Full list of BRIT Awards 2026 nominations: Lola Young and Olivia Dean lead with five nods each followed by comeback queen Lily Allen

Lola Young and Olivia Dean lead the 2026 BRIT Awards nominations with five nods each, closely followed by comeback queen Lily Allen, who has been recognised in three categories.

Since removing gendered categories, such as Best Male and Best Female, in 2022, the Award show has faced heavy backlash for the low number of female artists nominated, particularly in 2023 when the Artist Of The Year shortlist was entirely male.

However, this year has seen a major turnaround, with 70 per cent of nominations being female or non-binary.

Lily made her major comeback in October 2025 when she released her first project in seven years, her revenge album West End Girl.

The singer, 40, used the album to chronicle the collapse of her marriage to Stranger Things star David Harbour and detailed his alleged affair whilst they were together.

Lily will go up against Lola and Olivia for Artist Of The Year at the ceremony on February 28. while she is also nominated for Album Of The Year and Pop Act.

Lily's acclaimed album recounted in painful detail the break-up of her four-year marriage to David and devoted much of her lyrics to his infidelity with a secret lover. 

Lola, 24, is also up for Breakthrough Artist and Alternative/Rock Act, but it is unknown if she will attend the ceremony.

Following the announcement, she said: 'Five BRIT Nominations, how is this even possible? I've had this dream a thousand times, so I'm slightly convinced that my alarm clock is about to wake me up.   

'Seriously, this means so much to me. I am so grateful for this moment and to be nominated alongside the incredible other nominees.'

In September, she had to cancel her remaining tour dates to take a break and get her 'head in a better place', days after sparking concern by collapsing on stage at a New York gig.

During the accident, which took place in September 2024, the English star was 'carried off stage' by staff during her performance, but eventually reassured fans that she was fine. 

Lola revealed in December 2025 that her 'head is in a better place' as she returned to her social media account with an emotional message.

In the candid post, Lola wrote: 'Hey, I just wanted to express gratitude to everyone who has given me time and space to gather myself and get my head in a better place.

'I've felt so much love and support from you all and it has helped more than you will ever know.

'I am hoping to gradually get back to performing and continuing pursuing my dreams. Happy holidays to you all and can't wait to see you in 2026. Life is a journey, nothing is perfect but today I am doing well. All my love always, Lola x.'

Olivia, 26, blew up this year, and she became the first woman to claim the UK's No 1 single and album in the same week since Adele in 2021, with her song Man I Need and album The Art Of Loving.

She has been nominated in five categories and will be performing at the Award ceremony.

'To go from being a student of The BRIT School in the crowd to being a performer 10 years later is really crazy, and I'm so excited to see everyone in Manchester,' Ms Dean shared.

The star began writing songs at the tender age of 16, and taught herself to play guitar and piano.

Olivia attended the Brit School for Performing Arts and Technology and has been nominated for Best New Artist in the Grammys.

The prodigious talent released her debut single Reason To Stay in 2018, and dropped two EPs in 2019 and 2020.

In 2021, she was named breakthrough artist of the year by Amazon Music and achieved a number 19 spot on the UK singles chart with her cover of Nat King Cole's Christmas Song.

Aside from being nominated, Olivia is also reported to perform at the Brit Awards.

Off the back of winning the 2025 Mercury Prize for his album People Watching, Sam Fender has an impressive four nominations at the BRITs.

Dave has been recognised in three categories: Artist Of The Year, Album Of The Year, and Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act.

The 27-year-old released his third studio album, The Boy Who Played The Harp, at the end of last year. He has since become the first British rap artist to debut three albums at number one in the UK's official chart.

Raye has been recognised in just one category this year, after scooping a record-breaking six awards last year.

The singer scooped the first gong presented on the night, Song of the Year for her hit Escapism ft 070 Shake, shortly before also taking home the R&B Act gong and Best New Artist. 

The star holds the record for the most BRITs won at a single ceremony, a record which previously stood at four, jointly held by Blur (1995), Adele (2016) and Harry Styles (2023). 

British icons Pulp have received their first nomination for Group of the Year since 1996.

Hollywood is also well represented in this year's nominations, as Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters group HUNTR/X are nominated for International Song of the Year with Golden, and are shortlisted for International Group.

Meanwhile, Cynthia Erivo has secured her first nomination with her rendition of Wicked's Defying Gravity in contention for Song of the Year with Mastercard.

Other international stars up for awards include Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga and Chappell Roan.

The BRIT Awards return on February 28 and will take place in the musical and cultural hub of Manchester, at the Co-op Live arena.

It has been held at London's O2 Arena since 2011, but the Daily Mail revealed that the annual showpiece, regarded as the biggest night in British music, will be held in Manchester this year and is likely to move around the UK in different locations for the foreseeable future.

Comedian Jack Whitehall returns to present The BRIT Awards for the sixth time, having previously hosted the event in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2025.

He stepped away in 2022 when Mo Gilligan took over for two ceremonies, and Maya Jama, Roman Kemp, and Clara Amfo co-hosted the event together in 2024.