OREANDA-NEWS. Adele and Ed Sheeran lead in the number of nominations. Dave, Coldplay, Billy Eilish, Taylor Swift and Lil Nas also made the list of nominees for the UK pop music awards

The Brit Awards have unveiled their full list of nominees for 2022, with Adele and Ed Sheeran leading the way, reports Hypebae. The winners will be announced on 8 February 2022 in London.

As previously reported, the awards will be gender-neutral, as the organizers of the Brit Awards have decided to abandon the usual division into male and female categories. Adele, Dave, Ed Sheeran, Little Simz and Sam Fender will compete for Best Actor.

"It's very important that the award continues to evolve and strives to be as inclusive as possible. Now is the time to celebrate the achievements of artists for the music they create and the work they do, regardless of gender,"- said Brit Awards chairman Tom March in a statement.

Adele, who released her much-anticipated album 30 this year, is represented in four categories for Best Performer, Best Album, Best Single (for the song 'Easy On Me') and Best Pop/R&B Performer. Ed Sheeran had the most nominations and was up for similar awards.

American musicians Lil Nas X, Billy Eilish, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift were nominated for Best Foreign Performer. Swedish ABBA, Italians Måneskin, Korean boyband BTS as well as American bands The War on Drugs and Silk Sonic are nominated for Best Foreign Band.

A full list of nominees can be found on the awards website.

The previous BRIT Awards took place on 11 May 2021, with criticism of the government and calls for an end to sexism in the music industry. The top two awards for Best Album and Best Female Performer went to British singer Dua Lipa, while Harry Styles' 'Watermelon Sugar' was named Best Single.