2018 Brit Awards: Dua Lipa, Stormzy Win Big

Dua Lipa and Stormzy took home two trophies each at the 2018 Brit Awards held on Wednesday, Feb. 21, in London's O2 Arena.

Lipa, 22, was able to beat the likes of Kate Tempest and Laura Marling for the British Female Solo Artist category. The "New Rules" singer also took home the British Breakthrough Act award, edging out Dave, J Hus, Loyle Carner, and Sampha.

Meanwhile, Stormzy made a surprising win against Liam Gallagher, Carner, Rag 'N' Bone, and Ed Sheeran in the British Male Solo Artist category. He was also given the British Album of the Year trophy for his debut record Gang Signs & Prayer.

Winners And Performers

"Perfect" singer Ed Sheeran did not go home empty-handed. The 27-year-old Suffolk native was handed the Brits Global Success Award.

Meanwhile, former One Direction member Harry Styles won British Artist Video of the Year for the song "Sign of the Times," the lead single from his solo debut album.

Lorde triumphed over her celebrity BFF Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, P!nk, and Bjork in the International Female Solo Artist category.

Kendrick Lamar, who recently co-produced Black Panther: The Album, finally won a well-deserved award after his 2018 Grammy upset. He was hailed as this year's International Male Solo Artist. Other nominees were Beck, DJ Khaled, Drake, and Childish Gambino.

The "Humble" singer also performed on the 2018 Brit Awards stage on Wednesday night.

Other winners include Gorillaz (British Group), Jorja Smith (Critics' Choice), Rag 'N' Bone Man (British Single), Foo Fighters (International Group), and Steve Mac (British Producer of the Year).

Major international artists also took the stage to make the night even brighter. Because Ariana Grande could not fly to London to perform at the event, Liam Gallagher stepped in and sang Oasis' "Live Forever" as a tribute to the victims of last year's Manchester terror attacks.

Justin Timberlake brought his new tracks from the album Man of the Woods to the Brit Awards this year. He performed the songs "Midnight Summer Jam" and "Say Something" (featuring Chris Stapleton).

Rita Ora and Liam Payne performed "For You," a track from the soundtrack of Fifty Shades Freed.

A Politically-Charged Night

Following the silent protests at the Golden Globes and the Grammys, attendees of the 2018 Brit Awards were also handed white roses and pins as a sign of solidarity with victims of sexual assault.

However, Paloma Faith, who received five nominations, was upset that not a lot of men carried a white rose on the red carpet. She personally pinned a rose to a member of the rock group Royal Blood.

Time's Up is a result of last year's revelation that movie producer Harvey Weinstein sexually abused dozens of women, including actresses, over the span of 30 years. In the past few months, more men and women have come forward to reveal their own stories of sexual assault and expose the misconduct of actors, directors, producers, and many others. The movement has also affected the music industry.

"What I think is really important is that we're speaking across the board for women because I have never met a woman who hasn't experienced it in any profession," she said.

Meanwhile, Stormzy called out Prime Minister Theresa May in a new freestyle, mentioning her mishandling of the Grenfell Tower fire last year.

"Yo, Theresa May, where's the money for Grenfell?/What, you thought we just forgot about Grenfell," he said. "You're criminals, and you got the cheek to call us savages/You should do some jail time, you should pay some damages/You should burn your house down and see if you can manage this."

Watch the performance below

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Dua Lipa, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles
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