US singer Britney Spears, Scottish band Wet, Wet, Wet and girl group Little Mix are among the acts likely to be voted the UK’s favourite stars by fans of the Now That’s What I Call Music! compilations.
Now Music has invited fans to vote for their favourite artists and songs to have featured on the 100-strong series of pop music mix tapes, the first edition of which was released in 1982.
Over 300,000 votes have been cast so far for the Now Awards and it appears that Spears is set to dominate as she currently leads three categories.
She is so far fending off competition from Adele, Katy Perry and Beyonce to be named best female.
She is also leading the race to be crowned the best artist of the 1990s, while her worldwide number one single …Baby One More Time is up for the accolade of best song of the decade.
The Grammy-nominated hit was among the biggest-selling singles in the UK, ahead of efforts from British bands including Wonderwall by Oasis and Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve.
Girl group Little Mix, who rose to fame after appearing on ITV show The X Factor, look set to take the title of best group. They have currently double the number of votes as the Spice Girls.
Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is expected to be named best male by voters, with the late Wham! singer George Michael his nearest competitor in second ahead of Justin Bieber.
Wet, Wet, Wet’s 1994 hit Love Is All Around is also in contention to be named Now music fans’ favourite song of all time, trailing behind Spears and Little Mix.
Love Is All Around spent 15 weeks in total at the top of the singles chart, a record only bettered by Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.
One award that has already been decided is that Robbie Williams will be named greatest Now star of all time.
Williams holds the record for most appearances on the compilation over its three-decade history. A total of 30 of his songs have featured on the albums, including number one hits Angels and Rock DJ.
He has also been heard as member of the band Take That on chart-toppers such as Pray and It Only Takes A Minute.
Voting for the Now Awards will close on Thursday July 19, with the winners announced the following day.