Olivia Dean Sweeps Brits 2026 with Four Major Wins in Manchester
Olivia Dean completed a clean sweep at the 2026 Brit Awards, winning every category in which she was nominated and taking home four of the ceremony’s biggest prizes. The results landed amid a night of high-fashion excess, theatrical performances and sharp host banter that made the move to Manchester a headline-making first.
Olivia Dean's clean sweep: four awards and chart impact
The 26-year-old won artist of the year, best pop artist, song of the year and album of the year for The Art of Loving, returning to the stage for a third trip to the podium during the night. Dean’s song of the year prize was for the duet Rein Me In, a reworked single with Sam Fender that was originally a solo track on Fender’s album People Watching before being released with a new verse from Dean and rising to the top of the UK singles chart. Her other nominated track, Man I Need, has barely been out of the UK Top 10 since its release in August.
Dean also brought an international credential into the evening: earlier this year she won a major Grammy award, best new artist, one of the so-called “big four. ” Visibly overwhelmed when collecting one of her trophies, she told the room, “It takes a lot of good people to make a good artist... I don't know what else to say. Thank you, bye!” Accepting album of the year, she added, “This album is just about love, and loving each other in a world that feels loveless right now. ”
The Art of Loving and the public vote for song of the year
The Art of Loving, cited as Dean’s second album, was central to her triumphs. The song of the year award was decided by the public through WhatsApp voting, underscoring the record’s broad listener engagement. What makes this notable is that Dean beat herself in the song category: Rein Me In triumphed over Man I Need, highlighting both the collaborative and solo strands of her recent commercial success.
Co-op Live in Manchester hosts the Brits for the first time
The ceremony was staged for the first time in Manchester at the Co-op Live arena, a move that framed the evening’s distinct energy. There were several multiple winners: Dean and Sam Fender were the only artists to leave with more than one trophy. Fender also won the alternative/rock category, marking his third win in that slot after successes in 2022 and 2025, and recalling his earlier critics’ choice recognition in 2019.
Rosalía’s Berghain performance and international honours
One of the night’s most audacious moments came from Rosalía, who won best international artist and described it as an honour to bring her music far from home and to share recognition with peers who make music in Spanish. Her performance of Berghain moved from opera-like thunderous strings and Wagnerian vocals through three tempo changes to an almighty rave breakdown; it featured a guest verse from Björk, who appeared dressed in a costume described as the entrails of a blue alien. The staging left the audience spellbound, and the performance was made available for viewing on YouTube.
Performances, personality and late-night theatrics
Harry Styles opened the show with a rendition of Aperture in a Chanel pin-striped suit styled like a school uniform; the high waistband did not prevent him from recreating the video’s technically demanding choreography, launching what was described as his Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally era. Host Jack Whitehall kept the pace with rapid-fire jokes — calling a US singer a bargain-bin Ed Sheeran, jabbing Robbie Williams’s comeback cycles, ribbing Shaun Ryder and Bez, and telling Manchester mayor Andy Burnham that the Brits appeared to be “the only party he’s allowed into these days. ” He also referenced a recent controversy at another awards ceremony by promising a button to silence swearing, and one joke about Peter Mandelson was edited out by the broadcast network.
The night contained other theatrical flourishes: country-pop singer CMAT staged a mock collapse in fake tears after losing an award, and rising artist Lola Young, who arrived with five nominations, won breakthrough artist after edging past rap newcomer Jim Legxacy. Additional top honours were claimed by Rosé, Wolf Alice and Mark Ronson, and the international song prize for APT went to Rosé and Bruno Mars. The ceremony combined out-of-control wardrobes, odd behaviour and dazzling performances to deliver a Brit Awards where the winners were never the only story.
