On Tuesday (February 21), some of the biggest names in the music business headed to London's O2 Arena for the 2012 Brit Awards, where Adele, Rihanna and Bruno Mars were among the stars who took home prizes.
Grammy winner Adele added to her award collection by nabbing two Brits, including British Female Solo Artist and the night's big prize, Mastercard British Album of the Year, for 21. And on Wednesday, the U.K. singer will celebrate the one-year anniversary of her chart-topping 21.
"It's been an amazing year," she told the room as she accepted the Female Solo Artist prize. She then joked to presenter Kylie Minogue, "I feel like a drag queen next to you," before thanking her record label for "for letting me be the kind of artist I want to be."
There were also live performances from Florence and the Machine, Coldplay, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and, of course, Adele, who sang "Rolling in the Deep" just a little over a week since her Grammy performance.
Meanwhile, just as One Direction seems poised for a U.S. takeover the U.K. boy band nabbed a British Single award for their track "What Makes You Beautiful," which was released in the States last week.
Rihanna and Bruno Mars won International Female Solo Artist and International Male Solo Artist, respectively. "[Thanks to] all my fans who continue to support me no matter what," said Rihanna, who made headlines on Tuesday (February 21) by adding Chris Brown to her "Birthday Cake" remix.
Coldplay took home the British Group prize for the third time. On the other end of the spectrum, Grammy winners the Foo Fighters beat out folks like Jay-Z and Kanye West (a.k.a. the Throne), Lady Antebellum and Maroon 5 to win International Group. Lana Del Rey won the International Breakthrough Act award, just weeks after she dropped her debut, Born to Die.
Other awards included Outstanding Contribution Award for Blur, a Critics Choice Award for Emeli Sande and British Male Solo Artist for singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran, who also took British Breakthrough Act.