CMAT IS NOMINATED in the best international artist category at tonight’s Brit Awards but she faces stiff competition from the likes of Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.

The Brit Awards 2026, the 46^th edition of the ceremony, will be held at the Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester.

Tonight marks the first time that the Brit Awards will be held outside London.

Comedian Jack Whitehall is on hosting duties and a range of stars are set to perform, including Harry Styles, Olivia Sea, RAYE, Mark Ronson, Sombr and Rosalía.

Host Jack Whitehall with one a Brit Awards trophy Brit Awards Brit Awards

There are 16 awards in total up for grabs and Olivia Deane and Lola Young are the most nominated artists, with five nominations each.

Both have been nominated for Artist of the Year and Best Pop Act.

Meanwhile, nominations for International Artist of the Year feature a heavyweight line-up, including our very own CMAT (real name Ciara Mary‑Alice Thompson).

CMAT first gained attention with her debut album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead in 2022, followed by her Mercury Prize-nominated 2023 release, Crazymad, For Me.

She followed this up last year with her third album, the critically acclaimed EURO-COUNTRY.

In the International Artist of the Year category, CMAT is up against Bad Bunny, who is fresh off a Super Bowl half-time performance that angered Donald Trump.

Other superstars CMAT is nominated alongside include Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Rosalía and Lady Gaga.

Should CMAT win, she will take home a trophy that has been designed to look like a drip of honey.

This year's trophy has been designed by Matthew Williamson Brit Awards Brit Awards

The trophy for this year’s Brit Awards was designed by Matthew Williamson and he was inspired by one of the symbols of Manchester, the worker bee.

Williamson said he “wanted to create something timeless and stylish that each recipient would feel proud to own and display”.

Meanwhile, Noel Gallagher will be this year’s recipient of the Songwriter of the Year award at tonight’s ceremony.

The Brit Awards will be aired on ITV1 from 8.15pm this evening, but viewers here can watch the ceremony live via the Brit Awards YouTube channel.