Sounds: BRIT AWARDSWho picked up the awards?

Hosted by Jack Whitehall, the show was peppered with iconic performances, surprise collaborations and a clear celebration of both homegrown and international music.

At the centre of the winners’ circle was Olivia Dean, who dominated the evening with four major awards, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for The Art of Loving, Best Pop Act, and Song of the Year for her duet Rein Me In with Sam Fender.

Dean’s sweeping success highlighted a huge year for the Brit School alum, cementing her status as one of the UK’s biggest breakout talents. Dean also appeared on many of our station’s EoY lists - arguably better than the awards fron London (cough).

Sam Fender himself was a big winner as well, taking home Alternative/Rock Act for the second year running and sharing the stage with Dean for their chart-topping track. His acceptance speech was heartfelt, and the moment was capped off with a highly talked-about public display of affection as he embraced his partner, actress Rosa Collier.

The awards weren’t just handed to the Brits at home. Rosalía was crowned International Artist of the Year, while ROSÉ & Bruno Mars made history with International Song of the Year for the ridiculously catchy APT., marking the first BRIT win for a K-pop artist. Global voices clearly found a home on the British stage this year.

Legacy and influence were honoured too. Noel Gallagher picked up Songwriter of the Year, offering a humorous but touching acknowledgement of his bandmates past and present, and a heartfelt tribute to rock history. This one seemed a little tokenistic if we are being fair, with Noel not having written a great deal of new music in the last few years. However, the OASIS reunion shows were a proper moment and is then acknowledged as such for one of UK music’s greatest figureheads.

A special lifetime achievement award for the late Ozzy Osbourne brought the house down, with performances led by Robbie Williams and appearances from Osbourne’s family and fellow music legends.

Elsewhere on the winners’ list, Lola Young took home Breakthrough Artist, Wolf Alice repeated as Group of the Year, and genre categories celebrated acts from Fred again.. to Dave and the very much of-the-now, Geese, reflecting a night where diversity of sound and artist background stood proud.

There’ve been some frank convos about who should have won what in the RTL Today Radio studios and offices, but the sheer amount and quality of talent is not to be quibbled at.

© Getty

So it is maybe fair to say that the 2026 BRIT Awards proved to be a night of high energy, fresh faces and longstanding icons, affirming both the present strength and future promise of the music industry, and giving audiences plenty to talk about long after the confetti settled and the freebee bags had been rummaged through thoroughly..

Artist of the year

Olivia Dean
Also nominated:
Dave
Fred Again
Jade
Lily Allen
Little Simz
Lola Young
PinkPantheress
Sam Fender
Self Esteem

Group of the year

Wolf Alice
Also nominated:
The Last Dinner Party
Pulp
Sleep Token
Wet Leg

Album of the year

Olivia Dean – The Art Of Loving
Also nominated:
Dave – The Boy Who Played the Harp
Lily Allen – West End Girl
Sam Fender – People Watching
Wolf Alice – The Clearing

Breakthrough artist

Lola Young
Also nominated:
Barry Can’t Swim
EsDeeKid
Jim Legxacy
Skye Newman

International artist

Rosalía
Also nominated:
Bad Bunny
Chappell Roan
CMAT
Doechii
Lady Gaga
Sabrina Carpenter
Sombr
Taylor Swift
Tyler, the Creator

International group

Geese
Also nominated:
Haim
Huntr/x
Tame Impala
Turnstile

Song of the year (voted by the public)

Sam Fender with Olivia Dean – Rein Me In
Also nominated:
Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas – Blessings
Chrystal and Notion – The Days (Notion remix)
Cynthia Erivo ft Ariana Grande – Defying Gravity
Ed Sheeran – Azizam
Fred Again..., Skepta and PlaqueBoyMax – Victory Lap
Lewis Capaldi – Survive
Lola Young – Messy
Myles Smith – Nice to Meet You
Olivia Dean – Man I Need
Raye – Where Is My Husband!
Skye Newman – Family Matters

International song of the year (voted by the public)

Rosé and Bruno Mars – APT.
Also nominated:
Alex Warren – Ordinary
Chappell Roan – Pink Pony Club
Disco Lines and Tinashe – No Broke Boys
Gigi Perez – Sailor Song
Gracie Abrams – That’s So True
Huntr/x – Golden
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – Die With a Smile
Ravyn Lenae – Love Me Not
Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
Sombr – Undressed
Taylor Swift – The Fate of Ophelia

Also nominated:

Alex Warren – Ordinary
Chappell Roan – Pink Pony Club
Disco Lines and Tinashe – No Broke Boys
Gigi Perez – Sailor Song
Gracie Abrams – That’s So True
Huntr/x – Golden
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – Die With a Smile
Ravyn Lenae – Love Me Not
Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
Sombr – Undressed
Taylor Swift – The Fate of Ophelia

Alternative/rock act

Sam Fender
Also nominated:
Blood Orange
Lola Young
Wet Leg
Wolf Alice

Pop act

Olivia Dean
Also nominated:
Jade
Lily Allen
Lola Young
Raye

Hip-hop/grime/rap act

Dave
Also nominated:
Central Cee
Jim Legxacy
Little Simz
Loyle Carner

R&B act

Sault
also nominated:
Jim Legxacy
Kwn
Mabel
Sasha Keable

Dance act

Fred Again,Skepta, PlaqueBoyMax
Also nominated:
Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas
FKA twigs
PinkPantheress
Sammy Virji

Critics’ choice

Jacob Alon

Producer of the year

PinkPantheress

Songwriter of the year

Noel Gallagher

Outstanding contribution to music

Mark Ronson

Lifetime achievement

Ozzy Osbourne