Brit awards - as it happened: Pink closes ceremony as The 1975 win Best Album award

Ceremony included performances by The 1975, Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris, Little Mix, Jorja Smith and George Ezra

Brit awards 2019: Hugh jackman performs greatest showman

The Brit Awards began with a mind-boggling performance from Hugh Jackman performing a song from The Greatest Showman and closed with two vibrant shows with The 1975 and Pink.

The 1975 picked up two of the biggest awards of the night, for Best British Group and Best Album, for their latest LP A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships.

Jorja Smith, George Ezra, The 1975, Little Mix and The Carters (Beyonce and Jay Z) all picked up awards, and the audience was been treated to some vibrant, superbly choreographed performances from Little Mix and Ms Banks, Dua Lipa with Calvin Harris, and a stripped-down, moving show from Jorja Smith.

The 1975 made a powerful speech as they accepted the award for Best British Group, quoting Guardian deputy music editor Laura Snapes who wrote in a recent article: "Male misogynist acts are examined for nuance and defended as traits of ‘difficult’ artists, [while] women and those who call them out are treated as hysterics who don’t understand art," in reference to the recent allegations about Ryan Adams.

This year’s set of nominations was largely female-led, with more women acts than men up for awards in the Best Single, Video, Breakthrough and Album categories.

There appeared to be more of an attempt to acknowledge genres other than rock and pop, reflected in nods for rapper Giggs, R&B singers Jorja Smith and Ella Mai, electronic artist Aphex Twin and jazz musician Kamasi Washington.

“I think the Brits are very aware that things needed to improve, and I’ve seen a purposeful change in who’s chucked into the ring [over the past few years],”Amfo told The Independent. “Across genres, across gender lines… clearly it’s a very female-led year, which I’m very happy about.

"Women have been making great music, we’ve been loud, and I’m glad that’s being acknowledged."

The liveblog has now closed

See all of our Brits 2019 coverage here.

Key Points

• Ceremony took place at the O2 Arena in London
• A wealth of pop and rock acts were up for awards, including Dua Lipa, George Ezra, Anne-Marie, The 1975 and Christine and the Queens
• Jack Whitehall returned as host and proved his worth with some great comedy value across the night

[20 February 2019 13:18 · roisin.oconnor]

Hello and welcome to The Independent's Brit Awards liveblog for 2019!

We'll be bringing you all the latest updates, comment, pictures and video from the big night, which is taking place at the O2 Arena in London. If you're watching from home, you can tune in on ITV from 8pm and also follow along on social media.

[20 February 2019 13:20 · roisin.oconnor]

First thing's first: Who are this year's nominees? 

Take a look at the full list, here: 

[20 February 2019 13:45 · roisin.oconnor]

The Brits appear to be following the Grammys example when it comes to acknowledging a wider range of artists this year. In 2017 they attracted criticism for managing a diverse list of nominations... only to give all the awards to (mostly) white male musicians. 

2018 was a massive improvement, both for the awards themselves and also the artists who performed on the night. Who can forget that incredible, hair-raising show from Stormzy where he called out Theresa May over Grenfell? It's going to be hard to top that this year. 

This year's list of nominations are pretty female-led, with a majority held in some of the top categories including Best Album and Breakthrough Artist. We'll have to wait and see if they live up to the hype. 

[20 February 2019 14:05 · roisin.oconnor]

When it comes to awards ceremonies, it's anybody's guess with who walks away with each prize. That said, the Brits tend to be a little bit more predictable than a show like the Grammys, so we've taken a stab at predicting who will win each award... and who should win.

[20 February 2019 14:40 · roisin.oconnor]

Here's an interesting argument from David Lister about why, as Pink is about to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award, the Brits should consider only giving the honour to British artists 

[20 February 2019 15:00 · roisin.oconnor]

While most of us can probably agree that the Brits are a far tamer affair compared to the days of water fights (John Prescott vs Chumbawamba), real fights (Ronnie Wood and Brandon Block) and challenges to a fight (Oasis, basically every year), there have still been plenty of jaw-dropping moments each year. Here's our pick of the top 10: 

[20 February 2019 15:20 · roisin.oconnor]

Here's a handy guide to everything you might need to know about tonight, including how to watch, who's presenting, performing, and all of the nominees! 

[20 February 2019 15:40 · roisin.oconnor]

Our lifestyle team have done a great look at some of the most memorable outfits over the years. Pretty sure no one will ever out-do Geri Halliwell's Union Jack dress though.

[20 February 2019 16:00 · roisin.oconnor]

Here's a refresher for who won the Brits Critics' Choice this year: Sam Fender 

Fender performs energetic guitar-based tracks that lead on his soulful vocals. His lyrics tend to focus on social and political issues such as masculinity, depression, and the lack of opportunities for UK youth.

He released nine singles over 2017 and 2018, and performed a string of live shows

[20 February 2019 16:20 · roisin.oconnor]

Here's a look back at that incredible Stormzy performance where he called out Theresa May. That night, the grime star also took home two of the top awards, for Best British Male, and Album of the Year