Olivia Dean dominates BRITs as Styles opens and Rosalía stuns the room
olivia dean was the night’s biggest winner at the BRIT Awards, taking every category in which she was nominated and turning a busy ceremony into a personal sweep that mattered onstage and at the podium.
Olivia Dean: four wins and an emotional night
Olivia Dean won artist of the year, song of the year, best pop artist and best album — a clean sweep of the categories for which she was nominated. The best-album credit was given for The Art Of Loving (styled elsewhere as The Art of Loving). Dean made her third trip of the night to the podium and appeared overwhelmed, saying: "It takes a lot of good people to make a good artist... I don't know what else to say. Thank you, bye!" called her a "deserved four-time winner" and highlighted her performance of Man I Need, noting how she leaned into the song's syncopation and filled her stage time with visible joy and pleasure.
Falcon-like opening: Harry Styles and a high-waisted suit
Harry Styles opened the show with Aperture, dressed in what was described as a school-uniform look that was actually a Chanel pin-striped suit. Aperture had been a UK No 1 in release week but was already dropping down the charts; onstage, Styles recreated the single's video choreography, jived with his band and backing singers and moved alongside dancers in snail T-shirts and sunglasses. Observers noted echoes of Erlend Oye and David Bowie in his vocal lines. Host Jack Whitehall summed up the act as "The musical equivalent of sitting on the washing machine, " and the ceremony included the spectacle of "descending from a ceiling on a disco ball, " a moment the broadcast suggested everyone should try once.
Rosalía’s Berghain: opera, Björk and a club breakdown
Rosalía, perhaps the least familiar performer on the bill for some viewers, delivered one of the night’s most audacious sets with Berghain. The performance featured thunderous strings and Wagnerian vocals, started like an opera piece, changed tempo three times, introduced a guest verse from Björk and finished with a club-style breakdown. Björk appeared in an outfit described as the entrails of a blue alien. The room was left spellbound, and Rosalía went on to win best international artist, telling the crowd: "It's such an honour to bring my music far from home and I would love to share this with all my peers who also make music in Spanish. " CMAT, who had been up for the same prize, collapsed in mock tears for the cameras after losing.
Surprises, tributes and censorship notes
The ceremony mixed tributes and surprise appearances with some broadcast headaches: ITV censors were said to have had their work cut out at an edgy, protest-filled night that hosted ultra-expressive performances from Rosalía, Wolf Alice and others. Mark Ronson received the outstanding contribution to music award and staged a set that included him scratching vinyl while Ghostface Killah rolled through Ooh Wee, then moved into Amy Winehouse material. Raye performed Nightingale Lane, a song about a London street where she watched her first love walk away, climaxing in a wordless expulsion of pain. Bruno Mars did not perform; Dua Lipa appeared as a surprise guest and sang Dance the Night and Electricity.
Moments that summed up the night
The BRITs produced sharp descriptors and memorable images: "An immaculate performance. A musical masterpiece. A slap and a tickle. A cross between a prayer and a rave. " Those lines captured reactions across a night of out-of-control wardrobes, odd behaviour and dazzling performances, and they followed scenes such as Olivia Dean and Lola Young accepting awards onstage together.
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