Singer Lewis Capaldi and rapper Dave lead the nominations in a Brit Awards shortlist which is heavily dominated by male artists.

The Scottish singer has secured four nods in the male solo artist, song of the year, new artist of the year and album categories for performers.

Dave finds himself pitted against the Glaswegian in the same four categories, with his Mercury Prize-winning album Psychodrama and single Location making the shortlist.

Only four nominations out of a possible 25 in the categories which are not gender-specific feature women.

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There are no female performers included in the shortlists for best group or album awards.

It comes after the Brits' voting academy underwent a major overhaul in 2017 to make it more gender-balanced and diverse, with hundreds of new members invited to join the pool.

A spokeswoman for the event said there was no official comment on the matter.

Among the women, Mabel is up for the new artist and best song gongs, while Normani and Miley Cyrus have both collaborated on tracks which are also nominated for best song.

Capaldi's track Someone You Loved features on the shortlist along with his album Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, which was the best-selling album of 2019.

The singer was also nominated for a Grammy for Someone You Loved, which spent seven weeks at number one in the UK and also topped the US chart.

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Stormzy received three nods, with his song Vossi Bop and album Heavy Is The Head both making the shortlist.

The Glastonbury 2019 headliner is also up for male solo artist.

Mabel also secured three nominations, having also been included in the female solo artist category.

Harry Styles is up for two gongs in the male solo artist and best album categories.

Musicians up for the best international male award include Bruce Springsteen and Nigerian singer Burna Boy, while Ariana Grande and Lana Del Rey are up for the female award.

Last year the Brits shortlist was dominated by women with Dua Lipa and Anne-Marie both securing the most nominations.

Lipa was also top of the pile for nominations in 2018.

The awards are voted for by around 1,500 people from across the UK music industry including journalists, record label employees and musicians.

The rising star winner was announced as Celeste late last year, while the producer of the year will be announced at a later date.

The international group and video categories have been axed by organisers this year.