The Brit Awards were full of surprises, but everyone keeps talking about Harry Styles’ tiny ballet flats?
Olivia Dean’s classic style has taken the world by storm. You might remember hearing her dominate the Triple J’s Hottest 100’s this year, eventually claiming first place.
Now, she’s taken out every award she was nominated for at the 2026 Brit awards.
The award for artist of the year, pop act, song of the year (for her and Sam Fender’s Rein Me In) and album of the year (The Art of Loving) all walked away in the arms of Olivia Dean, who also performed a stellar rendition of Man I Need.
The night was helmed by the ever-witty Jack Whitehall, who announced this would be his last year of hosting the awards, in turn unleashing his riskiest material yet.
He began by telling audiences “there might be some swearing but don’t worry, we’ve got the best in the business on the bleep button … It’s the guy who did the Baftas. Nothing gets past him.”
And it seemed their censor was on best behaviour, as Shaun Ryder took to the stage and shared his experience of the Brits in the 90’s.
His mention of being busted for drug possession at the awards was so offensive it was bleeped out in its entirety by ITV.
A later Whitehall quip about the Epstein list, referring to Peter Mandelson being on the guestlist (“no, sorry, that was another list”) was also edited out from broadcast.
A quippy host and some choice censorship is expected from awards nights now. The real drama came when Sombr’s performance was rudely interrupted by a stage-crasher accusing him of being a “homewrecker.”
sombr gets pushed and called a “Homewrecker” during his performance at The BRIT Awards. pic.twitter.com/e4pmki2fay
— 🏁 (@concertleaks) March 1, 2026
Security quickly dragged the man off-stage and the performance continued as normal. “Real” drama seems an overstatement, as Sombr’s PR confirmed the event was staged soon after the end of the performance. That’s showbusiness, baby.
Robbie Williams led an electric tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, who was posthumously awarded a lifetime achievement award. Meanwhile, Rosalía beat Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter to best international artist, a refreshing choice from an otherwise stayed line-up.
Speaking of stayed, Noel Gallagher was stunned to take out the award for songwriter of the year, admitting that he “hadn’t written a song in two years” – awkward.
The ceremony, though tame in comparison to recent awards nights, could not escape politics. Artists such as CMAT, Wet Leg, Loyle Carner and Wolf Alice took to the red carpet to denounce Reform UK, a right-wing political party.
Referencing recent discussions of art’s responsibility for politics, spurred by Wim Wenders’ Berlinale comments, CMAT said “everything is politics.
But more than ever, art is politics because you don’t get to make art in a fascist state. Fascism is on the rise in every single country in the world.”
Others voiced their hope for music to inspire change and shed light on issues mainstream media are leaving out.
