Ray wins Brit Awards and sets record

“You have no idea how much this means to me,” Rae said in her fifth acceptance speech of the night, after letting tears of joy flow and bringing her proud grandmother with her to the stage. In the lead-up to the 44th awards ceremony, she has already been named Songwriter of the Year, the first woman in the awards' history.

Rae entered the race with seven nominations – more than any other female solo artist before her. With a total of six awards, she broke the record for most Britons won in a single year of awards, leaving behind previous record holders Blur, Harry Styles and Adele, who won four awards in a single year.

The Brit Award for Best International Band went to American indie band Boygenius, made up of singer-songwriters Julian Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. SZA was unable to receive her award for Best International Artist in person and thanked her via video message, as did Miley Cyrus, who expressed her happiness at receiving her award for Best International Song.

Casisdead (hip-hop/grime/rap), Calvin Harris (dance), Dua Lipa (pop), and Bring Me The Horizon (alternative/rock) all won in the genre categories. There was no award for the only German nominee: DJ Robin Schulz was nominated along with Oliver Tree for Best International Single for “Miss You.”

The producers of the year were drum “n” bass experts Chase & Status, known, among other things, for their collaborations with Rihanna and Rita Ora. The two performed “Disconnect” with Becky Hill immediately after receiving the award.

Dua Lipa opened the awards ceremony at London's Millennium Dome with her hit song “Training Season,” complete with impressive neo-circus-style acrobatics and risky stunts. Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding performed their hit song “Miracle” together for the first time at a Brits concert. Raye, Jungle, Rema and Tate McRae also performed during the awards ceremony. Australian pop queen Kylie Minogue was honored as a “global icon” and played a medley of her greatest hits at the end of the evening.

Rachel Jones was responsible for designing the award statuette this year, and the look was “colourful and chaotic”, according to the British illustrator. Since 2011, the trophy has been designed by famous artists, architects and designers, including Vivienne Westwood, Damien Hirst and S Devlin. The show was moderated by Clara Amfo, Maya Jama and Roman Kemp.