Brit Awards 2012: Ed Sheeran Hails Brits 'Best Night' Of His Life
Ed Sheeran has hailed the 2012 Brit Awards as the "best night" of his life after scooping two prizes, for Best British Male Solo Artist and Best British Breakthrough Act.
The Lego House singer was the most nominated artist of the Awards with four nods, however, speaking after the ceremony Sheeran insisted he "didn't expect" to win.
The 21-year-old singer-songwriter beat stars such as Professor Green and Noel Gallagher to take the Best British Male Award. Asked what he was going to do with the Peter Blake-designed gongs, Sheeran said: "I share a flat with my brother, these are going to go on the mantelpiece."
Sheeran broke into the charts last year with his debut single The A Team, which became the highest-selling and highest-charting debut single of 2011. He went on to release his critically-acclaimed and mulit-platinum-selling debut album +, which reached number one in the UK album chart.
However, Sheeran’s Brits wins are all the more impressive because he built his fan base as an unsigned act.
He uploaded songs to Facebook and YouTube, and promoted them with relentless touring - playing 312 shows in one year while “sofa surfing”.
Now firmly a mainstream artist, Sheeran confessed to not yet quite getting his head around the art of acceptance speeches.
As he took to the podium during the Awards he thanked his manager Stuart Camp, who he said was responsible for turning the "spotty, chubby, ginger teenager into the person up here tonight".
However, speaking afterwards, Sheeran said: "My speech was a bit simple. So if I could do it again now I'd like to thank my friends and family and all my fans."
Adele, Rihanna and all the other stars of the Brit Awards 2012 on the red carpet:
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First Posted: 22/02/2012 07:24 GMT Updated: 07/02/2013 11:03 GMT