Here Are Our Predictions in Every Category

Nominees: Dave, The Boy Who Played the Harp; Lily Allen, West End Girl; Olivia Dean, The Art of Loving; Sam Fender, People Watching; Wolf Alice, The Clearing

The biggest prize of the night, and for good reason. Each year, only five records of the highest quality make this category, which seeks to capture the story of British music in the past 12 months. Four of the nominees (Dave, Lily Allen, Olivia Dean and Sam Fender) can lay claim to career-highs and consider themselves in the running. Wolf Alice’s The Clearing, however, arguably does not quite reach the same heights as the band’s previous work, and despite hitting No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart on its release week, the LP has since fallen out of the top 100.

Allen’s West End Girl proved a remarkable comeback, while Dave’s The Boy Who Played The Harp showcased one of British music’s finest lyricists. Sam Fender’s People Watching boosted his stature and scooped the Mercury Prize back in October. But for its chart ubiquity (seven weeks at No. 1) and for allowing its performer to level up to international superstar status, Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving ought to be the winner here.

Predicted winner: The Art of Loving

Nominees: Dave, Fred again.., JADE, Lily Allen, Little Simz, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, PinkPantheress, Sam Fender, Self Esteem

There’s a prevailing sense that the 2026 BRITs will be Olivia Dean’s night, and mimic the recent clean sweeps by RAYE (2024) and Charli xcx (2025). The competition is fierce, however. Lola Young triumphed at the Grammys earlier this month (best pop solo performance), while Lily Allen re-established herself as a genuine heavyweight in British culture, two decades on from her debut LP. PinkPantheress, too, turned in a barnstorming mixtape with Fancy That. 

But since the artist of the year prize was introduced in 2022 (the female solo and male solo categories were combined), it has shared its winner with the album of the year category: Adele (2022), Harry Styles (2023), RAYE (2024) and Charli xcx (2025). We see no reason why Olivia should buck the trend, and expect her to snag both prizes.

Predicted winner: Olivia Dean

Nominees: Pulp, Sleep Token, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg, Wolf Alice

Rock and indie music has struggled for representation at the BRITs in recent years, but 2026’s group of the year field shows that the scenes are in rude health. All but one of the nominated acts had a No. 1 album on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart in 2025, while The Last Dinner Party’s From the Pyre came in at No. 2 (behind Taylor Swift). Sleep Token also pulled off a rare feat by concurrently topping charts in the U.K. and the U.S. when Even in Arcadia bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Pulp’s return to the studio for More (their first LP in 24 years) also drew critical acclaim.

Wet Leg and Wolf Alice are the only two of the nominees to have won this category before. Given that the latter are set to perform live on the night, it could be an indicator that they’ve been favoured by the BRITs Voting Academy.

Predicted winner: Wolf Alice

Nominees: Barry Can’t Swim, EsDeeKid, Jim Legaxcy Lola Young, Skye Newman

Known as the best new artist category between 2020 and 2025, it has returned to the best breakthrough title, which it was known from 2003 to 2019. The change in semantics means that Lola Young – an artist with three albums to her name – can go toe-to-toe with Skye Newman, who has released just one EP in her nascent career (but performed well on the U.K. Singles Chart). Both are having breakout periods, in their own way.

Young feels like an obvious frontrunner in this category, though Liverpudlian rapper EsDeeKid’s recent success on the Billboard Hot 100 is impressing the British industry, which makes up the majority of the voting panel. But given the success of Young’s “Messy,” her Grammy win, and her impending comeback in the live arena, it would be a shock if she didn’t collect this prize and give one of the night’s best – and sweary – speeches.

Predicted winner: Lola Young

Nominees: “Blessings,” Calvin Harris & Clementine Douglas; “The Days (NOTION Remix),” CHRYSTAL & NOTION; “Defying Gravity,” Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande; “Azizam,” Ed Sheeran; “Victory Lap,” Fred again.. & Skepta & PlaqueBoyMax; “Survive,” Lewis Capaldi; “Messy,” Lola Young; “Nice to Meet You,” Myles Smith; “Man I Need,” Olivia Dean; “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!,” RAYE; “Rein Me In,” Sam Fender & Olivia Dean; “Family Matters,” Skye Newman

Song of the year is one of the two categories (alongside international song of the year) to be voted for by fans via WhatsApp. This voting mechanism will benefit songs that can mobilize multiple fan groups to rally around a single song. “Rein Me In” could bring together both Dean and Fender’s huge fanbases, and would dovetail with news that the song is poised to contend for the No. 1 spot on the U.K. Singles Chart in the coming weeks. “Defying Gravity” could also be in the running if fans of Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and the Wicked franchise get on board. 

Predicted winner: “Rein Me In”

Nominees: Bad Bunny, Chappell Roan, CMAT, Doechii, Lady Gaga, Rosalía, Sabrina Carpenter, sombr, Taylor Swift, Tyler, the Creator

Now here are some serious heavyweights. Nearly every act in this category (Sombr aside, perhaps) could emerge triumphant. They’ve dominated charts, headlined festivals and stadiums, and given us some of the finest music of the year. Rosalía, however, earned the best reviews of her career with her 2025 album LUX, and voters could be swayed by making history by making her the first Latin artist to win this category (votes were cast before Bad Bunny’s acclaimed Super Bowl halftime show). The Catalonian star will also perform live on the night, which feels like a giveaway.

