British band 'The 1975', Matthew Healy, Ross MacDonald, George Daniel and Adam Hann speak after collecting their British Album of the Year award during the BRIT Awards 2019 ceremony and live show in London.-AFP photos

Pop rockers The 1975 stole the show at British pop music's annual celebration on Wednesday, winning the coveted Best Album Brit award, with US singer Pink also honored. The Manchester four-piece claimed the prize for their raw number one album "A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships" ahead of Florence + The Machine and indie singer George Ezra. The band also claimed the best British group award-speaking out against misogyny in their acceptance speech-before performing "Sincerity Is Scary" for the thousands packed into the London's O2 Arena at the 39th annual ceremony, which recognized Britain's top talent of 2018.

Australian A-lister Hugh Jackman kicked off proceedings in a blaze of Hollywood razzamatazz, performing "the Greatest Show" from hit musical "The Greatest Showman" accompanied by scores of gravity-defying dancers. George Ezra was the night's early winner, taking the Best Male Solo Artist award, beating off competition from garage pioneer Craig David, veteran avant-garde techno producer Aphex Twin and soul singer Sam Smith. He followed up by performing upbeat summer chart-topper "Shotgun", shortly before 21-year-old soul diva Jorja Smith was named best female solo artist.

US superstar Ariana Grande and hip-hop giants Drake and The Carters-comprised of power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce-scooped the international awards, with the latter sending a video thank you message in front of a regal painting of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. Dua Lipa, the big winner of last year's Brits, made a show-stopping performance as part of a superstar collaboration with hit producer Calvin Harris and singer Sam Smith. Rising star Anne-Marie, who shot to fame as the vocalist on Clean Bandit's worldwide hit "Rockabye", was nominated for four awards, including for the Britney Spears-inspired video to "2002", but left empty-handed.

'This is all too much'
Multi-million record selling US artist Pink closed out the show with a medley of hits after being presented the outstanding achievement award recognizing her 20-year career. "This is all too much, my dad's really excited," she told the crowd. "It's beyond anything my brain can comprehend. It's been an awesome journey." The Brit Awards have recognized the cream of British pop music since they were first held in 1977, and have often been peppered with scandal and farce.

The 1989 Brits are best remembered for the shambolic presenting skills of model Samantha Fox and Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood and a comical series of mishaps. Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker stormed the stage in protest while Michael Jackson performed surrounded by children in 1996. In 1998, Chumbawamba vocalist Danbert Nobacon dumped a bucket of iced water over then deputy prime minister John Prescott. And Madonna suffered whiplash injuries at the 2015 edition when she fell off the stage wearing a giant cape and surrounded by dancers wearing bondage-style costumes and horns on their heads.

The awards have also been criticized for failing to be bold in their choice of performers in recent years. The British music industry contributed £4.5 billion ($5.8 billion, 5.1 billion euros) to the UK economy in 2015, and British artists accounted for one of every eight albums purchased worldwide.-AFP

Winners of the 2019 Brit Awards
British album of the year-"A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships" by The 1975
British male solo artist-George Ezra
British female solo artist-Jorja Smith
British breakthrough act-Tom Walker
British group-The 1975
British single-"One Kiss" by Dua Lipa and Calvin Harris
International male solo artist-Drake
International female solo artist-Ariana Grande
International group-The Carters
British artist video-"Woman Like Me" by Little Mix and Nicki Minaj-AFP