Olivia Dean Wins Big at Brit Awards Amid Bleeps: Winners List

In the run-up to the 2026 Brit Awards being staged outside of London for the first time ever, a local Manchester train station excitedly changed its name, from Deansgate to Olivia Deansgate.

But the big question going into British music’s biggest awards ceremony was, would the awards themselves need a similar name change?

Well, let’s just call them the Olivias, shall we? Dean – who, with her Grammy win for Best New Artist has become a focal point for the British music resurgence – picked up four of the five awards she was up for: Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Pop Act and a share of Song of the Year for her duet with Sam Fender on “Rein Me In.” She also pulled off one of the performances of the night with a delightfully breezy “Man I Need,” embodying her old school mainstream appeal.

And, while Charli xcx, Raye and Harry Styles have similarly dominated Britain’s leading awards ceremony in recent years, Dean’s success was all the more meaningful because this was no walkover. She faced meaningful opposition from equally worthy potential winners in every category, with genuine global U.K. success stories suddenly seemingly everywhere.

Perhaps that’s why her multiple tearful acceptance speeches all seemed charmingly overwhelmed to the point of befuddlement, barely mustering a quote of note between them (“This album is just about love, and loving each other in a world that feels loveless right now,” was about as headline-grabbing as it got).

No matter: plenty of other people stepped up on that front. This was a vintage Brits, packed full of talking points, incidents and a general air of unpredictability in a way we haven’t seen since the peak Britpop era in the mid-‘90s.

Returning superstar Harry Styles kicked things off with a bang via a bravura performance of “Aperture” from his hotly anticipated “Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally” album, which comes out this Friday. Raye went full James Bond theme with a brassy combo of “Where Is My Husband?” and “Nightingale Lane.”

And Wolf Alice marked their transition from plucky indie types to full-on rock stars with a stunning acoustic version of “The Sofa,” set in a living room, that ended with frontwoman Ellie Rowsell lifted high by her backing dancers. The band also picked up Group of the Year, with Rowsell speaking up for better support for grassroots venues and artists themselves, declaring: “This shouldn’t feel like a golden ticket, but a viable career decision.”

In recent years, the Brits have relied heavily on international artists to provide the star power, but overall this year’s contingent were rather more mundane. An exception was International Artist of the Year winner Rosalía, who provided some edge with a dramatic take on “Berghain” that featured an attention-grabbing appearance from Björk; Rosalía also did a surprisingly good Liam Gallagher impression in a chat with host Jack Whitehall.

But Alex Warren’s performance of “Ordinary” lived up to its name, despite the presence of James Blunt on piano (“James Blunt without a microphone – everyone’s a winner,” quipped Whitehall); the KPop Demon Hunters performance was pre-recorded so failed to connect in the room; Sombr’s obviously staged altercation with a pretend-stage-invader barely registered in a cynical industry section that has seen plenty of actual Brits stage invasions over the years.

More authentic controversy came from Whitehall in trademark near-the-knuckle form, with his jokes about the Epstein files being censored from the live broadcast (notably “I think that I saw Peter Mandelson on the guest list,” referencing the former ambassador to the U.S. who was arrested in connection with the files). He also goaded Happy Mondays legends Shaun Ryder and Bez into making slanderous remarks about Paddington Bear, while Geese bassist Max Bassin declared, “Free Palestine, fuck ICE” as he picked up the International Group of the Year award, and Noel Gallagher concluded his Best Songwriter acceptance speech with “Up the fucking Blues” — a Manchester City soccer reference that brought forth an avalanche of boos (with half of Manchester supporting the other Manchester team, United).

But, really, tonight was about British music regaining its confidence to the point where you wondered if some of those international slots might better have gone to U.K. stars. Breakthrough Artist winner Lola Young performed “Messy” at last year’s ceremony, but surely deserved a return, while Lily Allen – maker of “West End Girl,” the most talked-about album of the year and one of the best – sadly did not perform, despite rumors she was in negotiations for a slot.

This embarrassment of riches not only elevated the TV spectacle, but also the atmosphere in the Co-op Live Arena (which has successfully bounced back from its disastrous opening in 2024). The buzz around the awards eased its potentially tricky transition to Manchester, with the industry turning out in force.

