The 2018 Brit Awards were a night of big wins, bigger performances, and a whole lot of emotion. Plus, some great dry British humour by host Jack Whitehall.
From Dua Lipa making history, to Ed Sheeran making us cry, to a lot of British accents making us turn up the volume, the 2018 Brit Awards were full of inspiring moments and huge names in music. Here are some of the must-see moments from the 2018 Brit Awards. You can watch the show in full here.
Opening the show, JT performed album track “Midnight Summer Jam.” An unknown song felt risky, but considering how poorly his previously released Man of the Woods singles have charted, Timberlake didn’t have much to lose. The high energy track ended up being a great start to the show, with Timberlake then slowing things down for his single “Say Something.” Bringing country to the Brits, Timberlake gambled by being joined on stage by American artist Chris Stapleton, an artist with a small presence outside North American. The Super Bowl may have been a disappointment, but the power of “Say Something” came through in droves, with a huge choir lining the aisles of the Brit Awards. Take ‘em to church, JT.
Sometimes the best way for @jtimberlake and @chrisstapleton to ‘Say Something’ is with a BEAUTIFUL choir #BRITs #JustinTimberlakeBRITs
Watch The #BRITs2018 LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/gfw8LtsCjl
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
Dua Lipa made history before the Brit Awards even started by earning five nominations this year, making her the most nominated female artist in one year at the Brits. Winning the first award of the night for British Female Solo Artist, Lipa, who had a huge 2017 thanks to her empowerment singles “New Rules” and “IDGAF,” used her time at the podium to inspire her young fans. “I want to thank every single female that has been on this stage before me and given girls like me, not just girls in the music industry, but girls in society a place to be inspired by, to look up to and that have allowed us to dream this big,” said Lipa. “Here’s to more women on these stages, more women winning awards and more women taking over the world.”
“Here’s to more women on these stages winning more awards!” @dualipa #DuaLipaBRITs takes home the award for British Female
Watch The #BRITs 2018 LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/DspVhGMPxB
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
The singer later returned to the stage to bring the tropics to London, joined by a huge army of female dancers wearing bathing suits and bathrobes for a performance of “New Rules.”
It’s a tropical GIRL POWER sensation on stage for @DUALIPA’s ‘New Rules’ performance! LOOK AT ALL THOSE DANCERS #DuaLipaBRITs
Watch The #BRITs LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/poLruOZKZv
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
Rag‘n’Bone Man may be one of the biggest artists in the U.K., but the heavily tattooed singer with the voice as sweet as honey has yet to make much of an impact in North America aside from his track “Human.” That’s likely to change soon. Performing his song “Skin” with Jorja Smith, the pair managed to make the overwhelming stage at the O2 Arena feel like an intimate club performance.
The combined talent of @RagNBoneManUK & @JorjaSmith has set the #BRITs stage on FIRE #RagNBoneManBRITs #JorjaSmithBRITs
Watch The #BRITs2018 LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/3IKTIZyAmn
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
But that doesn’t mean the singer doesn’t still have some edge. After winning British Single, Rag‘n’Bone Man dropped the first f-bomb of the night. Cheeky bugger.
“I just want to say thanks to everyone who has had my back over the years!” @ragnbonemanuk#RagNBoneManBRITs picks up the award for British Single
Watch The #BRITs 2018 LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG6JsNk pic.twitter.com/XDf3gnSL4c
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
In all honesty, we assumed the 2018 Brit Awards would be the 2018 Ed Sheeran Awards. The British singer was up for four awards this year, but shockingly lost British Male Solo Artist to Stormzy, who Ed performed with during last year’s show. No one was more surprised about the win than Stormzy and no one gave a longer standing ovation than Ed. Considering how big Sheeran’s career is, we loved seeing the award go to relative newcomer Stormzy. The grime artist was back on stage again for the final award, taking home British Album and closing the show with an impassioned performance of “Blinded By Your Grace Part 2” and “Big For Your Boots.”
“My mum’s somewhere here, I love you Mum” – @stormzyofficial#StormzyBRITs takes home the award for British Male
Watch The #BRITs 2018 LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/xtb7nG6Awm
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
Jack Whitehall took every chance he had to tease the former members of One Direction and we loved every second of it. While interviewing Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole, Whitehall asked whether Payne, who was performing “For You” with Rita Ora from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, had a safe word. He didn’t, but Cole did. “Don’t stop.” Dang gurl!
GIVE US A WAVE @jackwhitehall @LiamPayne @CherylOfficial #BRITs
Watch The #BRITs LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/VxjTON6dJm
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
We’re not sure how Ed Sheeran made it through his performance of “Supermarket Flowers,” a song he wrote following the death of his grandmother, but we do know one thing. We did not make it through. At least, we didn’t make it through without bawling. All the feels. All of them.
