Adele, Ed Sheeran and Jessie J lead the list of nominees for this year's Brit Awards. Sheeran's album + was one of the surprise packages of 2011 and has been put forward for gongs in the Best British Male, Best British Album, Best British Song and British Breakthrough categories.
It was also announced at last night's launch gala in the Savoy Hotel in Central London that Adele, whose album 21 is nominated for the best of the year, will make her comeback to the stage at the awards ceremony on February 21st in London's O2 Arena, having been forced to cancel the final 16 dates of her recent tour due to undergoing surgery on a throat condition. Adele is the overwhelming bookies favourite to win the award for Best Album and Best British Female.
Coldplay are favourites to win Best British Group ahead of Kasabian, Chase & Status, Elbow and Arctic Monkeys. Ed Sheeran is tipped to win Best British Male ahead of Professor Green, Noel Gallagher, James Blake and James Morrison.
Blur will receive an award for their Outstanding Contribution To Music at the event. Previous winners of that honour include Oasis, Paul McCartney, U2 and Queens.
The full list of nominees for the 2012 Brit Awards looks like this:
BRITISH MALE SOLO ARTIST
Ed Sheeran
James Blake
James Morrison
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Professor Green
MASTERCARD BRITISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Adele: 21
Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto
Ed Sheeran: +
Florence & The Machine: Ceremonials
PJ Harvey: Let England Shake
BRITISH FEMALE SOLO ARTIST
Adele
Florence & The Machine Island
Jessie J
Kate Bush
Laura Marling
INTERNATIONAL MALE SOLO ARTIST
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Bruno Mars
David Guetta
Ryan Adams
BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH ACT
Anna Calvi
Ed Sheeran
Emeli Sandé
Jessie J
The Vaccines
BRITISH GROUP
Arctic Monkeys
Chase & Status
Coldplay
Elbow
Kasabian
BRITISH SINGLE
Adele: Someone Like You
Ed Sheeran: The A Team
Example: Changed The Way You Kissed Me
Jessie J Ft B.o.B.: Price Tag
JLS Ft Dev: She Makes Me Wanna
Military Wives / Gareth Malone: Wherever You Are
Olly Murs Ft Rizzle Kicks: Heart Skips A Beat
One Direction: What Makes You Beautiful
Pixie Lott: All About Tonight
The Wanted: Glad You Came
BRITISH PRODUCER
Paul Epworth
Flood
Ethan Johns
INTERNATIONAL FEMALE SOLO ARTIST
Beyoncé
Björk One
Feist
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
INTERNATIONAL GROUP
Fleet Foxes
Foo Fighters
Jay-Z / Kanye West
Lady Antebellum
Maroon 5
INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH ACT
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Foster The People
Lana Del Rey
Nicki Minaj
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC AWARD
Blur
CRITICS’ CHOICE
1st - Emeli Sandé
2nd - Maverick Sabre
3rd - Michael Kiwanuka
