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 16:40 · roisin.oconnor]

That performance by Stormzy prompted our features writer Alexandra Pollard to write a piece about how, in 2018, the music industry stood up to injustice 

[20 February 2019 17:00 · roisin.oconnor]

Here's another look at our predictions for who is most likely to win at tonight's ceremony... and who should win 

[20 February 2019 17:20 · roisin.oconnor]

Last year's awards show was a drastic improvement on 2017, which many considered to be a whitewash, after early pledges from organisers to do better. Stormzy triumphed with wins for British Male Solo Artist and also the most prestigious award of the night, for British Album of the Year. Kendrick Lamar, who actually graced the stage at the O2 (a rarity considering so few international nominees actually turn up at the Brits), won for International Male Solo Artist; Lorde received the international female prize, and Jorja Smith won the coveted Critics’ Choice award.

A year on from that night and just a few weeks after the Grammys finally acknowledged the achievements of so many undervalued female artists (including Kacey Musgraves, Cardi B and Dua Lipa), the mood for the Brits in 2019 is one of hope that they will continue to acknowledge just how diverse the UK music scene really is. The nominations are certainly female-led in some of the biggest categories, including Best British Single, Breakthrough Artist and Album of the Year. There also appears to be an attempt to recognise genres outside of pop and mainstream rock, with nods to rapper Giggs, jazz musician Kamasi Washington, and electronic artist Aphex Twin.

[20 February 2019 17:40 · roisin.oconnor]

The Breakthrough Award is chosen by BBC Radio 1 listeners, who have to pick between Tom Walker, Ella Mai, Jorja Smith, Idles and Mabel. Walker had huge success with his song “Leave the Light On” but hasn’t really established an engaged fanbase yet. Smith, Mabel and Ella Mai all have an equal shot, but Mai and Smith are the most likely to achieve success over in the US. A real upset would be if the punk rock band Idles win, simply because the Brits are so far from their own scene (they called the nod “f***ing stunning” and said they were being recognised “in a vapid chamber”).

Will win: Jorja Smith

Should win: Jorja Smith or Ella Mai

[20 February 2019 17:55 · omalkate]

Dua Lipa has taken to the red carpet at the Brit awards 2019 wearing a fuchsia-coloured dress.

The singer posed for photos at The O2 in the ensemble which consisted of a black embellished lace bodysuit that descended into a pink balloon ankle-length skirt.

[20 February 2019 18:00 · roisin.oconnor]

We're getting closer and closer to the ceremony, so here's another look at the nominations in full 

[20 February 2019 18:43 · omalkate]

Little Mix have arrived at the Brit awards 2019. The foursome are sporting an electric range of looks for their red carpet moment with the focus clearly on Hollywood-inspired 1950s glamour.

Jesy Nelson (from left) is wearing a sheer black floor-length halterneck dress while Perry Edwards has opted for a strapless corset-structured midnight blue dress with a thigh-high split. Jade Thirlwall wears a high-neck white embellished sleeved dress with a similar thigh-high split which perfectly complements Leigh-Anne Pinnock's emerald-green halterneck dress that shows off her midriff.

The British pop group are scheduled to perform alongside rapper Ms Banks at tonight's ceremony, where they are also nominated for British Video of the Year for their pop-reggae track "Woman Like Me".

[20 February 2019 19:09 · roisin.oconnor]

Apparently Dua Lipa is really keen to meet her idol Pink tonight. Pretty sure she'll get her chance!

[20 February 2019 19:13 · roisin.oconnor]

Reminiscing over Liam Gallagher's swagger at the Brits which simply cannot be beaten 

[20 February 2019 19:39 · roisin.oconnor]

Everyone's sitting down for dinner in the arena right now, the awards will begin in about 20 minutes!