She also took home British album of the year – which she also won in 2011– and Hello was named best British single. The only other artist in Brits history to pick up four awards in one night was Blur in 1995.
Her domination of the ceremony follows a year in which Hello became the fastest selling single in the UK and 25 broke the UK record for first-week sales, selling 800,307 copies.
Picking up her first award of the night for best female, Adele took the opportunity to publicly voice her support for fellow singer Kesha, who recently lost a lawsuit to be contractually free from her producer, Dr Luke, who she alleges sexually and mentally abused her.
Adele added: “‘I’d like to thank my label for embracing the fact that I’m a woman and being encouraged by it.”
She became emotional as she picked up the global success award, presented to her via video feed by astronaut Tim Peake. She told the crowd: “I got really lost for a while and didn’t know whether I’d ever come back.
“Not bad for a girl from Tottenham who doesn’t like flying.”
The death of David Bowie in January hung over this year’s Brits, as Annie Lennox and Gary Oldman paid tribute to his musical legacy and Lorde took the vocals on a performance of Spiders From Mars, backed by Bowie’s long-term band. Bowie was given a rare musical icon Brit award; only the second time the award has been given.
Oldman, who was a long-time friend of Bowie’s, quoted a rare occasion where the singer spoke about his five decades in the music industry. He said: “David sparingly spoke about music and his process but in one of these rare incidents he graciously and eloquently expounded: ‘Music has given me over 40 years of extraordinary experiences. I can’t say that life’s pains or tragic elements have been diminished, but it has allowed me so many moments of companionship when I am lonely and a sublime means of communication when I have wanted to touch people. It has been my doorway of perception and the house that I’ve lived in’.”
The actor also revealed he had been one of the few who had known of Bowie’s illness before he died. Speaking to a standing ovation, he said: “David faced his illness with enormous dignity and grace and customary humour. Even in dire circumstances when he wrote to tell me the bad news he had cancer, he added: ‘The good news is that I’ve got my cheekbones back’.”
It was a record-breaking night for Coldplay, who were named best British group for the fourth time, beating a previous record they had shared with Arctic Monkeys. They opened the show with a performance of new single Hymn for The Weeknd, against a technicolour backdrop of flowers and pyrotechnics. They dedicated their award to “all the young men and women in refugee camps across the world. They could be us and we could be them.”
Other major performances of the night included Rihanna’s first UK live appearance since 2012. She was joined on stage with Drake for their track Work.
In a year that has been dominated by discussions around diversity in the entertainment industry, the Brits failed to recognise any non-white artists. The lack of nominations for grime artists in particular had raised questions before the ceremony, and singer Laura Mvula, who has been nominated for a Brit award multiple times, said she was boycotting the ceremony because the lack of diversity sends the message that black people are “not acknowledged in society, in media and in mainstream music”.
She posted a series of tweets before the ceremony outlining her decision to not attend.
Speaking on the red carpet, the subject was also described by critics’ choice winner Jack Garratt as “disappointing” and “a little bit embarrassing”.
“Obviously there are a lot of people who are not here who should be here, and I feel kind of strange knowing that I am here and they are not,” said the 24-year-old.
“But I am also very grateful to be here. It is a hugely important part of UK music but it is a shame that half of UK music has been somehow forgotten about.”
The award for best British male solo artist went to James Bay, while Justin Bieber picked up the Brit for international male solo artist. Bieber performed a medley beginning with an acoustic version of Love Yourself, accompanied by James Bay on guitar, before moving into hit track Sorry.
Picking up the award, Bieber said: “This just shows life is a journey. Everybody has their own journey, everybody has their ups and their downs. Man I’m shaking a little bit right now.”
Avant garde Icelandic artist Björk won her forth Brit award for best international female artist following the release of her ninth album, Vulnicura, in January last year.
The Brit for international group went to Tame Impala, and Catfish and the Bottlemen were named the British breakthrough act.
Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly returned as presenters, although the duo, known as Ant and Dec, said it would be their final time hosting the ceremony.
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