The Brit Award for Song of the Year is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom.[1] The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music.[2] The winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees.[3] The award was first known as Brit Award for British Single, from the inaugural 1977 Brit Awards[4] through to the 2019 Brit Awards,[5] was first renamed as Song of the Year in 2020,[6] returned to the name British Single in 2021,[7] then returned to Song of the Year in 2022.[8]
In 1984 and 1991, the category was non-competitive, with the award given directly to the highest-selling single of the year.
The inaugural recipients in this category were Queen and Procol Harum, who both won in 1977. The current holder of the award is Charli XCX, who won in 2025 for "Guess" featuring Billie Eilish.
Achievements
Robbie Williams is the biggest winner in this category with six, including three as a member of Take That, who have five wins, the most of any group. They are followed by three-time winner Adele, and Harry Styles, who won twice as a solo artist and once as a member of One Direction. Queen are the only other act to win more than once, with two. Williams leads all performers with twelve nominations, followed by Calvin Harris, who has nine. Take That has the most nominations as a group, with seven. Dua Lipa has the most nominations among female artists, with seven. Ed Sheeran holds the record for most nominations without a win, with eight.
Take That were the first act to win British Single in two consecutive years: in 1993 ("Could It Be Magic") and 1994 ("Pray"), and they repeated this feat, winning in 2007 with "Patience" and 2008 with "Shine". That record was overtaken by Robbie Williams, a former member of the band, when he had three wins in a row with "Angels" (1999), "She's the One" (2000), and "Rock DJ" (2001).
The first female act to win the award was Spice Girls in 1997, for "Wannabe". Dido became the first female solo performer to win in 2004, for "White Flag". Adele is the first female artist to win the award twice, winning for "Skyfall" in 2013 and "Hello" in 2016 and then became the first woman to win three times with 2022's "Easy on Me".
Unlike other categories, international artists are eligible for British Single/Song of the Year if the primary artist is British. The first foreign artist to win this award was American singer Bruno Mars in 2015 as a featured artist on Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk". Since then, two more American artists have won the award: 070 Shake (as the featured artist in "Escapism" by Raye) in 2024 and Billie Eilish (as the featured artist in "Guess" by Charli XCX) in 2025.
Phil Collins won the award in 19901991 recipients Depeche ModeTwo-time winners QueenFive-time winners Take ThatSpice Girls won for their worldwide smash "Wannabe"Robbie Williams holds the record for most wins in this category, with six. Williams won three of his awards as a member of Take That, and three as a solo artist.
2020 award recipient Lewis CapaldiThree-time winner Harry Styles received the award in 2012 as a member of One Direction, and 2021 and 2023 as a solo artist
↑"The BRITs 1977". BRIT Awards Ltd. 1977-10-18. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2022-05-02. (note: set to access the archived copy, which gives more information and includes nominees of all awards as well as both winners of the award for British Single, as Queen is missing from the May 2022 URL)
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