Mobo Nominees Announced

The nominees for this year's (03) MUSIC OF BLACK ORIGIN (MOBO) awards have been announced - with R+B superstar Beyonce Knowles, British group Big Brovaz and solo newcomer Terri Walker leading the pack.

All have four nominations each, with Crazy In Love diva Knowles up for best album, best single and best video as well as best R+B act.

Fellow Destiny's Child bandmate Kelly Rowland is also recognised for her efforts - picking up nods for best R+B act as well as best single with Nelly for DILEMMA.

Big Brovaz - a six-piece girl and boy collective - have topped off a successful 2003 with nominations including best newcomer, against which they are competing against SOUL TRAIN LADY OF SOUL winners Floetry.

But last year's (02) big winners Ms Dynamite, Alicia Keys and Ja Rule have missed out on recognition in this year's shortlist, which are the main prizes in the UK for black orientated music.

Furthermore, indicating the mass popularity of R+B, UK garage and hip-hop, a number of white artists have picked up nominations, including JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, Christina Aguilera and The Streets.

The majority of the awards are voted for by the public, and the star-studded ceremony will be held on 25 September (03) at London's ROYAL Albert Hall.

The full list of nominees are:

Best R+B act:

Ashanti

BEYONCE

Justin Timberlake

KELLY ROWLAND

TERRI WALKER

Best video:

BEYONCE FT Jay-Z - CRAZY IN LOVE

ASHANTI - ROCK WIT U

MISSY ELLIOTT - WORK IT

BIG BROVAZ - NU FLOW

CHRISTINA AGUILERA FT REDMAN - DIRRTY

Mis-Teeq - SCANDALOUS

Best hip hop:

50 CENT

Busta Rhymes

Eminem

JAY-Z

Joe Budden

UK act of the year:

TERRI WALKER

Lisa Maffia

BIG BROVAZ

Sugababes

Panjabi MC

MIS-TEEQ

Best album:

50 CENT - GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN'

TERRI WALKER - UNTITLED

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - JUSTIFIED

BIG BROVAZ - NU FLOW

FLOETRY - FLOETIC

BEYONCE - DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE

Best single:

50 CENT - IN DA CLUB

BEYONCE FT JAY-Z - CRAZY IN LOVE

NELLY FT KELLY ROWLAND - DILEMMA

R KELLY - IGNITION

MIS-TEEQ - SCANDALOUS

Best newcomer:

TERRI WALKER

BIG BROVAZ

FLOETRY

LISA MAFFIA

Dizzee Rascal

Best producer:

JUST BLAZE

Irv Gotti

Dr Dre

Neptunes

Timbaland

Best garage act:

HEARTLESS CREW

LISA MAFFIA

THE STREETS

Mj Cole

DIZZEE RASCAL

Best reggae act:

Sean Paul

Wayne Wonder

Elephant Man

Beenie Man

Bounty Killer

Best UK radio DJ:

Matt White - KISS 100

STEVE SUTHERLAND - GALAXY

TIM WESTWOOD - BBC RADIO 1

RAS KWAME - BBC 1XTRA

TREVOR NELSON - BBC RADIO 1

SIMON "SCHOOLBOY" PHILLIPS - CAPITAL FM

HELEN MAYHEW - JAZZ FM

CHARLIE GILLETT - BBC LDN

DADDY ERNIE - CHOICE FM

JIGS - CHOICE FM

SHORTEE BLITZ + BIG TED - KISS 100

Best UK club DJ:

SEMTEX

MATT WHITE

SHORTEE BLITZ

CHUCKY

Rampage

STEVE SUTHERLAND

Best jazz act:

Norah Jones

SOWETO KINCH

Jamie Cullum

ROY HARGROVE

KIRK WHALUM

Best world music act:

YOUSSOU N'DOUR

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Ibrahim Ferrer

Santana