Tarrus Riley leads this year as 'the most nominated' for the upcoming International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA). The announcement was made at Kingston's Hilton Hotel on March 5th during a launch for the 27th annual staging of this highly anticipated ceremony.

Garnering seven nominations, Tarrus' list includes nods for Best Male Vocalist and Best Song, for the popular female anthem, "She's Royal."

Mavado comes in second with five nominations for Best Male DJ, Best Album, Best Recording Artist, Songwriter of the Year and for Community Service.

Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Stephen Marley and Sean Kingston all received four nominations each, while soca star Machel Montana and Junior Reid were nominated three times. Reid has two nominations in the category of Best Crossover Song, for his hits with Alicia Keys and rapper MIMS.

On hand to announce the nominees were special guests such as: Miss Jamaica World Yendi Phillips, Ce'Cile, D'Angel, Norma Bell RJR, Winford Williams and Milk of CVM-TV.

Dedicated to Health Awareness, this year, the awards will be held on May 4, 2008 at the world famous Apollo Theatre, New York City.

IWARMA founder and head honcho, Ephraim Martin was on hand to give further details, including the line-up for the star-studded event. He listed Beenie Man, Kymani Marley, Sean Kingston and Buju Banton as presenters scheduled to appear so far.