Emeli Sande made it a family affair last night as she was named Brits best female artist for the second time.
The singer, from Alford, Aberdeenshire, had mum and dad Diane and Joel and sister Lucy on hand as she collected the first gong of the night.
Before the show, Emeli, 29, tweeted a photo of herself flanked by her parents.
And when her award the first Brit Award of the night as she received the best British Female Artist prize.
The Scottish singer was handed the accolade for the second time after previous success in 2013 when she also won the album of the year award.
She thanked her family and management for the prize as she was joined on stage by her sister, to whom she dedicated her success.
(Photo: Getty)
Girl group Little Mix, who are nominated for three awards including best British group, opened the show with a rendition of their chart-topping track Shout Out To My Ex.
Following the performance, hosts Emma Willis and Dermot O’Leary offered their thoughts to Canadian singer Michael Buble who was initially supposed to present the awards.
The Haven’t Met You Yet singer pulled out after he and his wife announced they were putting their “careers on hold” to look after their young son, Noah, as he battles cancer.
O’Leary said: “Truth be told, we’d really rather be down there watching Michael Buble host the show,” with Willis adding: “We so wish he could have been here this evening and everybody at the Brits sends all of their love and hopefully we will see him again next year.”
(Photo: AFP/ Getty)
David Bowie scooped two prestigious gongs at last night’s Brit Awards – as Chris Martin paid a heartfelt tribute to George Michael.
The late Starman singer was honoured with two posthumous Brit awards at the ceremony, collected by his son Duncan Jones, 45, and the star of the late singer’s musical, Larazus.
Michael C. Hall, 46, who plays an alien in the West End show, collected the award for Best Male, as the icon was awarded the trophy by model Naomi Campbell and DJ Zayn Lowe at the bash at London’s O2.
Noel Gallagher presented the ceremony’s Album of the Year award, which went to Bowie for his final release, Blackstar, collected by filmmaker Duncan.
Bowie passed away last January aged 68, days after releasing his last album.
Last year, Duncan heaped praise on the ceremony for its “beautiful” tribute to his late father, when New Zealand-born singer Lorde – a favourite of the late singer – performed Life on Mars alongside his former band.
He received an Icon award last year, so now has three posthumous awards.
Bowie’s genre spanning album Blackstar was critically acclaimed for its poignant lyrics and experimental music style.
It was released on his 69th birthday last year, and he passed away in New York two days later following an 18 month battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, model Iman, 61, who is close friends with Naomi, 46.
(Photo: PA)
Elsewhere in the ceremony, Coldplay star Chris Martin, 39, paid tribute to George Michael, who passed away on Christmas Day aged 53.
The singer played an emotional rendition of George’s 1986 single A Different Corner, with a video montage that featured audio of George saying: ”I never wanted to be someone else. I wanted people to recognise me and love me, but I never wanted to be someone else.”
A cause of death is yet to be determined, with toxicology results delayed, but police are treating his death as “not suspicious”.
The former Wham! star sold more than 100 million records in his lifetime.
Last night’s celebration of British music kicked off with Little Mix flying up to the roof of London’s O2 wearing thigh high boots and sparkly leotards as they performed Shout Out To My Ex. The former X Factor winners later took home the award for Best British Single.
The ceremony’s hosts Dermot O’Leary and Emma Willis, 40, stepped in last month after Michael Buble was forced to pull out of presenting duties while his four-year-old son, Noah, receives treatment for liver cancer.
Dermot, 43, said last night: “We’d rather be down there watching Michael Buble be twinkle toes up here.”
While Emma added: “All of us send him our love and hope we will see him here next year.”
(Photo: REUTERS)
However, there was disappointment for grime star Skepta, who performed his hit Shutdown on the night, who failed to take home any gongs, despite being one of the most nominated acts, receiving nods in three categories.
The grime star lost out to David Bowie in Best British Album and Best Male – as did East London star Kano – while Essex born Rag’n’Bone man, 32, received the British Breakthrough Act.
Last year’s ceremony drew criticism for having a lack of diversity, with #BritsSoWhite trending on Twitter in 2016. The comments prompting the BPI to shake up their voting academy, introducing over 700 new contributors to provide a better reflection of British music tastes.
There have only been three black winners of the British male solo artist prize in the awards 40-year history.
The last Black, Asian or ethnic minority background artist to win the award was Dizzee Rascal who was victorious seven years ago.
Before his win it had been 12 years since Scottish musician Finley Quaye had taken the trophy and another six before that when Seal became the first non-white winner in 1992.
The 1975, which features Denise Welch and Tim Healy’s 27-year-old son Matty, picked up Best British Group, presented by 19-year-old Games of Thrones star Maisie Williams.
Best Female went to Emeli Sande, 29, who also performed her hit Hurts on the night, backed by footage of mountains, storm clouds and clear blue skies.
Beyonce, 35, and Drake, 30, won respective International Female and Male awards, while Adele, 28, was given a Global Success award to commend her huge worldwide sales in 2016.
With nine Brit awards in total, Adele is now the most decorated female in BRITs history. She previously equalled Annie Lennox’s record with eight – Annie has seven solo awards and one with Eurythmics.
Bruno Mars performed a stripped back version of That’s What I Like, backed by multi-coloured lights.