ADELE, Ed Sheeran, Dave and Little Simz are the leading contenders for the 2022 Brit Awards, with four nods each. The nominations were announced Saturday on an hour-long TV special, “The Brits Are Coming,” which aired on ITV and ITV Hub. The awards will be presented Feb. 8, 2022 at the O2 Arena in London. Adele will have to wait nearly a year for the 2023 Grammy nominations, in which her long-awaited fourth album, “30,” is expected to be a major force. This year marks the first time that the Brits have combined separate male and female categories in both artist of the year and international artist. Females took two of the five spots for artist of the year (Adele and Little Simz), but four of the five spots for international artist (Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift). Eilish won a Brit Award as female international artist in each of the last two years. Swift won a global icon award last year. Morever, the Brits reported that more female artists were nominated for Brit Awards this year than in any previous year in the past decade. Griff is nominated for best new artist, a year after taking the Brits rising star award. Holly Humberstone was already announced as this year’s winner of the rising star award. While the U.S. music industry is adjusting to the Grammys’ 11th-hour expansion from eight to 10 nominees in each of the Big Four categories — album, record and song of the year plus best new artist — the Brits have (gulp) 15 nominees in each of two song categories — song of the year with Mastercard and international song of the year. Several of this year’s Brit nominees are also nominated in comparable categories for Grammys. Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” Doja Cat featuring SZA’s “Kiss Me More” and Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” all of which are Grammy-nominated for both record and song of the year, are vying for international song of the year at the Brits. So is Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U.” Rodrigo is also up for record and song of the year at the Grammys, but with a different hit, “Driver’s License.” ABBA, which last month received their first Grammy nomination, gained a Brit nod for international group, alongside BTS, M?neskin, Silk Sonic and The War on Drugs. Elton John receives his first Brit nomination in 20 years, in song of the year, for “Cold Heart (Pnau Mix),” his hit collab with Dua Lipa. Sam Fender, who won the rising star award two years ago, is nominated for three Brits, as are West London rapper Central Cee and French DJ/producer David Guetta. The winners of the four new genre categories — rock/alternative act, hip hop/grime/rap act, dance act, pop/R&B act — will be determined by a public vote via TikTok, which will open Jan. 21. (SD-Agencies) | 