The U.K. music industry has woken up to news that its artists blazed a scorching trail at the 2026 Grammys.
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Olivia Dean, Lola Young, The Cure, Yungblud, FKA Twigs and Cynthia Erivo were among the winners at the starry ceremony at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday (Feb. 1), giving British artists one of their best showings in recent years.
Dean scored the coveted best new artist prize, the first time a British act has won since 2019 (Dua Lipa) and only the tenth overall. The win is her first at the Grammys and comes as “Man I Need,” the lead single from her The Art of Loving LP, is now up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. She could well be a contender at the 2027 ceremony, as both fall into next year’s eligibility period.
Speaking from the stage, Dean was one of many artists to highlight the role of immigrants amidst the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement. “I’m up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant,” she said. “I’m a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated,” Dean added. “We’re nothing without each other.” She was one of many acts alongside Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish to condemn recent killings and behavior by the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agency.
Lola Young gave her first public live performance in several months with a rendition of “Messy,” which later won best pop solo performance. The song won out over stiff competition in the category from Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber, and follows a four-week run at No. 1 in the U.K. Singles Chart in early 2025. In September, Young was forced to postpone all live performances following an on-stage collapse in New York.
The British winners started early in the pre-show ceremony. Yungblud collected the award for best rock performance for his rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” at Ozzy Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning farewell concert in Birmingham, England back in July 2025. The performance was later released as a single to raise money for charity, and the Doncaster rocker told Billboard U.K. prior to the ceremony that being nominated for a live moment was “the greatest recognition you can get as a performer.”
FKA Twigs also collected a prize for best dance/electronic album for her daring LP Eusexua to mark her first-ever Grammy prize. “It’s been the most incredible journey,” she said in her acceptance speech. “I know that to a lot of people I may be new, but I’ve actually been doing this a really long time so to any artist: don’t give up, follow your vision, do you, because that’s what’s going make the world fall in love with your art.”
The Cure scored their first-ever win at the Grammys in the best alternative album (Songs of a Lost World) and best alternative music performance (“Alone”) categories. They’d twice been nominated for the former category during their 50-year career (Wish, 1993; Bloodflowers, 2001) but had never before taken home the prize.
London-born singer and actress Cynthia Erivo earned the best pop duo performance for “Defying Gravity” from hit film Wicked, recognising her rendition of the hit musical song with co-star Ariana Grande.
It all added up to a triumphant night for the U.K. music industry that disproves doomy conversations about the dearth of new talent coming through. Dean, Young, Sam Fender and more were among the artists to drive the U.K.’s recorded music market to dizzying new heights in 2025, and a Harry Styles comeback could take it even further.
Dickon Stainer, chief executive at Universal Music U.K., tells Billboard U.K.: “These Grammy wins for Olivia Dean and Lola Young mark a pivotal moment in the resurgence of British music on the global stage. Seeing these young artists recognized alongside The Cure, after their near fifty-year wait, is the surest sign yet that British talent is moving back to its rightful place at the forefront of worldwide music.”
Dr. Jo Twist OBE, chief executive of the BPI, highlighted the role that music education played in several winners. She tells Billboard U.K.: “Four of last night’s winners (FKA Twigs, Lola Young, Olivia Dean and RAYE) are alumni of the free-to-attend BRIT School in Croydon, making last night an incredible testament both to the power of creative education and to the importance of making it accessible to as many young Brits as possible.”
She continued, “Recognition like this is more than a gesture. It’s proof that British music is well and truly world-class, an acknowledgment of last year’s many UK musical breakthroughs, and a reminder that the UK remains one of the best places in the world for artists to launch and develop their careers, supported by our record label members and the wider music ecosystem.”
