Jacob Alon has been announced as the winner of this year’s prestigious BRITs Critics’ Choice Award.
The Scottish art-folk artist was named on the shortlist for the prize last month, alongside Rose Gray and SIENNA SPIRO, with Alon being unveiled as the winner by Jack Saunders on BBC Radio 1 this evening (January 19).
It makes Alon the first BRIT winner to be announced for the 2026 awards, and they follow on from previous A-list winners of the prize, including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith, Jorja Smith, The Last Dinner Party and Myles Smith.
The Critics’ Choice Award was first introduced in 2008 and to be eligible, artists must be British and not have yet achieved a Top 20 album or more than one Top 20 single, as on October 21, 2025.
Reacting to the news, Alon has said: “Taing mhòr to the critics for recognising my work for this award, you absolute dotes! In the wee town where I grew up in Scotland, it often felt like there was a limit to how high you could dare to dream. So being part of something like this makes me feel like I’m floating far above the sky.”
“In a world full of broken and rusted jaggy edges, I’m grateful to find a place for softness still. And I will keep fighting for it. I really care about and believe in this music, and it makes my world brighter every time it reaches someone else. Hopefully this means some more beautiful people might find something in my album. Thank you to anyone who has ever listened.”
Alon’s debut album ‘In Limerence’, produced by Dan Carey (Fontaines D.C., Heartworms, Kae Tempest), was nominated for the Mercury Prize last year. NME spoke to them at the shortlist announcement, where they said the album “packs a punch”, adding: “There’s this thing called The Dictionary Of Obscure Sorrows, and it has these words that describe these very specific feelings. This isn’t in there, but it feels akin to that vibe.”
NME also interviewed Alon last year in their Fife hometown by the seaside. Describing their music, they said: “I think music holds a very strong connection to memory for me,” they said. “There are certain songs I listen to in certain periods, and I get instantly transported back when I hear them. I think in the same way, through the process of writing, I’m connecting back to things – but there’s also new memories being formed.”
This year, the BRIT Awards ceremony will be held in Manchester on February 28 – the first time it has been presented outside of London in nearly five decades. In the run-up to the big day, a string of live shows will be held as part of BRITs Week 2026, in conjunction with War Child, with Alon set to play at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms on February 27. Fatboy Slim, Myles Smith, Lambrini Girls are among the other names involved.
Jack Whitehall will be hosting the show once again, while the distinctive amber-toned trophy has been designed by Matthew Williamson, who drew inspiration from “his Manchester roots and the city’s famous drive and resilience.”