Pharrell Williams was the big winner at the BBC Music Awards.

The 41-year-old singer took home gongs for Best International Artist and Song of the Year for Happy at the inaugural ceremony on Thursday night.

Unable to attend the event due to filming commitments for US talent show The Voice, Pharrell instead expressed his thanks for the prizes in a video message.

However, the singer also admitted he is unsure what it is that has made Happy such a huge worldwide hit, adding that its success is “not something I can determine”.

He also credited the fans of the song for his win, saying: “Songwriters are beholden to what the audience thinks. When you say 'song of the year' it's not really my award, it's your award."

Pharrell’s one-time collaborator Ed Sheeran was also named a winner at the awards, taking home the award for British Act of the Year.

Collecting his prize, Ed said: “A massive thank you to everyone who's bought a record, bought a ticket, streamed on YouTube or listened to my music."

"I always thought my career would stop at one album, but even if people stop listening to the music I'm still going to make it."

The ceremony also saw performances from Coldplay, One Direction, Take That and Ed, who went solo to perform a version of his and Pharrell’s hit Sing.

New group Catfish and the Bottlemen also performed after being named the winners of the BBC Introducing award – recognising the most promising new act.

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