Olivia Dean Dominates Brit Awards 2026 as Styles, Rosalía and Surprise Guests Steal Moments
olivia dean left the BRITs with a clean sweep, taking every category in which she was nominated and making multiple returns to the stage; the night’s combination of theatrical performances, protests and surprise guests left broadcasters scrambling to edit live coverage. The results and on-stage moments matter because they reshaped the ceremony into an event defined as much by spectacle and controversy as by trophies.
Olivia Dean's four wins and stage returns
Olivia Dean was the evening’s most awarded artist, winning four prizes: artist of the year, song of the year, best pop artist and best album for The Art Of Loving. She made at least three trips to the podium and appeared visibly overwhelmed on her final visit. In one acceptance she thanked the team behind her work, saying, "It takes a lot of good people to make a good artist... I don't know what else to say. Thank you, bye!" In a separate moment she framed the winning album as a record about connection, saying the album "is just about love, and loving each other in a world that feels loveless right now. " Her live performance of Man I Need was singled out as joyful and physically engaged, filled with small, expressive movements and an energetic embrace of the song’s syncopation.
Harry Styles opened with Aperture in a Chanel pin-striped suit
Harry Styles began the show with Aperture, a single that reached UK No 1 in its release week but then began to fall on the charts. He performed in an outfit portrayed as a school uniform but in fact a Chanel pin-striped suit; observers noted the high waistband and said it looked as if it could "crush his lungs, " though he completed the demanding choreography. The staging included dancers in snail T-shirts and sunglasses, a large band and backing singers, and a moment described on the night as "descending from a ceiling on a disco ball. " Host Jack Whitehall described the opener as "the musical equivalent of sitting on the washing machine. " Broad commentary on the set suggested the performance launched Styles’ self-described "Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally" era, signalling a potentially clubbier direction.
Rosalía's Berghain set with Björk and the international award
Rosalía delivered a dramatic performance of her single Berghain that mixed thunderous strings and Wagnerian vocal flourishes, shifting tempo three times, incorporating an invited verse from Björk and concluding with a club-style breakdown. Björk appeared costumed in what was described as the entrails of a blue alien. The sequence was called audacious and left the room spellbound; Rosalía later won the best international artist award and told the audience it was "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, another nominee in the same category, reacted to the loss by collapsing in mock tears for the cameras.
Mark Ronson's outstanding contribution and guest turns
Mark Ronson received the outstanding contribution to music award and marked the honour with a performance that traced his eclectic career: he scratched vinyl on stage, sharing the spotlight with Ghostface Killah on Ooh Wee before moving into material associated with Amy Winehouse. The set underscored Ronson’s longstanding influence on contemporary pop; one commentary noted that artists such as Raye are now performing in arenas in part because of the pathways Ronson helped create. Raye herself performed Nightingale Lane, a song rooted in a London street memory, building to a raw, wordless expulsion of emotion. The ceremony also included surprise guest Dua Lipa on Dance the Night and Electricity; an absence was noted when Bruno Mars did not appear to perform Uptown Funk.
