Rap veteran Jay-Z will face Kendrick Lamar for top honours at the 60th Grammy Awards, where the Me Too movement is expected to remain in the spotlight.

Host James Corden said there will be time for artists to pledge solidarity with the anti-sexual harassment movement at the New York City show on Sunday.

There are also plans for musicians to wear white roses as a sign of support for the movement and the Time’s Up initiative in a move that echoes stars wearing black to the Golden Globes.

American Music Awards
Ed Sheeran (PA)

British talent were left out of the major categories, but Ed Sheeran’s Divide is up for best pop vocal album, while his track Shape Of You is nominated for best pop solo performance.

He faces Coldplay in the album category, while the band is also nominated for best pop group performance for their collaboration with The Chainsmokers on Something Just Like This.

Other British nominees include Bonobo with record Migration and Guernsey-based DJ Mura Masa also in the electronic/dance category, while singer-songwriter Laura Marling is up for best folk album.

Jay-Z leads the way with eight nominations while Lamar follows close behind with seven.

Lamar’s HUMBLE. and Jay-Z’s The Story Of O.J. are both up for record of the year, and they are also both up for album of the year with DAMN. and 4:44 respectively.

Jay-Z is also up for the coveted song of the year for 4:44 where he faces Despacito, by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and featuring Justin Bieber, and Bruno Mars’ That’s What I Like.

Corden and artists Halsey, Dua Lipa and Rapsody, who is up for best rap album, are among the stars to say they will wear white roses to the ceremony.

The symbolic move was proposed earlier this week by music executives to support the movements that followed the revelations starting with movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s downfall.

Leonard Cohen is up for two posthumous awards including best rock performance, where he faces the late Chris Cornell.

Carrie Fisher was also posthumously nominated for best spoken word album for her memoir The Princess Diarist.

Sir Elton John and Miley Cyrus will perform together on the night, while stars such as Lady Gaga, Lamar and Sam Smith will also take to the stage.

The main event at Madison Square Garden will start at 7.30pm local time, 12.30am on Monday in the UK.