BRIT Awards 2017: Rihanna Leads Nominees, David Bowie Is Up for Two Posthumous Nominations

Music

The Barbadian songstress is up for three awards including International Female Artist and British Single, while Bowie has two nominations including Album of the Year for 'Blackstar'.

Jan 16, 2017

AceShowbiz - The nominees for the 2017 BRIT Awards were announced on Saturday, January 14, and Rihanna as well as David Bowie are among the leading nominees. The Barbadian singer is up for three awards including International Female Solo Artist, British Artist Video of the Year and British Single for "This Is What You Came For" featuring Calvin Harris. Meanwhile, Bowie is nominated for Album of the Year for his last album "Blackstar" and the British Male Solo Artist.

Also scoring three nominations are Little Mix and London-based singer Skepta. The latter is nominated alongside Bowie, Kano, Craig David and Michael Kiwanuka for the British Male Solo Artist. Meanwhile, Little Mix is vying for the top prizes in three different categories that include British Group. Their "Shout Out to My Ex" is also competing against hits by Zayn Malik, Clean Bandit and James Arthur among others in the British Single category.

Singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding is pitted against Anohni, Emeli Sande, Lianne La Havas and Nao in the British Female Solo Artist category. Meanwhile, Adele, who picked up four awards in 2016, receives only one nomination for the British Artist Video of the Year for "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)".

Other big names featured in the nominees list of the 2017 BRITs include sisters Beyonce Knowles and Solange Knowles, who both are nominated in the International Female Solo Artist category. Canadian rapper Drake is pitted against The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Leonard Cohen and Bon Iver in the International Male Solo Artist category.

Editors' Pick

This year's BRIT Award nominees have praised the marked improvement in diversity. In 2016, of the 48 artists nominated only 4 were from ethnic minorities. Identifying the need of change, this year's BRIT Voting Academy was diversified, with this year's voters consisting of 52|percent| men and 48|percent| women. In addition, 17|percent| of them are BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic).

The BRITs also gets music lovers involved with fan voting for certain categories. For the next few days, fans can vote for the Best British Video, and soon they will also be able to vote for the Best British Breakthrough Act.

The 2017 BRIT Awards is scheduled to take place on February 22 at London's O2 Arena. This year's ceremony will see a new host in Canadian singer Michael Buble. The 1975, Emeli Sande and Little Mix are among acts to perform at the annual event.

British Male Solo Artist