Olivia Dean and Lola Young Dominate 2026 BRIT Awards Nominations

The 2026 BRIT Awards are shaping up to be a night of firsts, with Olivia Dean and Lola Young leading the nominations. Both artists have garnered an impressive five nods each, signaling a shift towards celebrating fresh talent and diverse voices in the British music scene.

Dean is nominated for the coveted Artist of the Year award, as well as Mastercard Album of the Year for The Art of Loving. She also received nominations for Pop Act and two nods in the Song of the Year category for “Man I Need” and her collaboration with Sam Fender, “Rein Me In.”

Young joins Dean in the Artist of the Year category, and also contends for Song of the Year (“Messy”), Breakthrough Artist, Pop Act, and Alternative/Rock Act.

The 2026 BRITs will mark a historic moment as the ceremony moves outside of London for the first time, taking place at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on February 28th. Hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall, the show will be broadcast live on ITV1 and ITVX.

Dean is slated to kick off the night as the first performer, with more acts to be announced in the coming weeks. This year's nominations boast that over 70% of the nominees are women or non-binary artists, a record for the BRIT Awards.

While Dean has yet to secure a BRIT Award win, her sophomore album, The Art of Loving, currently holds the No. 1 spot on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart. Young is also looking for her first BRIT win, after previous nominations.

Sam Fender follows closely with four nominations, while Dave, Wolf Alice, Lily Allen, Fred again.., and Jim Legaxcy each earned three nods. The awards are determined by the 1,200-strong Brits Voting Academy, with genre-specific categories decided by fan votes via WhatsApp.

Among the first-time nominees is Bad Bunny in the International Artist category, and rock band Sleep Token in the Alternative/Rock Act category, and rising artists Skye Newman, EsDeeKid, and Jim Legaxcy also secured their first nods.

International categories will see competition between superstars like Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Tyler, The Creator. Alex Warren, Gracie Abrams, Doechii, and sombr also join the ranks as first-time nominees.

Justin Bieber, despite releasing two albums during the eligibility period, was surprisingly shut out. Ed Sheeran, the second-most nominated artist in BRIT Awards history, only received one nomination this year.

Jacob Alon was recently announced as the winner of the Critics’ Choice Award. The winners of the Songwriter of the Year and Producer of the Year awards will be revealed in the coming weeks.

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