Singer Ellie Goulding has been named best British female star to land the first prize of the night at The Brit Awards.
The 27-year-old - who scored her first number one last year with Burn - took the trophy four years after collecting her first Brit.
The ceremony is the biggest night in the UK music calendar with dozens of stars, including Aussie pop princess Kylie Minogue, and thousands of fans gathered at the O2 Arena in London.
Goulding collected her prize from Prince and his group 3RDEYEGIRL who are in the UK to perform a series of intimate surprise shows at well-known venues.
The award-winner told guests: "Thank you so much - I genuinely am in shock - I'm not very good at this at all. This means so much to me - I can't even tell you."
She beat acts such as Jessie J and Laura Marling to the prize.
Arctic Monkeys opened the show with a performance of their track R U Mine? with flaming letters spelling out the name of their fifth album AM.
Katy Perry was also among the performers, playing her single Dark Horse with a fluorescent Egyptian themed stage set, flanked by costumed dancers.
