as Best Pop Artist and Song of the Year for ‘Rein Me In’ in duet with Sam Fender -who also won the BRIT for Best Alternative Artist-.
Other artists who also won statuettes were Lola Young, who although she was tied with Dean for nominations, had to settle for the Best New Artist award, or the alternative rock band Wolf Alice, who won the British Group of the Year award.
In the international arena, in addition to Rosalía, the member of Blackpink Rosé and Bruno Mars were also recognized and their ‘APT’ won as best song, while the New Yorkers Geese won as best group and shouted “Free Palestine. Fuck ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) when they received the award.
Olivia Dean and company’s night at the BRITs
After 49 editions established in London, the BRITs were held for the first time in Manchester, the birthplace of Britpop, and the night kicked off in style with the return of British singer Harry Styles to the stage after a break of nearly three years.
The former member of British boyband ‘One Direction’ performed for the first time live his song ‘Aperture’, the preview of his new album ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally’, which will be released on March 6. Accompanied by a large group of dancers and a millimetric choreography, Styles lifted the mood of the audience.
The stellar line-up of performances was completed, among others, with the British artist RAYE, Wolf Alice, Alex Warren, the female voices of the k-pop group HUNTR/X or the very young Sombr, who experienced one of the most tense moments of the night after a spontaneous invaded the stage in the middle of his performance and had to be removed by security agents.
There were also moments of nostalgia, such as the performance of DJ and producer Mark Ronson, who after being awarded the BRIT for Outstanding Contribution to Music, did a medley of some of his most famous songs, and with a retro feel paid tribute to the late Amy Winehouse before giving way to the big surprise of the night: Dua Lipa.
The most emotional moment of the gala came near the end, reported Agencia EFE, was the posthumous tribute to rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, who died in July 2025 at the age of 76. He received the posthumous BRIT Lifetime Achievement Award through his wife, Sharon Osbourne, and was remembered with a cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘No More Tears’ (1991) by Robbie Williams and some of his former bandmates.
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