Gorillaz lead MTV Europe nominations

LONDON (Reuters) - Gorillaz, the cartoon band formed by Blur's Damon Albarn, has made a monkey of the opposition in the MTV Europe awards nominations.

The group - which mixes indie, hip-hop and jazz - is up for six awards, including best band, comedian Ali G announced in London Tuesday.

"The nominees include some of the biggest names on planet music," MTV's Web site reports. "Peformances at this year's ceremony come courtesy of Janet Jackson, Destiny's Child, Craig David, Dido and Depeche Mode."

The result of the vote by MTV viewers will be announced at a ceremony in Frankfurt on Nov. 8.

Gorillaz - which includes Albarn, hip-hop legend Dan Nakamura and Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer - seldom appears in public and is represented in its videos by animated apes.

In the "best group" category, Gorillaz is up against Destiny's Child, Limp Bizkit, REM and U2.

Here are the nominees in the other categories:

Female act: Dido, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna and Mariah Carey.
Male act: Robbie Williams, Eminem, Ricky Martin, Shaggy and Craig David.
Single: Eminem for "Stan"; Destiny's Child "Survivor"; Crazytown "Butterfly"; Gorillaz "Clint Eastwood"; Christina Aguilera and others "Lady Marmalade."
Album: Limp Bizkit "Chocolate Starfish ... "; Madonna "Music"; U2 "All that you can't leave behind"; Travis "The Invisible Band"; Dido "No Angel."
Pop: Atomic Kitten, Britney Spears, Anastacia, Nsync and Shaggy.
New act: Craig David, Dido, Gorillaz, Nelly Furtado and Wheatus.
Rock: Blink 182, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Crazytown, U2.
UK: Craig David, Feeder, Artful Dodger, S Club 7 and Gorillaz.
Dance: Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk, Gorillaz, Faithless and Roger Sanchez.
R&B: Craig David, Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson, Outkast and Wyclef Jean.
Hip hop: D-12, Eminem, Missy Elliott, P Diddy, Outkast.