NOMINATIONS FOR THE 17^th ANNUAL MOBO AWARDS 

Emeli Sandé and Plan B lead the way with five nominations each 

followed by Rita Ora and Labrinth with four

The nominations for the 17^th Annual MOBO Awards taking place on Saturday 3^rd November at the Echo Arena Liverpool have been announced.

Fresh from her outstanding performances at the London 2012 Olympic Ceremonies, Emeli Sandé has been nominated in as many as five categories for this year’s MOBO Awards: Best Female*, Best R&B/Soul, Best Video for My Kind Of Love, Best Song* for Next To Me and Best Album for Our Version Of Events.

Matching Emeli with five nominations is Plan B, who has had a fantastic year in both music and film, featuring in the following categories:  Best Male, Best Hip-Hop/Grime, Best Song as well as Best Video for Ill Manors and Best Album, again for Ill Manors.

The MOBO Music Panel further nominated rising star Rita Ora in four categories including Best Newcomer*, Best Female, Best Video featuring Tinie Tempah for R.I.P and Best Album for Ora. London rapper Labrinth equals Rita with four nominations for Best Male, Best R&B/Soul, Best Song featuring Tinie Tempah for Earthquake and Best Album for Electronic Earth.

The Best International Act category is showcase of the biggest names in urban music with Azealia Banks, Beyoncé, Drake, Frank Ocean, Jay Z and Kanye West, Nas, Nicki Minaj, Ne-yo, Rick Ross and Rihanna all up against each other.

This year for the first time the ‘Best Song in association with PRS for Music’ category only includes songs performed and (co-) written by the artist and includes Ed Sheeran for Lego House, Emeli Sandé for Next To Me, Labrinth featuring Tinie Tempah for Earthquake, Michael Kiwanuka for I’ll Get Along and Plan B for Ill Manors. According to Guy Fletcher OBE, Chairman PRS ‘“It is a privilege to present the Best Song category, especially as all nominees are from the UK. The impressive output from home-grown talent in the last twelve months has been substantial and enjoyed by millions around the world. This award reinforces why the UK continues to be such a vital place for music creators and writers.”  

MOBO Founder Kanya King MBE; “We are very excited about the nominations for the 17^th MOBO Awards.  The talent this year has been truly exceptional and we are so proud to be flying the flag for urban music which has again been dominating the charts in the past MOBO Music year. Good luck to all those nominated! We can hardly wait for the big event on Saturday 3^rd November at the Echo Arena Liverpool.”

Voting for the 17^th Annual MOBO Awards opens today (17^th Sept.) at 8pm  - visit www.mobo.com/voting

Arena and VIP tickets for the MOBO Awards on Saturday 3^rd November at the Echo Arena Liverpool can be purchased at www.mobo.com

* ‘Best Newcomer in association with HTC’

* ‘Best Female in association with Tresor Paris’

* ‘Best Song in association with PRSforMusic’

Twitter: @moboawards   #MOBOAwards

For press enquiries & further information please contact Laura Woods at laura@housepr.com , Maria Panayi at maria@housepr.com , Thom Landers at thom@housepr.com , Tanya Binks at Tanya@housepr.com and Liana Mellotte at liana@housepr.com  or call House PR on 0207 291 300  

