The real winners and losers

Harry Styles has stolen each the headlines, and each the hearts, and astir apt a fewer bottles of champagne - but there's ever much to the Brits than the awards.

On a nighttime of inflatable trousers, dancing owls and awkward pauses, who were the existent winners and losers astatine the O2 Arena?

Thirteen years aft helium auditioned for the X Factor, Harry Styles is officially Britain's biggest popular star. His quartet of prizes included champion artist, champion popular enactment and opus of the year, for the ubiquitous and fantastic As It Was.

He besides won the arguable champion creator prize - which was created past twelvemonth aft abstracted antheral and pistillate categories were merged. Aware that nary women had been nominated successful the category, Styles dedicated the prize to the radical he'd usurped.

"I'm precise alert of my privilege up present tonight, truthful this grant is for Rina [Sawayama], Charli [XCX], Florence, Mabel and Becky [Hill], convey you truthful much."

Sam Smith waddled onto the reddish carpet successful a custom-made achromatic latex outfit by London manner location Harri.

So voluminous was the costume that they had to forgo the modular play buggy from the dressing room, and teeter astir the outskirts of the O2 successful precocious heels.

Fans, meanwhile, couldn't determine whether Smith was paying tribute to David Bowie oregon a spatchcock chicken.

"There's a singer-songwriter who is the tone of the Brit Awards distilled successful quality form," announced big Mo Gilligan from the level of the O2 Arena.

"Here with his astonishing fig 1 azygous Forget Me, it's the superb Sam Capaldi."

Sam Capaldi? Half Sam Smith, fractional Lewis Capaldi. A monstrous experimentation successful gene-splicing. Like Jeff Goldblum successful The Fly, but with a penchant for delicate ballads.

Thankfully, however, the Brit Award organisers haven't gone wholly drunk with power. It was simply an mistake connected the autocue.

And existent to form, Lewis Capaldi had the past laughter connected his Twitter feed...

Pop prima Mimi Webb sparkled connected the reddish carpet, acknowledgment to a diamond necklace that was worthy a whopping £1.2 million.

"I can't judge I'm wearing it," said the 22-year-old.

The necklace adjacent had its ain information guard, who tailed Mimi each nighttime successful lawsuit anyone tried to drawback the jewels.

"If it was maine oregon the diamonds," she noted, "he'd prevention the diamonds."

Luckily, nary harm befell Mimi oregon the neckpiece, and she got to observe her archetypal ever Brits with her mum and dad.

When the Brits failed to nominate immoderate women for the champion creator prize, organisers went connected the defensive.

Acknowledging the concern was "disappointing", a spokesperson for the awards added: "We besides person to recognise that 2022 saw less high-profile pistillate artists successful rhythm with large releases, arsenic was the lawsuit successful 2021."

Charli XCX was not impressed.

"I've heard a batch of chat astir the information that determination weren't capable females successful medium cycle," she told BBC News. "But I was successful medium cycle, and I had a fig 1 medium - and there's galore of us.

"We're doing everything right, truthful I don't deliberation it's our fault.

"I deliberation it's their fault."

Rina Sawayama has acquisition of getting the Brits to alteration their mind. In 2020, the Japanese-British vocalist discovered she wasn't eligible for the awards due to the fact that she doesn't clasp a British passport (Japan doesn't let dual citizenship) and successfully petitioned organisers to alteration their rules.

Asked astir the deficiency of pistillate practice this year, she said 1 elemental alteration could hole the problem.

"The occupation is that they combined the antheral and pistillate categories, but they didn't grow the fig of nominees," she said. "So I truly conscionable privation to spot the categories get bigger. That's what the Grammys do.

"People don't realise, adjacent a information tin alteration an artist's beingness and it's a shame to instrumentality that distant due to the fact that there's lone 5 spots available."

Wet Leg arrived astatine the Brits caller from Los Angeles, wherever they'd conscionable won 2 Grammy Awards.

But they didn't get to bring their trophies location with them.

"I deliberation they popular them successful the post," said vocalist Rhian Teasdale, who was amazed to observe the awards they received connected signifier weren't the existent deal.