Just one man and his incredible songwriting talent ruling the world right now @edsheeran bringing The #BRITs to a standstill with his beautiful performance #EdSheeranBRITs
Watch The #BRITs LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/NFXEdhC5Ur
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
On May 22, 2017, a terrorist attacked the Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande was performing, killing 23 people and injuring more than 500 concert attendees. Only a few weeks later, Grande returned to Manchester with a star-studded line up for a charity concert that helped raise millions for the families of the victims. One of the performers was Manchester native Liam Gallagher, who once again honoured the victims during this year’s Brit Awards with a performance of Oasis’ “Live Forever.”
Watch The #BRITs LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/RLBy8rzXGF
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
After taking about 10 minutes (it felt like that long) to get to the stage following their win for British Group, Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn made a speech about Brexit and then passed the mic around the group even after being cut off twice. We’re all for using your platform to make impassioned speeches, just get to the stage faster.
‘We do incredible things in music in this country’ @gorillaz
Gorillaz are the winners of British Group
Watch The #BRITs 2018 LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/hWwLHqbSN1
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
Sam Smith kept his performance of “Too Good At Goodbyes” simple and classy, performing with four backup singers on a simple stage. But when you sound like Sam Smith, do you need an elaborate stage? Not really, but we do like shiny things. On a side note, it’s the best suit we’ve seen the singer wear in years. Yassss Sam!
He’s way too good at goodbyes and he’s also way too good at singing! @samsmithworld filling the entire arena with his vocals at The #BRITs 2018 #SamSmithBRITs
Watch The #BRITs LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/ya03A57HlH
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
Maybe it was planned, but it definitely didn’t feel like the five false starts of music for Kendrick Lamar’s performance was on purpose. No surprise, the rapper was able to push through and still deliver a spit-fire performance before launching into ‘another’ satire, a continuation from his 2018 Grammy performance earlier this year. Performing “Feel” and “New Freezer,” Lamar performed on top of a glass cube while a Lamborghini below him was destroyed. RIP sweet whip.
Your #BRITs 2018 International Male winner @kendricklamar brought @RichTheKid to The #BRITs 2018 to SMASH IT What a performance!
Watch The #BRITs LIVE here: https://t.co/YP6iG713ES pic.twitter.com/HCeqt3TgoH
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 21, 2018
Artists donned white roses, both real and on pins, in support of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements that have been dominating the red carpets in North America.
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Check out the full list of winners below and watch the 2018 Brit Awards in full here.
British Male Solo Artist
Ed Sheeran
Liam Gallagher
Loyle Carner
Rag ‘N’ Bone Man
Stormzy – WINNER
British Female Solo Artist
Dua Lipa – WINNER
Jessie Ware
Kate Tempest
Laura Marling
Paloma Faith
British Group
Gorillaz – WINNER
London Grammar
Royal Blood
Wolf Alice
The xx
British Breakthrough Act
Dave
Dua Lipa – WINNER
J Hus
Loyle Carner
Sampha
Critics’ Choice
Jorja Smith – WINNER
Stefflon Don
Mabel
British Single
Calvin Harris ft Pharrell and Katy Perry and Big Sean, “Feels”
Clean Bandit ft Zara Larsson, “Symphony”
Dua Lipa, “New Rules”
Ed Sheeran, “Shape of You”
J Hus, “Did You See”
Jax Jones ft Raye, “You Don’t Know Me”
Jonas Blue ft William Singe, “Mama”
Liam Payne ft Quavo, “Strip That Down”
Little Mix, “Touch”
Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, “Human” – WINNER
British Album of the Year
Dua Lipa, Dua Lipa
Ed Sheeran, Divide
J Hus, Common Sense
Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, Human
Stormzy, Gang Signs & Prayer – WINNER
British Artist Video of the Year
Anne-Marie, “Ciao Adios”
Calvin Harris ft Pharrell, Katy Perry and Big Sean, “Feels”
Clean Bandit ft Zara Larsson, “Symphony”
Dua Lipa, “New Rules”
Ed Sheeran, “Shape of You”
Harry Styles, “Sign of the Times” – WINNER
Jax Jones ft Raye, “You Don’t Know Me”
Liam Payne ft Quavo, “Strip That Down”
Little Mix, “Touch”
ZAYN and Taylor Swift “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”
International Male Solo Artist
Beck
Childish Gambino
DJ Khaled
Drake
Kendrick Lamar – WINNER
International Female Solo Artist
Alicia Keys
Bjork
Lorde – WINNER
Pink
Taylor Swift
International Group
Arcade Fire
Foo Fighters – WINNER
Haim
The Killers
LCD Soundsystem