01-03-2025
Brit Awards 2025 live: Charli XCX leads nominations as Jack Whitehall hosts
The biggest night in British music is back for another year of drunken acceptance speeches, star-studded performances and surprising stage invasions (well, hopefully, though a long time has passed since Jarvis Cocker infamously took on Michael Jackson).
Taking place at the O2 Arena in London tonight, the 2025 Brit Awards will feature performances from US megastar Sabrina Carpenter, fresh from her triumphant double-win at the Grammys, former Little Mix-er turned solo star Jade, indie heroes Sam Fender and The Last Dinner Party, and this year's recipient of the prestigious Rising Star award, Myles Smith, among others.
Homegrown star Charli XCX leads the charge on the nominations front, with five nods – in the Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Dance Act and Pop Act categories – for her culture-shaping album Brat. Disappointingly, she won't be performing, meaning audiences both at home and inside the O2 will be left dreaming of her electric, club-themed Grammys performance earlier this year.
Elsewhere, The Cure are up for their first awards in over 30 years: Mastercard Album of the Year (for Songs of a Lost World), Alternative/Rock Act and Group of the Year. Other contenders in the Album category include Dua Lipa, Ezra Collective and The Last Dinner Party, while Artist of the Year is packed with worthy winners, from grime rapper Central Cee to DJs Fred again... and Jamie xx and rising star Rachel Chinouriri.
Comedian Jack Whitehall should prove a safe pair of hands as host – it's his fifth time, after all – but only time will tell how the music industry's assorted stars will respond to his ribbing throughout the night.