There was a strong “school trip” atmosphere on the various specially chartered trains up from Manchester – something you don’t get on the tube to the O2 – and a strong international presence: UMG EVP Andrew Kronfeld, Republic Records’ co-founder Monte Lipman, Warner Records co-chairman Tom Corson and Sony Music boss Rob Stringer (fresh from watching his beloved Luton Town soccer club play at nearby Port Vale in the afternoon) were among those spotted in the city or on the arena floor, as well as U.K. presidents and CEOs Dickon Stainer (Universal), Jason Iley (Sony), Jo Charrington (Capitol), Louis Bloom (Island EMI Label Group), Ben Mortimer (Polydor Label Group), Tom Lewis (Fontana) and Dipesh Parmar (Columbia), plus a remarkably chilled-looking Stacey Tang, RCA U.K. co-president and this year’s BRITs chair/showrunner.

And there was also a real buzz across the city in the nights before, with Universal Music holding a spectacular showcase at the Aviva Studios, featuring Simon Cowell’s new boyband December 10, plus Flo and Holly Humberstone; Island Records putting on new acts Keo, Dermot Henry and Sinéad Ashiokai at Yes; and underplay shows from the likes of Olivia Dean, the Foo Fighters and Robbie Williams.

Williams also featured at the Awards, fronting the tribute to Ozzy Osbourne that accompanied Ozzy’s posthumous Lifetime Achievement award. Williams was hand-picked by Sharon Osbourne, who paid emotional tribute to her “gorgeous husband”, declaring, “There will never be another fucking Ozzy Osbourne.”

But the Prince of Darkness being portrayed by the King of Light Entertainment on a version of “No More Tears” still raised plenty of eyebrows. It shouldn’t have worked – and it didn’t really, despite the best efforts of the band, featuring many musicians that played with Osbourne over the years. Thankfully, a tide of emotion carried things through, with more poignant notes struck as the Charlatans’ Tim Burgess paid tribute to one of Manchester’s favorite sons, Gary “Mani” Mounfield of the Stone Roses and Primal Scream.

Outstanding Contribution winner Mark Ronson also remembered his former musical partner Amy Winehouse in both his speech (“The music I made with Amy is the reason other people know who I am”) and his performance, which featured Winehouse’s voice, first hauntingly on “Back to Black” and then joyously, on “Valerie.” Ronson was also joined by Ghostface Killah and Dua Lipa, in full show-stopping mode, in one of the night’s highlights.

Another rock legend, Noel Gallagher – a local lad and the man behind 2025’s biggest UK cultural moment in the form of the Oasis reunion tour – somewhat controversially picked up the Songwriter Of The Year award: the fourth time in the awards’ five-year history that it’s gone to someone best known as an artist (and, in this case, one who gladly admitted he hasn’t actually written a song in two years).

Perhaps that was why Gallagher was relatively self-deprecating in his acceptance speech, paying tribute to his brother and band members. “They brought these songs to life – without them, I’d just be a singer-songwriter and no one gives a shit about singer-songwriters”.

The success of Dean and Fender – who also picked up the Alternative/Rock Act prize – might suggest otherwise.

But, as the biz drifted off to the after show parties – which also made the trip north, with Sony Music taking over Soho House and Warner Music partying hard at the Cut & Craft – it was obvious the Brits 2026 had been – as its principle winner might sing – the perfect mix of Saturday night and the rest of your life.

Which should, hopefully, make it easy to fall in love with British music all over again.

BRITs 2026 Winners In Full

Mastercard Album of the Year – Olivia Dean, “The Art of Loving”

Artist of the Year – Olivia Dean

Song of the Year with Mastercard – Sam Fender with Olivia Dean, “Rein Me In”

Group of the Year – Wolf Alice

Breakthrough Artist – Lola Young

International Artist of the Year – Rosalía

International Song of the Year – Rosé & Bruno Mars, “APT”

International Group of the Year – Geese

Alternative/Rock Act – Sam Fender

Hip-Hop/Grime/Rap Act – Dave