British superstar Adele won three awards, including the coveted Album of the Year, at the Brit awards on Tuesday
Nicknamed "Queen of the BRITs" by host Mo Gilligan, the London-born singer-songwriter won best album for "30" and picked up the first award of the night - song of the year - for her chart-topping single "Easy on Me", and artist of the year.
Last month, Adele apologized to her fans for postponing her Las Vegas residency, just 24 hours before the opening night, blaming Covid-19 and "delivery delays".
According to AFP, this year's nominations featured the biggest number of woman-fronted acts in over a decade, 18, although male artists still dominated.
Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran paid homage to his wife as he received the award for Songwriter of the Year and gave two memorable performances at the arena, which had been decorated with mock pylons loaded with fireworks for the occasion.
The biggest night for British pop re-introduced genre-based prizes for the first time since 2006, with awards for alternative/rock, pop/R&B, dance and hip-hop/rap/grime voted for by fans rather than music industry insiders.
Last year's winner of British Album of the Year, Dua Lipa, won the TikTok vote for best pop/R&B act, and Sam Fender won Best Alternative Rock Act, which was presented by Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood.
US teenager Olivia Rodrigo won International Song of the Year for "Good 4 U", while Becky Hill won Best Dance Act, with the dance music category returning after 16 years away from the Brits.
"I've been a little drum'n'bass raver since I was 12 years old," an emotional Hill told the audience.
Rapper Little Simz was nominated for four awards and took the stage with her mother to receive the Best New Artist Award on the back of last year's album "Sometimes I Might Be Introvert", a backronym of her nickname Simbi.