MOBO AWARDS NOMINATIONS 2012

BEST FEMALE in association with Tresor Paris

EMELI SANDÉ Virgin

JESSIE J Universal/Island

JESSIE WARE PMR/Island

REBECCA FERGUSON Syco/Epic

RITA ORA Roc Nation

TULISA Island

BEST MALE

ED SHEERAN Atlantic

LABRINTH Syco

PLAN B Atlantic

PROFESSOR GREEN Virgin

RIZZLE KICKS Universal/Island

WILEY Big Dada   

BEST NEWCOMER in association with HTC

ALUNAGEORGE Island

ANGEL Universal/Island

CONOR MAYNARD EMI/Parlophone

DELILAH Atlantic

JESSIE WARE PMR Records/Island

LIANNE LA HAVAS Warner Bros

MISHA B Relentless

RITA ORA Roc Nation

RUDIMENTAL Asylum/Black Butter

STOOSHE Warner

BEST R&B/SOUL ACT

ANGEL Universal/Island

EMELI SANDÉ Virgin

LABRINTH Syco

MAVERICK SABRE Mercury

REBECCA FERGUSON Syco/RCA

BEST HIP-HOP/GRIME ACT

DEVLIN Universa/Island

PLAN B 679/Atlantic

PROFESSOR GREEN Virgin

WILEY Warner Music

WRETCH 32 Ministry Of Sound

BEST VIDEO

EMELI SANDÉ – MY KIND OF LOVE Virgin

JLS – DO YOU FEEL WHAT I FEEL Epic

PLAN B – ILL MANORS 679/Atlantic

RITA ORA FT. TINIE TEMPAH – R.I.P.  Roc Nation

RIZZLE KICKS – MAMA DO THE HUMP Universal/Island

BEST SONG in Association with PRSforMusic

ED SHEERAN – LEGO HOUSE Warner Music Group

EMELI SANDÉ – NEXT TO ME Virgin

LABRINTH FT. TINIE TEMPAH - EARTHQUAKE Syco

MICHAEL KIWANUKA – I’LL GET ALONG Polydor

PLAN B – ILL MANORS 679/Atlantic

BEST ALBUM

ED SHEERAN + Atlantic

EMELI SANDÉ OUR VERSION OF EVENTS Virgin

LABRINTH ELECTRONIC EARTH Syco

PLAN B ILL MANORS Atlantic

RITA ORA ORA Roc Nation

BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT

AZEALIA BANKS Polydor/Universal

BEYONCÉ Columbia

DRAKE Young Money/Cash Money

FRANK OCEAN Def Jam

JAY-Z AND KANYE WEST Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation

NAS Def Jam

NE-YO Motown

NICKI MINAJ Young Money/Cash Money

RICK ROSS Maybach Music Group/Def Jam

RIHANNA Def Jam

BEST REGGAE ACT

DAMIAN MARLEY A&M Records

KONSHENS Subkonshus Music/VP Records

MR. VEGAS Mr Vegas Music/VPAL

POPCAAN Sounique Records

SEAN PAUL Atlantic

BEST JAZZ ACT

AYANNA WITTER-JOHNSON  Ayanna Witter-Johnson

FEMI TEMOWO Femitone Music

ROLLER TRIO F-Ire

ZARA MCFARLANE Brownswood Recordings

ZOE RAHMAN Manushi Records

BEST AFRICAN ACT

AMADOU AND MARIAM Because Music

CABO SNOOP Bomaye Musik/Bizness Music/Power House

CAMP MULLA Sub Sahara

D’BANJ Mercury/G.O.O.D. Music

FALLY IPUPA ROCKSTAR 4000

FATOUMATA DIAWARA World Circuit

P SQUARE Square Records/Konvict Muzik

SARKODIE Duncwills Entertainment/Konvict Music

SPOEK MATHAMBO  Sub Pop

THE VERY BEST Green Owl

BEST GOSPEL ACT

EL MAFREX 316 Muzik Factory

NI-COLA Ni-Cola Ministries

RACHEL KERR Unsigned

RAM1 Soulcure

V9 COLLECTIVE 8th Tone  

Notes to Editor:

About HTC:

Founded in 1997, HTC Corp. (HTC) is the creator of many award-winning mobile devices and industry firsts. By putting people at the centre of everything it does, HTC pushes the boundaries of design and technology to create innovative and personal experiences for consumers around the globe. HTC’s portfolio includes smartphones and tablets powered by HTC Sense™, a multi-layered graphical user interface that vastly improves user experience. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). For more information, please visit www.htc.com.

About PRS for Music

PRS for Music represents the rights of 90,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in the UK. As a not-for-profit organisation it ensures creators are paid whenever their music is played, performed or reproduced; championing the importance of copyright to protect and support the UK music industry. The UK has a proud tradition of creating wonderful music that is enjoyed the world over and PRS for Music has been supporting the creators of that music since 1914. PRS for Music provides business and community groups with easy access to over 10m songs through its music licences. In an industry worth £3.8bn PRS for Music is uniquely placed to be a voice for music and music creators. Collecting £630.8m in 2011 PRS for Music is one of the world’s most efficient combined rights organisations. With 150 representation agreements in place globally, PRS for Music’s network represents over 2 million music creators. www.prsformusic.com