Lil Nas X, Adele and Little Mix among nominees in first gender-neutral BRIT Awards

Side by side images of Lil Nas X, Little Mix and Adele

Lil Nas X, Little Mix and Adele are among the nominees for the 2022 BRIT Awards, which features gender-neutral categories for the first time.

Starting with its 2022 ceremony, the awards scrapped its separate male and female prizes for best solo and best international artist. The gendered categories have been replaced with gender-neutral categories: artist of the year and international artist of the year.

Adele, who released her fourth album 30 this year, is among the most nominated stars with nominations in four categories. She’s a fan-favourite to win Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best Pop/R&B artist of the year and Song of Year for her hit “Easy On Me”.

Ed Sheeran, Dave and Little Simz have all tied with Adele in leading next year’s BRIT Awards with four nominations each.

Little Mix, who made history this year when they became the first female act to win Best Group at the BRIT Awards, are defending their title this year. They will fight it out for the coveted award against Coldplay, D-Block Europe, London Grammar and Wolf Alice.

The beloved musicians, who announced earlier this month they will go on hiatus, are also in the running for Best International Song for their collaboration with Galantis and David Guetta on “Heartbreak Anthem”.

Lil Nas X performs onstage during iHeartRadio 103.5 KISS FM’s Jingle Ball 2021 in all pink

Lil Nas X performs onstage during iHeartRadio 103.5 KISS FM’s Jingle Ball 2021 Presented by Capital One at Allstate Arena on 7 December 2021. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty for iHeartRadio )

Little Mix will go up against Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and Eurovision winners Måneskin’s “I Wanna Be Your Slave” in the fierce competition for Best International Song.

Nas is also nominated for Best International Artist of the Year. The openly gay singer will face stiff competition in the category from Doja Cat, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish.

Måneskin bagged another nomination at the 2022 BRIT Awards. The Italian band will fight it out for Best International Group against K-pop band BTS, ABBA, Silk Sonic and War On Drugs for the award.

The winners will be revealed at the BRIT Awards ceremony on 8 February at the O2 Arena in London and will be broadcast live on ITV. Stand-up comedian Mo Gilligan will host the event.