BRIT Awards 2015: Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith share top honors

Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith shared the honors, winning two prizes each at last night’s BRIT Awards at London’s O2 Arena.

Ed Sheeran scooped the night’s main prize, album of the year, for his record X – which was the best-selling record of 2014 in the UK.

He also won best British male, while Sam Smith took home best breakthrough artist and the global success award – recognizing album sales outside the UK.

Earlier, Taylor Swift opened proceedings, playing her hit single Blank Space surrounded by dancers in white suits and bowler hats.

She went on to win best international female, her first award after eight years of releasing records in the UK.

Taylor Swift star dedicated her award to Ed Sheeran, a close friend, who fanned the flames of her love affair with the UK by “taking me to pubs and showing me how to make a proper cup of tea”.

Both acknowledged their slow-building success in their speeches.

Paloma Faith won best British female, and also alluded to her slow-building career.

She revealed she’d “been arrested twice” for fly posting in Hackney when she was a young artist, but could now see her face on posters at the tube station outside the venue.

Paloma Faith’s third album, A Perfect Contradiction, was the biggest-selling female record in the last year, shifting more than 725,000 copies.

She also gave one of the night’s more elaborate performances, singing Only Love Can Hurt Like This under a streaming waterfall.

Mark Ronson won best single for Uptown Funk, while rock duo Royal Blood were presented with best British Group by rock legend Jimmy Page.

The band also performed at the show, alongside George Ezra and Kanye West, who premiered a new song All Day, which had to be heavily censored by ITV.