“I just feel so proud to be a Black British female artist”: Olivia Dean cleans up at the Mobo Awards, as Pharrell Williams accepts a special prize for songwriting from Nile Rodgers

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 26: Olivia Dean performs onstage during the 2026 MOBO Awards at Co-op Live on March 26, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Joseph Okpako/Getty Images for MOBO)
(Image credit: Joseph Okpako/Getty Images for MOBO)

You’d have been a brave person to bet against Olivia Dean winning big at last night’s Mobo awards and, as expected, she did indeed clean up.

Dean took home the awards for Album of The Year for The Art of Loving, Song of The Year for Man I Need, and Best Female Act. She also sang, slowing down the tempo of the evening for a couple of minutes with a performance of… A Couple Minutes.

Olivia Dean - A Couple Minutes (Live at the MOBO Awards 2026) | MOBO 30 - YouTube Olivia Dean - A Couple Minutes (Live at the MOBO Awards 2026) | MOBO 30 - YouTube
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Accepting her Best Female Act award, Dean said: “It's such an honour to be here and I just feel so proud to be a black British female artist. I feel so proud, and I just want to say big-ups to all the other women in this category – you're amazing.”

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Other winners included Raye, whose video for Where Is My Husband? was recognised, and Central Cee, who was named Best Hip Hop Act. Flo got the nod in the Best R&B/Soul Act category, Ezra Collective were named Best Jazz Act and Stephen Graham won Best Performance in a TV Show / Film for Adolescence.

Also honoured was Pharrell Williams, who was presented with the Mobo Global Songwriter Award by Nile Rodgers, who he worked with on Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories album.

“It’s an honour to be on the stage tonight in the UK,” he began – the ceremony was taking place at Manchester’s Co-op Live – before adding that “the idea that I still get to do this is incredible.”

Check out the full list of winners below.

Mobo Award winners 2026

  • Best Male Act In Association With Prostate Cancer UK - Jim Legxacy
  • Best Female Act In Association With Got2b - Olivia Dean
  • Album Of The Year In Association With Amazon Music - Olivia Dean - The Art Of Loving
  • Song Of The Year In Association With 1664 Bière - Olivia Dean - Man I Need
  • Best Newcomer - Dc3
  • Video Of The Year In Association With Vevo - Raye - Where Is My Husband! (Directed By The Reids)
  • Best R&B/Soul Act In Association With Huda Beauty - Flo
  • Best Alternative Music Act - Nova Twins
  • Best Grime Act Supported By Trench - Chip
  • Best Hip Hop Act - Central Cee
  • Best Drill Act - Twin S
  • Best International Act - Ayra Starr
  • Best Media Personality - Niko Omilana
  • Best Performance In A Tv Show/Film - Stephen Graham - Adolescence
  • Best African Music Act - Wizkid
  • Best Caribbean Music Act - Vybz Kartel
  • Best Jazz Act - Ezra Collective
  • Best Electronic/Dance Act Supported By Bema & Mixmag - Sherelle
  • Best Gospel Act Supported By Premier Gospel - Dc3
  • Best Producer - P2j
  • Mobo Global Songwriter Award - Pharrell Williams
  • Mobo Lifetime Achievement Award - Slick Rick
Ben Rogerson
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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