British superstar Adele won three awards, including the coveted Album of the Year, at the Brit awards on Tuesday, during a ceremony that did away with gender specific categories for the first time.

Adele won best album for 30, as well as song of the year for her hit single Easy On Me and artist of the year, no longer female or male, after which she acknowledged the changing times.

The Brits said they did away with gendered categories to celebrate “artists solely for their music and work, rather than how they choose to identify or as others may see them.”

Sam Smith, who is non-binary, did not submit their album Love Goes last year because it did not fit into the male and female categories.

This year's nominations featured the biggest number of woman-fronted acts in over a decade, 18, although male artists still dominated.

Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran paid homage to his wife as he received the award for Songwriter of the Year and gave two memorable performances at the arena, which had been decorated with mock pylons loaded with fireworks for the occasion.

The biggest night for British pop re-introduced genre-based prizes for the first time since 2006, with awards for alternative/rock, pop/R&B, dance and hip-hop/rap/grime voted for by fans rather than music industry insiders.

Last year's winner of British Album of the Year, Dua Lipa, won the TikTok vote for best pop/R&B act, and Sam Fender won Best Alternative Rock Act, which was presented by Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood.

US teenager Olivia Rodrigo won International Song of the Year for Good 4 U, while Becky Hill won Best Dance Act, with the dance music category returning after 16 years away from the Brits.

Rapper Little Simz was nominated for four awards and took the stage with her mother to receive the Best New Artist Award on the back of last year's album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, a backronym of her nickname Simbi. 

Host Mo Gilligan took a swipe at scandal-embroiled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, inviting him to the ceremony to enjoy some cheese.

British stand-up comedian and TV host Mo Gilligan. Photo: Niklas Halle'n/AFP

“Boris I know you're watching, I know you love a party, come on my guy, come down,” he said, with Johnson's premiership teetering amid allegations of lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street.

“I know you like a cheese board, look at you, looking for the Dairylea,” Gilligan said referencing processed cheese.

The evening included performances by Liam Gallagher and Anne Marie, who stumbled during her performance of Kiss My (Uh-Oh) in front of the 20,000-strong audience, but regained her composure.