Sheeran and Adele eye Brits glory

Sheeran (l) and Adele are both nominated in the best album category

Ed Sheeran is in the running for four awards at the 32nd Brits later, while Adele – fresh from winning six Grammys – and Jessie J are up for three each.

Sheeran, 21, is up for best male, breakthrough act, best single for The A Team, and best album for his record +.

Adele, who has said last year’s rendition of Someone Like You “kick-started my album into what it’s become”, will perform again.

Blur will pick up a lifetime achievement prize at the O2 Arena.

Speaking at the Brit nominations announcement last month, Sheeran tipped Adele to win best British album.

“This exact time last year, I was signing my record deal,” he said at the time. “So I think it’s been a good year.”

Adele is odds-on favourite with bookmakers to win best British album, going up against Sheeran’s +, Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto, Florence & The Machine’s Ceremonials and PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake.

Sheeran competes with rapper Professor Green, James Blake, James Morrison and Noel Gallagher for best male.

Adele is also odds-on favourite to beat Jessie J, Florence & The Machine, Kate Bush and Laura Marling to be named best female.

But for best single – voted for by listeners of Capital FM – bookmakers suggest One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful will beat Adele’s Someone Like You.

Adele will perform for the second time since recovering from throat surgery.

Jessie J is up for three awards this year, including best female

She made her comeback performance at last weekend’s Grammys, performing her song Rolling in the Deep.

Picking up album of the year, for 21, she said it had been “inspired by something that is really normal and everyone’s been through it, just a rubbish relationship”.

“It’s gone on to do things I can’t tell you how I feel about it. It’s been the most life-changing year.”

Lifetime achievement winners Blur will perform at Tuesday’s awards.

Singer Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon performed a three-track warm-up set on Sunday in a concert at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire in aid of the War Child charity.

Sheeran headlined the concert and was joined on stage by fellow best single contender Example, who performed his nominated track Changed The Way You Kissed Me.

Comic actor James Corden will host the Brits for the second time, 12 months on from his debut outing in the role.