Rosalia and Björk Deliver an All-Time Great Brit Awards Performance
rosalia dominated the Brit Awards stage with a theatrical performance of Lux’s lead single Berghain, and the night grew even bigger when she won the International Artist Of The Year prize.
Rosalía brought elaborate sets and a live orchestra to the Brits, finishing a show that also featured Harry Styles, Raye and the evening’s top winner Olivia Dean. Her Lux-era melding of classical and operatic influences with hip-hop and Spanish-inflected sounds was the backbone of the performance, and it culminated in a guest turn by Björk, who delivered her Berghain verse live in an unbilled appearance and marked her first performance on the Brits stage in more than 30 years.
The award round capped the night: Rosalía received International Artist Of The Year, beating nominees Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. Onstage she said, “I was so grateful just to be here tonight, just to perform, so this is insane, ” and added, “Let’s keep celebrating the ‘other’-ness. Let’s keep celebrating different music, different cultures and different languages. ” Jack Whitehall later heaped praise on her during a segment.
Rosalia’s Berghain staging and the Lux era
Rosalía staged Berghain with a full orchestra and elaborate production elements that emphasized the theatrical direction of Lux, the album released last year that merges operatic and classical touches with her existing sound. The single’s live arrangement put her vocals at the center of a large-scale set and drew praise from presenters and fellow performers.
Björk’s unexpected return to the Brits stage
Björk’s unbilled appearance to sing her Berghain verse was notable for being her first time on the Brits stage in more than three decades, and the collaboration with Rosalía was a late surprise in an evening already stacked with major names.
GNTM episode six: angel wings, confused contestants and weak ratings
Germany’s Next Topmodel staged an angel-wing shoot in episode six that most contestants welcomed, though some did not understand the task. The outfits—black or white wings—were meant to evoke iconic fashion imagery; Vanessa, 18, opened the episode with the line, “Ich freue mich auf das Shooting, weil ich da Face serven kann!” but appeared confused about the concept and asked, in effect, whether they were about to learn piano when handed white wings.
The season’s early ratings have been poor after three weeks, with the companion series "On & Off the Catwalk by Heidi Klum" failing to lift numbers. Heidi Klum’s family reunion segment with Leni and Henry Samuel drew 590, 000 viewers, placing the broadcast behind RTL 2; even a long-running repeat of the comedy film Wir sind die Millers outdrew the patchwork format. The show also referenced past controversial makeovers: Zoe Saip, who appeared in 2018 as a young version of Abbey Lee, was later given a forced makeover into a Dolly-Buster look and subsequently eliminated.
Nadja Auermann, Armin Morbach and the Lindbergh homage
Producers brought in Nadja Auermann and Armin Morbach as guest icons and Auermann announced, “Heute geht es um eine Hommage an Peter Lindbergh. ” Only two contestants—47-year-old Bianca and 54-year-old Ursula—recognized Lindbergh; Vanessa did not fully understand who was in front of her and summarized the concept clumsily: “Einer davon war ein Fotograf und eine ein Model, und die haben darüber gesprochen, dass ein anderer Fotograf gestorben ist und wir jetzt ein Shooting in seinem Stil machen!” Morbach took the photos while Auermann and Klum observed, and Morbach delivered a first “Jahrhunderttipp” to Bianca in the sequence.
Male models face an early restyling and tough shoots on the Spree
Heidi Klum announced an early GNTM restyling and focused on the male models in a retro-bademoden shoot on a boat on the Spree. “Ich werde heute schon mal auf das komplette Paket achten, ” she said as the male contestants posed in shorts for photographer Andreas Ortner, who worked the 1950s swimwear concept.
Contestants reacted candidly: Yanneck said, “Ich habe einen recht ansehnlichen Körper, ” while Hyan admitted, “Ich schäme mich schon so ein bisschen über meinen Körper” and added, “Es fällt mir sehr schwer. ” Trans man Jill described a long struggle with his body and childhood attempts to accept femininity—“Ich habe wirklich sehr, sehr versucht, das gute, schöne Mädchen zu sein und das Frausein zu akzeptieren. ”—and said he was glad to be enjoying the shoot now: “dass ich da jetzt überhaupt Bock draufhabe. ” Jill noted hair thinning from testosterone, had been hiding under hats but had to shoot hatless—“Ich hätte gerne bisschen volleres Haar”—and Klum offered to consider a hair system: “Ich finde es natürlich schon bisschen traurig, dass er sich schämt, dass er so starke Geheimratsecken hat. ”
Alexavius revealed a large mole that people mocked—“Leute machen sich darüber lustig”—and Klum replied, “Das macht dich aber auch einzigartig. ” Alexavius called Klum’s feedback “ganz krass, ” and the photographer praised the result: “Fand ich sehr gut. ” Godfrey framed photoshoots as his strength—“Shooting ist meine Stärke. Das ist für mich wie ein Universitätsabschluss”—but felt pressure when corrections came: “Dann kam schon mal die erste Ohrfeige. ” Ortner instructed the boys, “Nicht so hart, ganz locker, 50er-Jahre, sehr relaxt. Entspann dich ein bisschen. ”
Guest juror Baptiste Giabiconi taught a water catwalk with a Berghain-style backdrop, then the show moved to a performance of futuristic 80s looks to live DJ rave beats in ankle-deep water. Klum also teased a push for body diversity, saying, “Es wird Zeit für mehr Plus-Size-Männer. ” The episode mixed high-concept styling with visible nerves among the contestants.
Next on the schedule for Brits coverage: follow-up reaction pieces will track the impact of Rosalía’s win on awards season playlists. For Germany’s Nextmodel, the next broadcasts will continue the season’s challenges and the restyling thread introduced by Heidi Klum.
