AceShowbiz -

Known as the pioneer in recognizing people of color in film, television, music, and literature, the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People revealed yesterday, January 9, names and titles included in the nominations for this year's NAACP Image Awards.

Scoring most nods were both musical drama "Dreamgirls" and comedy series "Everybody Hates Chris" as each amazingly landed eight nominations, notably that in the category of Outstanding Motion Picture for the former and that of Outstanding Comedy Series for the latter.

Joining "Dreamgirls" in vying for the prize were "Akeelah and the Bee", "Blood Diamond", "Catch a Fire", and "The Pursuit of Happyness" while "Chris" will square off with "All of Us", "The Bernie Mac Show", "Girlfriends", and "Ugly Betty" in winning the title.

Meanwhile, in the individual side, "Dreamgirls" star Beyonce Knowles displayed the brightest light for she successfully took five nods of Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Album for "B'Day", and Outstanding Song as well as Music Video for "Irreplaceable."

For the first category, Knowles was lined up together with Keke Palmer of "Akeelah and the Bee", Penelope Cruz of "Volver", Queen Latifah of "Last Holiday", and Sanaa Lathan of "Something New" while facing R&B queen Mary J. Blige, India.Arie, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Fantasia Barrino in the second one.

As for the males, Hollywood names like Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne, Will Smith, and Djimon Hounsou were delightfully included in the nominations with John Legend, Chris Brown, Jay-Z, Lionel Richie, and Prince competing for music honor of Outstanding Male Artist.

Complete list of nominees can be viewed on the event's official site at https://www.naacpimageawards.net. Winners will be revealed during the awards ceremony that will be held on March 2 this year at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium and aired live by FOX TV.