Predicted winner: Rosalía

Nominees: Geese, HAIM, HUNTR/X, Tame Impala, Turnstile

Two previous winners of the international group category (Tame Impala, 2016; HAIM, 2022) feature in this year’s field, but neither really feel like front-runners: Tame’s Deadbeat divided critics, while HAIM’s I Quit didn’t resonate quite in the same way as past albums. That leaves two rock bands, Geese and Turnstile, and animated K-pop group HUNTR/X whose “Golden” – which features in Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters – dominated the U.K. Singles Chart for 10 weeks in 2025.  

No K-pop group has ever won the trophy (BTS and Blackpink have competed in the category in recent years) and this could be the right moment to honor the scene. But votes were cast in December 2025, right as the Geese buzz was reaching fever-pitch, and we think they could cause a major upset here.

Predicted winner: Geese

Nominees: “Ordinary,” Alex Warren; “Pink Pony Club,” Chappell Roan; “No Broke Boys,” Disco Lines & Tinashe; “Sailor Song,” Gigi Perez; “That’s So True,” Gracie Abrams; “Golden,” HUNTR/X (EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI); “Die With a Smile,” Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars; “Love Me Not,” Ravyn Lenae; “APT.,” ROSÉ & Bruno Mars; “Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter; “undressed,” sombr; “The Fate of Ophelia,” Taylor Swift.

Much like in the song of the year category, this fan-voted prize will likely reward a track with multiple collaborators or broad appeal. “APT.” from ROSÉ & Bruno Mars could benefit from this voting method, as could “Die With A Smile,” another Mars number (this time with Lady Gaga). The sheer success of “Golden” on the U.K. Singles Charts, however, and a mobilized voting base could see this home to victory.

Predicted winner: “Golden”

Nominees: Calvin Harris & Clementine Douglas, FKA twigs, Fred again.. Skepta & PlaqueBoyMax, PinkPantheress, Sammy Virji.

Since their return in 2022, genre categories were previously voted by fans. In 2026, they’ve returned to the BRITs Voting Academy, which means that nominees do not have to energize fans in a strategic voting campaign. Harris has previously won the prize (2022) and Fred again.. has been nominated in this category for the past four years, but never gone all the way.

That said, FKA twigs will likely be a frontrunner for the prize, given that Eusexua triumphed in the best dance album category at the Grammys. PinkPantheress, whose Grammy-nominated Fancy That mixtape was the sound of the British summer in 2025, will also be a strong contender. With the latter’s “Stateside” now peaking on the U.K. Charts following a timely Zara Larsson remix, she deserves to take the crown.

Predicted winner: PinkPantheress

Nominees: Blood Orange, Lola Young, Sam Fender, Wet Leg, Wolf Alice

Sam Fender is something of a heavyweight in this category. Reintroduced in 2022, the Geordie hero has won the category twice previously (2023, 2025). Wolf Alice and Wet Leg have also been nominated multiple times, and Blood Orange is recognized for the first time at the BRITs (and deservedly so). Young featuring as a nominee in both alternative/rock act and pop act categories feels like a voter quirk that ought to have been nixed, but there’s a good chance she sees off Fender if voter fatigue comes into play.

Predicted winner: Lola Young

Nominees: Central Cee, Dave, Jim Legxacy, Little Simz, Loyle Carner

While Carner and Legxacy both turned in fine projects (more on the latter shortly) in 2025, this feels like a three-way battle between Cench, Dave and Little Simz. The former scored the highest-ever charting U.K. rap album on the Billboard 200 (Can’t Rush Greatness, No. 9), and it was considered a major snub when he didn’t collect the prize in 2025. Dave’s The Boy Who Played the Harp, meanwhile, spawned a U.K. No. 1 single with “Raindance” and a sold-out arena tour. Simz has also been nominated three times previously for this category but has never come away with a win despite critical acclaim.

Given that Dave (a previous category winner in 2022) is the only act of the trio to also be nominated in the album of the year category, it appears voters have been dazzled by his latest campaign.

Predicted winner: Dave

Nominees: JADE, Lily Allen, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, RAYE

Undeniably the strongest of the genre categories. JADE is the current reigning champ, and wowed the nation at 2025’s ceremony with her performance of “Angel of My Dreams”, but her story has not progressed at the same rate as her fellow nominees. RAYE is recognized despite releasing just one song (the chart-topping “Where Is My Husband!”) and both Dean and Young… well, you know the story there.

Allen, however, seems to be a real contender. West End Girl felt like an instant classic on release, and she’s set to play her first arena run of her career in 2026. She’s only won one BRIT Award during her career (British female solo, 2010) and her superb comeback narrative could be enough to stop a clean sweep by Dean in her categories. 

Predicted winner: Lily Allen

Nominees: Jim Legxacy, Kwn, Mabel, Sasha Keable, Sault.

Of the genre categories, the R&B act field touts the fewest household names and most modest commercial success: none of these acts released an LP that reached the top 20 on the U.K.’s Official Albums chart in 2025. There is serious creativity in this field, however. Jim Legxacy’s Black British Music mixtape earned rave reviews upon release and he was one of a handful of features on Dave’s The Boy Who Played the Harp LP. That should be enough to put him out front to pick up this gong.

Predicted winner: Jim Legxacy