"They had a large upland of them backstage, and they were like, 'You person a Grammy! You person a Grammy!' and dishing them out.

"And past they said, 'Right, you person to springiness it back,' and they'd springiness the aforesaid trophy to the adjacent act."

"It was," she concluded, "a spot similar discovering Santa doesn't exist."

The set went connected to cod 2 Brits trophies - for champion radical and champion caller creator - portion performing their cult deed Chaise Longue surrounded by morris dancers and human-sized owls.

There has yet to beryllium confirmation connected whether they got to instrumentality the Brit Award statuettes home.

Alt-rock duo Nova Twins are known for their hardcore, DIY aesthetic - and that extends to their signifier outfits.

For the Brits, they designed and stitched their ain clothes, adopting "a punk fairy vibe".

The outfits were adorned with hundreds of badges, clasps, jewels and information pins that they sourced from junk shops.

"Once we made an outfit retired of curtain rings," said bassist Georgia South. "You tin beryllium truly resourceful."

"Hopefully it volition enactment intact," noted vocalist and guitarist Amy Love, who said she'd brought a needle and thread conscionable successful lawsuit thing pops off.

The archetypal line-up of the Sugababes was backmost connected the reddish carpet for the archetypal clip since 2001, erstwhile Overload was up for champion single.

But Keisha Buchanan doesn't person the champion memories of that night.

"I had chickenhearted pox," she told the BBC. "I caught chickenhearted pox the time of the ceremonial and didn't cognize until fractional mode done the night, erstwhile I was covered successful spots."

"That shows however young we were - that that was the astir stone and rotation happening that happened to us."

Harry Styles (who else?) won the champion popular and R&B prize this twelvemonth - a class that was notable for lone nominating popular artists, and wholly overlooking R&B.

Wish I Missed My Ex vocalist Mahalia fto her feelings beryllium known connected the reddish carpet, wearing a overgarment emblazoned with the legend, "Long unrecorded R&B".

"It's a genre I consciousness precise passionate astir and I don't deliberation it's talked astir enough," she told the BBC.

"There's an thought that American R&B artists tin beryllium commercially successful, and we [in the UK] can't. That speech needs to go much positive."

Suggesting that the popular and R&B categories could beryllium separated, she added: "I conscionable deliberation it would beryllium truly almighty for R&B artists to person their ain infinitesimal to shine."

Usually, the Brits tally beauteous smoothly, but Saturday's amusement was hobbled by a immense method hitch with Sam Smith's set.

Unable to wide the stage, producers took the unprecedented measurement of repeating Adele's show of I Drink Wine from past year's ceremony.

And adjacent with that big Mo Gilligan was inactive near trying to capable for 4 awkward minutes.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" helium asked AJ Odudu. "Are you enjoying yourself?" helium asked Maya Jama. "Are you enjoying yourself?" helium asked Keith Lemon.

Readers, they each said "yes".

Everyone astatine the Brits wants to person a career-making infinitesimal similar Adele's show of Someone Like You successful 2011.

On Saturday, the closest contender was newcomer Cat Burns, who utilized her break-up ballad Go arsenic the cleanable showcase for her tender, soulful style.

Her vocals were perfect: hushed and wounded successful the verses, defiant and jubilant successful the chorus. And erstwhile she transitioned into the song's drum and bass remix, confetti cannons blazing, it felt similar Christmas had travel early.

It won't beryllium agelong earlier she's backmost connected that stage.

"Oooh, it's heavy! Um. OK, wow. Alright. Erm... Eugh."

OK, Becky Hill's code for champion creation enactment didn't get disconnected to the top of starts. Then she tried to convey her chap nominees, but someway mentioned radical who were nominated successful 2022 instead.

"Oh God, I'm making a close pickle of this," she cringed.

But then, she rallied round, quoting Beyoncé and thanking the queer assemblage for making creation euphony "the champion genre connected earth".

"But the biggest acknowledgment of each has to spell to my fans who, for different year, person helped maine triumph a Brit Award," she said, blinking backmost tears.

"My imposter syndrome kicked consecutive successful erstwhile the nominees were announced, and I was truthful scared.

"But erstwhile I work each their comments I was truthful touched, truthful convey you!"