Showing their collective BRIT spirit
By Sarah Tettah
The night belonged to South London at the Brits 2025 with Mastercard as Raye, Ezra Collective and Stormzy swept the board with their gongs.
Ezra Collective, whose members went to school in South London and shouted out “Forest Hill” on the night, had a very poignant message during their speech.
“Give a kid a saxophone, or a trumpet, and you’ll give them something to strive towards.”
They joined our Brits Rising Talent winner Myles Smith in urging the Government to do more to keep local music venues open, to nurture the next generation of talent.
What could be a better message!
Our girl Raye, who scooped a gong on the night, sadly could not be there.
She had a pretty good excuse though. Did you see her light up the stage at the Oscars the following night in a stunning tribute to James Bond?
Raye stole the show with her jazz and soulful voice, singing Skyfall, while Doja Cat surprised us all with her Diamonds are Forever rendition.
Raye, who was the queen of the Brits last year, certainly made room for Charli XCX to reign supreme this year. Charli’s resurgence with her dance album Brat, saw her win the most gongs on the night.
Perhaps the most impressive winners of the night were South Londoners Ezra Collective.
The Guardian said: “Critics have been suggesting that Ezra Collective might cross over to the mainstream for some years now, more out of hope than expectation: for all the influence they draw from hip-hop, dub, Afrobeat and dance music, they remain at heart a jazz quintet.
And yet their career has recently surged.
“They won the Mercury prize in 2023, scored their first Top 10 album with last year’s Dance, No One’s Watching, and became the first British jazz act to headline Wembley Arena: precisely
the kind of success that the Brits should be celebrating.”
Here, here.
After the biggest night in British music, there was only one place to be – Universal Music’s legendary BRIT Awards party at 180 Studios.
The event brought together a glittering mix of musicians, actors and showbiz stars for an unforgettable night of celebration.
The guest list included the likes of Lucien Laviscount, Louis Theroux, Vernon Kay, Tom Fletcher, Frank Lampard, Gene Gallagher with his band Villanelle, Danny Jones, Olivia Attwood, Oti Mabuse, Olivia, Dean, Sam Ryder, Kimberley Wyatt, Ashley Roberts, Becky Hill and Arielle Free, all adding to the star power of the evening.
On the night, Oti Mabuse shared laughs with McFly’s Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher, while Vernon Kay, Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson kept the energy high, partying the night away together.
It was a major night of wins for Universal Music’s artists and this was the place to celebrate for The Last Dinner Party who scooped the award for Best New Artist earlier on in the night.
The soundtrack of the night delivered by an exceptional line up of DJs: Hannah Lamb, Maia Beth, Arielle Free, Confidence Man, Alex Boateng Sound System featuring a surprise performance with Lisa Maffia for So Solid Crew’s “21 Seconds”
Full list of winners:
BRITS PRODUCER OF THE YEAR (presented on The BRITs’ Red Carpet live stream)
Winner – A. G. Cook
SONG OF THE YEAR WITH
MASTERCARD
Winner – Charli xcx Ft Billie Eilish ‘Guess featuring billie eilish’
POP ACT
Winner – JADE
ALTERNATIVE / ROCK ACT
Winner – Sam Fender
BRITS RISING STAR
Winner – Myles Smith
DANCE ACT
Winner: Charli xcx
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Winner – Ezra Collective
BRITS GLOBAL SUCCESS
Winner – Sabrina Carpenter
INTERNATIONAL SONG OF THE YEAR
Winner: Chappell Roan ‘Good Luck, Babe!’
HIP HOP/GRIME/RAP ACT
Winner: Stormzy
R&B ACT
Winner: RAYE
INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Winner: Fontaines D.C.
BEST NEW ARTIST
Winner: The Last Dinner Party
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Chappell Roan
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Charli xcx
Presenter: Jared Leto
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Charli xcx
MASTERCARD ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Charli xcx ‘BRAT’
Pictured top: Ezra Collective were very worthy winners at The Brits Picture: JM Enternational