The Brit Award for Song of the Year is an award given by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

(BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The accolade is presented at the

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, an annual celebration of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and international music. The winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members, which comprise

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

publishers Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, news ...

, 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. , no announcements have been made as to whether there will be a fourth annual consecutive name change for the 2023 Brit Awards. In 1984 and 1991, the category was non-competitive, with the award given directly to the highest-selling single of the year.

Achievements

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

holds the record for most wins in this category at five. They are followed by

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

and

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

with three victories each.

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...

lead all performers with eight nominations. Take That have the most nominations as a group with seven.

Jess Glynne Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, she rose to prominence in 2014 as a featured artist on the singles "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and " My Love" by Route 94, bo ...

, Adele and

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco-pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Grammy A ...

have the most nods amongst female artists with five each. Take That was the first artist to win British Single in two consecutive years: for the 1993 ("

Could It Be Magic "Could It Be Magic" is a song with lyrics by Adrienne Anderson and music by Barry Manilow, inspired by Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C minor, Opus 28, Number 20. The song was initially released in 1971 by Featherbed (a group of session musi ...

") and 1994 ("

Pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

"); and they achieved this feat twice, in 2007 ("

Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when face ...

") and 2008 (" Shine"). That record was overtaken by Robbie Williams, a former Take That's member himself, when he had three wins in a row; for the years 1999 ("

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

"), 2000 (" She's the One"), and 2001 ("

Rock DJ "Rock DJ" is a song by English singer and songwriter Robbie Williams, featured on his third studio album, '' Sing When You're Winning'' (2000). The song was released on 31 July 2000 as the lead single from the album. It samples Barry White's ...

"). The first women act to win the award was

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and ...

in 1997, for " Wannabe". Dido became the first female solo performer to win in 2004, for "

White Flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

is the first female artist to win the award twice and thrice, winning for "

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

", " Hello" and " 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 "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...

" by

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and "

A Whiter Shade of Pale "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, i ...

" by

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single " A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for ...

win the award. Only foreign artist to ever win this award is

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

; he won in 2015 as a featured artist on

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, R ...

's "

Uptown Funk "Uptown Funk" is a song by British record producer Mark Ronson from his fourth studio album, ''Uptown Special'' (2015), featuring American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released as the album's lead single on 10 November 2014 via dow ...

". In the history of the award, only four artists have won British Single twice: Queen (1977, 1992), with another two artists winning it three times: Robbie Williams (1999, 2000, 2001), Adele (2013, 2016, 2022), and one artist wins it five times: Take That (1993, 1994, 1996, 2007, 2008).

Recipients

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Artists with multiple wins

Artists with multiple nominations

;8 nominations *

;7 nominations ;6 nominations *

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

;5 nominations ;4 nominations ;3 nominations ;2 nominations

Notes

* " Do They Know It's Christmas?" (1990, 2005) Double Nominated * "

" (1994), " Parklife" (1995), " Never Ever" (1998), " She's the One" (2000), "

" (2001) also won

Brit Award for British Video of the Year The Brit Award for British Video of the Year was 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 annua ...

* "

" (2005) also won Brit Award for British Song of Twenty Five Year * " Wannabe" (2010) also won Brit Award for Live Performance of Thirty Year

References

{{Brit British Single Brit Awards Song awards Awards established in 1977 Awards established in 1982 Awards disestablished in 1977