The most memorable BRIT Award performances ever

The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard takes place on Saturday 28th February this year, and already the likes of Harry Styles, Olivia Dean and Mark Ronson have been announced to perform at the ceremony in Manchester.

Ahead of the biggest night in music, we take a look back at some of the most iconic performances from the prestigious awards show throughout the years, from the Spice Girls' fantastic performance of ‘Who Do You Think You Are’, to JADE's performance of 'Angel Of My Dreams' in 2025.

Here are some of the most memorable BRITs performances over the years:

Michael Jackson (1996)

Michael Jackson's performance of 'Earth Song' will be remembered for all the wrong reasons when Pulp's Jarvis Cocker invaded the stage and mooned at the audience. Of course it was ALL caught on camera.

Spice Girls (1997)

The performance which brought the birth of ‘that’ famous Union Jack dress. Posh, Scary, Sporty, Baby and Ginger spice performed ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ and it was brilliant.

Westlife (2001)

Nominated for three awards on the night in 2001, Westlife also performed their amazing cover of Billy Joel's 'Uptown Girl', going on to win the award for 'Pop Act'.

Justin Timberlake and Kylie Minogue (2003)

Justin Timberlake and pop princess Kylie Minogue teamed up in 2003, and the performance soon became one of the greatest BRIT Award performances of all time.

Scissor Sisters (2005)

The Scissor Sisters stunned everyone in 2005 with their utterly outrageous production of ‘Take Your Mama’. The band donned animal costumes and even had singing watermelons to help them out.

Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson (2008)

Amy Winehouse gave an amazing performance of ‘Valerie’ with friend and music producer Mark Ronson back in 2008. Accompanied by an orchestra, the singer’s distinctive vocals shone through, watch their incredible performance below.

Kaiser Chiefs (2008)

It was one of the songs of the year so it's no wonder the Kaiser Chiefs took the roof off the place when they performed their hit 'Ruby' back in 2008.

Pet Shop Boys & Lady Gaga (2009)

The Pet Shop Boys were joined on stage by Lady Gaga and Brandon Flowers back in 2009 for the show's finale. Singing a medley of their most popular hits, the performance lasted a whopping 10 minutes.

Cheryl (2010)

Cheryl performed her hit song ‘Fight For This Love’ just days after announcing her marriage to footballer Ashley Cole was over, and the girl didn’t disappoint, giving an explosive performance!

Florence + The Machine and Dizzee Rascal (2010)

In what was one of the best BRIT collaborations of all time, Florence Welch and Dizzee Rascal mixed together their tracks 'You Got The Love' and 'Dirtee Cash' to create 'You Got The Dirtee Love'.

The performance was so huge the pair went on to release the mash-up as an official single and even performed it at Glastonbury.

Adele (2011)

Adele gave a flawless performance of her track ‘Someone Like You’ at the 2011 BRIT Awards, leaving the audience with goosebumps.

One Direction (2013)

The One Direction boys (including Zayn Malik), turned the BRIT Awards stage into a giant game of pinball when they performed their charity track 'One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)' back in 2013.

Ed Sheeran (2015)

Lovable Ed Sheeran braved the BRIT Awards stage in 2015 with just a guitar, and that's all he needed, his vocals sounded amazing as he belted out ‘Bloodstream’.

Kanye West (2015)

Kanye shocked audiences when he performed 'All Day' back in 2015, even they had to beep out bad language 15 times!

Madonna (2015)

The performance everybody remembers (for all the wrong reasons), was Madonna's fall at the BRITs in 2015. It was still brilliant nonetheless.

Little Mix (2016)

The Little Mix girls showed exactly why they've achieved so much success during their incredible performance of 'Black Magic' in 2016.

Justin Bieber and James Bay (2016)

Justin Bieber teamed up with James Bay at the BRIT Awards in 2016 for an acoustic version of 'Love Yourself'. The international superstar then set the stage alight (literally) with an incredible performance of 'Sorry'.

Rihanna and Drake (2016)

Rihanna was joined on stage by her on/off boyfriend Drake in 2016 and the pair did some serious bumping and grinding to their hit track 'Work'.

Katy Perry (2017)

Katy Perry was on stage at the BRIT Awards 2017 putting on an incredible performance of her new track 'Chained to the Rhythm' when one of her dancers fell off the stage. The moment became a subject of many memes.

P!NK (2019)

After picking up the award for her outstanding contribution to music, American singer P!nk rounded off the show in 2019, performing a medley of some of her biggest hits. She took to the stage to sing hits like 'Walk Me Home', 'Try', 'What About Us', and 'Just Give Me A Reason' alongside Dan from Bastille.

Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa, Sam Smith and Rag'n'Bone Man (2019)

In what was his debut performance at The BRIT Awards, Scottish DJ Calvin Harris brought along his friends Dua Lipa, Sam Smith and Rag'n'Bone Man for a mash-up of their hits 'One Kiss', 'Giant' and 'Promises'.

Harry Styles (2020)

Former One Direction singer Harry Styles showed us all why he's so adored by his loyal army of fans in 2020, gracing us with some amazing vocals whilst performing his emotional hit single 'Falling'.

Dave (2020)

Perhaps one of the most powerful performances ever to grace the BRIT Awards. Rapper Dave left viewers both emotional and speechless during his performance of 'Black' in 2020, referring to mattes like Boris Johnson, the Grenfell tragedy and Windrush in his freestyle additions.

Stormzy (2020)

Another powerful statement in 2020 arrived from Stormzy as he performed a medley of hits from his award-winning 'Heavy Is the Head'.

Sir Elton John and Olly Alexander (2021)

In what was a surprise performance, Sir Elton John teamed up with Years & Years singer Olly Alexander at the 2021 ceremony, with the boys performing a cover of the Pet Shop Boys' classic hit 'It's A Sin'.

Some of the proceeds from the new track are going to Elton John's AIDS Foundation, an organisation which supports innovative HIV prevention.

Rag'n'Bone Man, P!nk and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Choir (2021)

Performing a special rendition of their new single 'Anywhere From Here', despite P!nk not actually being in the country due to COVID-19 restrictions, Rag'n'Bone Man was joined by the Greenwich NHS Trust Choir at the 2021 ceremony on Tuesday 11th May.

Coldplay (2021)

Debuting their brand new single 'Higher Power', Coldplay returned to the UK music scene for the first time in 18 months by opening the BRITs 2021. The band, who have been incredibly successful at The BRITs over the years, performed on a pontoon on the River Thames near London's O2.

Ed Sheeran and Bring Me The Horizon (2022)

In a collab absolutely nobody expected, pop star Ed Sheeran teamed up with rock band Bring Me The Horizon to open the show at The BRIT Awards 2022.

The unlikely duo performed Ed's hit track 'Bad Habits', in an epic set.

Adele (2022)

It was her first performance at The BRITs since 2016, and Adele certainly didn't disappoint! Wearing a stunning gold gown whilst sitting on a moon, Adele once again showed us just how good those vocals are, belting out her track 'I Drink Wine'.

Dave (2022)

Closing the show in 2022, Dave proved once again he is a man of MANY talents!

Dave was joined on stage by Fredo, Meekz, Ghetts, Giggs as they performed hit single 'In The Fire'.

Harry Styles (2023)

The one and only Harry Styles opened the ceremony in 2023 and took to the stage in a sequin jacket to perform 'As It Was'.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras (2023)

Sam Smith and Kim Petras performed their hit song 'Unholy' in 2023, and what a spectacle it was!

Lizzo (2023)

American singer Lizzo wowed the crowd with a mashup of her songs 'Special' and '2 Be Loved' as well as her hugely popular track 'About Damn Time' - and she even played the flute!

RAYE (2024)

As well as breaking records by winning a huge six awards during the 2024 BRITs ceremony, RAYE also showed off her talents by performing a medley of her hits, including 'Prada', 'Ice Cream Man', and 'Escapism'.

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding (2024)

Besties Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding took to the stage together at the 2024 ceremony to perform their huge hit 'Miracles', and they certainly got the crowed bouncing.

Kylie Minogue (2024)

After picking up The BRITs Icon Award in 2024, Queen of Pop Kylie Minogue took to the stage to perform a medley of her greatest hits, closing the show with the likes of 'All The Lovers', 'Padam Padam', and 'Love At First Sight'.

Sabrina Carpenter (2025)

American singer Sabrina Carpenter opened the show at The BRIT Awards 2025 with a medley of her hits 'Espresso' and 'Bad Chem'. Sabrina certainly got pulses racing with her performance, later picking up the Global Icon Award.

JADE (2025)

Jade Thirlwall, or JADE as she's now known, took to the BRITs stage for the first time in 2025, without her Little Mix band mates. After picking up the award for Pop Act, JADE showed the reason why she's smashing it as a solo artist, performing her huge track 'Angel of My Dreams'.

No check out all of the BRITs 2026 nominees below:

The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard takes place on Saturday 28th February.

Now read:

The BRIT Awards 2026: Everything you need to know

Famous artists who started their careers at BRIT school

The BRIT Awards 2026: Who is performing?

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