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The Brit Award for Song of the Year is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingd…
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The Brit Award for Song of the Year is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music.
The Brit Award for Song of the Year is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. The winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees. The award was first known as Brit Award for British Single, from the inaugural 1977 Brit Awards through to the 2019 Brit Awards, was first renamed as Song of the Year in 2020, returned to the name British Single in 2021, then returned to Song of the Year in 2022.
In 1984 and 1991, the category was non-competitive, with the award given directly to the highest-selling single of the year.
The inaugural recipients in this category were Queen and Procol Harum, who both won in 1977. The current holders of the award are Sam Fender and Olivia Dean, who won in 2026 for "Rein Me In".
Robbie Williams is the biggest winner in this category with six, including three as a member of Take That, who have five wins, the most of any group. They are followed by three-time winner Adele, and Harry Styles, who won twice as a solo artist and once as a member of One Direction. Queen are the only other act to win more than once, with two. Williams leads all performers with twelve nominations, followed by Calvin Harris, who has nine. Take That has the most nominations as a group, with seven. Dua Lipa has the most nominations among female artists, with seven. Ed Sheeran holds the record for most nominations without a win, with eight.
Nine artists have been nominated for multiple songs in the same year; Adam and the Ants for "Prince Charming" and "Stand and Deliver" in 1982; Jason Donovan for "Sealed with a Kiss" and "Too Many Broken Hearts" and Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers for "Let's Party", "Swing the Mood" and "That's What I Like", both in 1990; Take That for winning song "Could It Be Magic", "It Only Takes a Minute" and "A Million Love Songs" in 1993; Blur for winning song "Parklife" and "Girls & Boys" in 1995; Robbie Williams for winning song "Angels" and "Millennium" in 1999; Gareth Gates for "Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)" and "Unchained Melody" in 2003; Rita Ora for "Hot Right Now" as a featured artist and "R.I.P." as a lead artist in 2013, becoming the first female artist nominated for two songs in the same year; and David Guetta for "Bed" and "Remember", both as a co-lead artist, in 2022. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is the only song nominated in two different versions; Band Aid II's recording in 1990 and Band Aid 20's version in 2005.
Take That were the first act to win British Single in two consecutive years: in 1993 ("Could It Be Magic") and 1994 ("Pray"), and they repeated this feat, winning in 2007 with "Patience" and 2008 with "Shine". That record was overtaken by Robbie Williams, a former member of the band, when he had three wins in a row with "Angels" (1999), "She's the One" (2000), and "Rock DJ" (2001).
The first female act to win the award was Spice Girls in 1997, for "Wannabe". Dido became the first female solo performer to win in 2004, for "White Flag". Adele is the first female artist to win the award twice, winning for "Skyfall" in 2013 and "Hello" in 2016 and then became the first woman to win three times with 2022's "Easy on Me".
The first and only tie in this category in Brits history happened at the inaugural ceremony in 1977, when both "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen and "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum won the award.
Unlike other categories, international artists are eligible for British Single/Song of the Year if the primary artist is British. The first foreign artist to win this award was American singer Bruno Mars in 2015 as a featured artist on Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk". Since then, two more American artists have won the award: 070 Shake (as the featured artist in "Escapism" by Raye) in 2024 and Billie Eilish (as the featured artist in "Guess" by Charli XCX) in 2025.
Non-British artists are indicated by the flag of their country.
Source: Brit Award for Song of the Year (CC BY-SA)
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Six foreign artists have been nominated as the sole lead artist; American artists Survivor for "Eye of the Tiger" and Irene Cara for "Fame" in 1983, Australian singer Jason Donovan for "Sealed with a Kiss" and "Too Many Broken Hearts" in 1990 and "Any Dream Will Do" in 1992, Jamaican-American singer Shaggy for "Oh Carolina" in 1994, Italian producer Spiller for "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" featuring English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor in 2001, and Norwegian producer Alan Walker for "Faded" in 2017. Ten others have been nominated as co-leads with British artists; Irish band U2 for "Take Me to the Clouds Above" with LMC in 2005, Kosovan producer Regard for "Secrets" with Raye in 2021, French producer David Guetta for "Bed" with Joel Corry and Raye and "Remember" with Becky Hill in 2022, American singer Ashanti for "Baby" with Aitch and German singer Kim Petras for "Unholy" with Sam Smith in 2023, Irish producer CamrinWatsin for "Kisses" with Bl3ss and Bbyclose and Australian producer Sonny Fodera and Irish singer Jazzy for "Somedays" with D.O.D. in 2025, and American artists Ariana Grande for "Defying Gravity" with Cynthia Erivo and PlaqueBoyMax for "Victory Lap" with Fred Again and Skepta in 2026.
