It was Brits school alumni Olivia Dean who stole the show at the Brits 2026 10 years after she attended as a student, scooping 4 Brits, winning in all but one category she was nominated for.

The British singer and songwriter, 26, won Best Artist, Best Album, Best Song and Best Pop Act.

Her single Man I Need and album Art of Loving have spent 28 weeks in the official UK singles charts Olivia Dean’s song has had a massive chart run starting in September 2025.

Internationally it reached #1 in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, and peaked at #2 in the US, breaking records for weeks at #1 in multiple territories.

British Standout and also fellow Brit school alumni Lola Young equaled Olivia Dean with 5 nominations and won her first ever BRIT award for Breakthrough Artist. She accepted the award from 2025’s BRITs Critics’ Choice winner, Myles Smith.

It was a really good show for the music, Harry Styles opened with an underwhelming performance of his new single Aperture. He looked tired and gaunt, but Raye followed with a compilation of two tracks, “where is my husband” and “Nightingale Lane” where her heartfelt lyrics describe the worst breakup she says she has ever endured. It was a very different performance when she performed her best loved tracks, including her powerful ballad, 'Ice Cream Man', TikTok sensation 'Prada', and the BRIT Awards Song of the Year, 'Escapism’ at the Brits, 2024 when she scooped 6 Brit awards herself.

A magnificent performance backed by a full orchestra and choir. Raye at her best showing she’s at the start of what is going to be a legendary career, we thought up there with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Etta James with her scatting and immense vocal ability and talent.

Sad to say Jack Whitehall isn’t funny in this setting for some reason, maybe it was just us, a mixed crowd, different ages, all music lovers and all in agreement and whilst he has hosted the Brits before, this was his fifth show 2018-2021 and last year 2025 personally I don’t think he’s found his groove. Maybe the live element doesn’t work well for his comedy but he came across nervous with material I sensed he wasn’t comfortable with. For me the jokes didn’t land and all the bleeping, just isn’t rock and roll. Felt much more like censorship to me ITV.

UK band Wolf Alice won the award for Group of the Year and performed their song Sofa which I loved and Spanish artist Roselia performed opera with Bjork her single Berghain from her album Lux. She looked genuinely stunned when she picked up the Brit for Best International Artist citing being honoured to just perform and to being invited to the party.

The absolute highlight of the show was Mark Ronson being honoured for his outstanding contribution to music. The award was presented by Skepta who mentioned his friend Mark Ronson was the kindest man in the music business he’d ever met and got the pitch in at the end he wants to work with him. Smooth.

The best was when The D.J and music producer performed an amazing medley of many of his well known hits including guest appearances from the divine Dua Lipa who looked and sounded incredible and rapper Ghostface Killah performing the track Ooh wee. I’ll put a you tube link of this at the bottom and I recommend you take the time to watch.

The section in the middle with Mark Ronson at the piano and a small black and white video projection of the late Amy Winehouse, singing Back to Black together and then getting the audience involved to sing Valerie led by two original singers for Amy while Ronson strummed guitar was a truly magic moment. In his acceptance speech the genius music producer made a point of recognising his friend as the catalyst to his success when they wrote and produced Back to Black together in his New York apartment over just a four hour session. It was extremely moving and authentic music television.

The show took a bit of a nose dive after the “In memoriam section of the show, Tim Burgess paying tribute to Stone roses bass guitar player, Gary “Mani” Mounfield came across a little strange and Dolly Parton presenting from Nashville the Lifetime achievement award to Ozzy Osbourne collected by his wife Sharon and his unrecognisable daughter Kelly Osbourne was even stranger.

The performance that closed the show from Robbie William’s singing No More Tears backed by a band including Metallica's Robert Trujillo and longtime Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde seemed like the wrong choice to lead the tribute to me.

For Ozzy Osbourne fans; my initial thought was who was the show producer that said “who shall we get to sing the lead for an Ozzy Osbourne Lifetime achievement tribute for the Brits 2026?” And came up with Robbie Williams from Take That. I read in the main stream media it was Sharon Osbourne herself who requested that Robbie perform the tribute to her beloved husband as a long time friend of the family.

The show definitely had it’s share of cringe moments, Bez and Shaun Ryder from Happy Mondays getting centre stage and some beautiful fabulous moments too, Noel Gallagher from Oasis picking up songwriter of the year award immediately thanking his brother.

Overall the performances held the show together and made it a wonderful night for the audience at home as well as those fortunate enough to be at the new venue in Manchester at the Coop Live Arena. Concluded pre finale by a performance from Sombre which had a staged interruption per a Sombre representative from a man who had to be removed by security wearing a t shirt saying “Sombre is a homewrecker” the name of his new single. A marketing stunt which was a bit sad for me, and unnecessary (there was disagreement on this when others in our house thought why not, in a music industry that is so tough to crack, quedos for imaginative media generation) ergh when the number was incredible? Also an orchestral rendition by Alex Warren, a wonderful artist performed his track “Ordinary” with James Blunt suited in velvet accompanying him at the piano.

It was great to see the gorgeous musician and actor Jeff Goldblum present the award for album of the year to Olivia Dean. Suave and sophisticated, funny and frivolous at the age of 73 was an inspiration for us all.

For me the in the box sponsored by Mastercard ITV ownership of a free speech rock and roll show featuring the best of British music maybe just isn’t a fit. Would be better aired on Channel 4 with a hipper show producer and less censorship of the artists who have voices that when they get up on that stage with a win, have earned the right to be heard.

It is their show after all, the TV just buy the rights to broadcast and music lovers, the people that tune in to watch want to hear what their favourite artists have to say. It’s rock and roll not Super Ted. When they are happy to show Paddington pissed under the table and don’t bleep out “Knob Head” from a passerby but mention Andrew Mountbatten, Peter Mandelson or the genocide in Gaza, you get cut. We all know ITV TV execs are picking and choosing just like China or Russia, the irony the show opened with a dig about the editing gaffs by the BBC at the BAFTA’s. I’d say pot calling the kettle.