2017 Brit Awards tackle diversity with Skepta and transgender singer Anohni The transgender singer Anohni has been nominated for Best British Female at the Brit Awards, 11 years after she was […]

The transgender singer Anohni has been nominated for Best British Female at the Brit Awards, 11 years after she was nominated for Best British Male.

The first artist to be included in both categories during their career, the Chichester singer was nominated as Antony and the Johnsons, when she was a man called Antony Hegarty.

A Mercury Music Prize winner under her previous alias, she first worked under her new name Anohni last year.

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The 45 year-old said she had identified as transgender since childhood but admitted that “cowardice and shame” prevented her from asking people to call her “she”.

She said: “I was never going to become a beautiful, passable woman, and I was never going to be a man. It’s a quandary. But the trans condition is a beautiful mystery; it’s one of nature’s best ideas.”

Anohni unveiled Hopelessness, an album of protest songs attacking drone warfare and warning of environmental catastrophe, set against a stark electronic backdrop.

She competes against Ellie Goulding, Emeli Sande, Lianne La Havas and Nao at the Brits.

Diversity deficit tackled

Nominated for an Oscar last year, Anohni boycotted the event in protest at the film awards’ failure to tackle a diversity deficit.

However an overhaul of the Brit Awards voting academy, increasing the number of female and ethnic minority members, has produced a breakthrough following criticism of the 2016 ceremony.

The UK’s vibrant grime scene is represented with three nominations for Sketpa, including Best Album, two for fellow East London rapper Kano and one for Stormzy.

Soulful singer Michael Kiwanuka is up for Best Male whilst the La Havas and Nao should enjoy a boost from their inclusion in the Female category.

Craig David capped his comeback with a Best Male nod, 16 years after earning six nominations but leaving empty-handed.

Beyoncé battles sister Solange

Posthumous wins are tipped for David Bowie in the British Male and Album category, for his Blackstar parting shot. Leonard Cohen, who also died last year, just weeks after the release of his album You Want It Darker, receives a first nomination in the International Male Category.

The awards also pit Beyoncé against her younger sister Solange. Beyoncé, whose politicised Lemonade album was critically acclaimed, faces tough competition from her sibling.

Her album A Seat At The Table album addressed issues of race to a psychedelic funk backing.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds earn an International Group nomination. Cave’s album The Skeleton Tree album elliptically explored themes of loss following the death of his teenage son, Arthur.

:: The 2017 Brit Awards take place at The O2 Arena on February 22.