Brits coming home! Dua and Little Mix dazzle at awards
...as global icon Taylor wows 4,000 fans
AFTER Britain’s music scene fell silent during the pandemic, the pop world roared back to life last night in a riot of colour and noise.
Singers, rappers, girl groups, rock bands – and even Boy George – returned to the red carpet as the Brit Awards was dominated by female artists.
A 4,000-strong crowd – more than half of them key workers from Greater London and their guests – were also able to attend, without masks. The audience was allowed as part of the Government’s pilot scheme for reopening live events.
Dua Lipa, 25, Billie Eilish, 19, and girl group Little Mix scooped awards. Taylor Swift, 31, was the first female to be hailed a Global Icon – following in the footsteps of Elton John, Robbie Williams and David Bowie
Harry Styles, The Weeknd and J Hus were the only male winners. Former First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise online appearance to present The Weeknd with International Male Solo Artist.
It was a London homecoming for Miss Lipa as she celebrated a double win: Female Solo Artist and Album of the Year for Future Nostalgia. Accepting the gong, Miss Lipa called on Boris Johnson to give frontline workers a pay rise.
The Westminster-born star echoed the late Amy Winehouse with a beehive hairstyle in a Vivienne Westwood Couture yellow mini dress.
Little Mix picked up Best Group – the first time ever an all-girl act has won the gong.
The trio made their first red carpet appearance since Perrie Edwards, 27, and LeighAnne Pinnock, 29, announced that they were both expecting. All three donned white, with Miss Pinnock and Miss Thirlwall in floor- length gowns, while Miss Edwards opted for a dress with a cut out panel.
Maya Jama, 26, wore a plunging cut- out black mini dress with diamond detailing to host a backstage show for ITV2.
And actress Sheridan Smith, 39, who arrived in a black velvet dress, was overshadowed by singer Rag ‘n’ Bone Man as they posed for pictures together on the red carpet.
The show opened with a Line of Duty-inspired sketch, with host Jack Whitehall hosting a Zoom call with the drama’s stars Vicky McClure and Martin Compston. Jackie Weaver, who shot to fame after a chaotic virtual parish council meeting went viral, then appeared to boot Whitehall off.
Coldplay opened the event from a boat on the Thames, before a London-themed performance from Miss Lipa. Rag ‘n’ Bone Man joined US singer Pink, 41, and the NHS Choir to wrap up the ceremony.
Actor and singer Olly Alexander, who recently starred in TV show It’s A Sin, sang with Sir Elton John in a pre-recorded cover of the Pet Shop Boys classic of the same name.
Meanwhile, 1980s idol Boy George donned a jacket daubed with superheroes in tribute to key workers. He said the strict Covid rules meant ‘everybody has been a bit more on their game’.