Kendrick Lamar was the night’s biggest winner, taking home five trophies from 10 nominations, including album of the year for GNX and best male hip-hop artist. The Compton MC surprised everyone by showing up in person to accept his album of the year award, making for one of the ceremony’s most thrilling moments. Chris Brown was the only other artist to win multiple awards at the BET Awards’ 25th iteration, taking home best male R&B/pop artist and the viewer’s choice award for his hit single “Residuals.”
In addition to the four sprawling Ultimate Icon tributes, BET also opted to split their in memoriam segment into thirds. For the first section, Sinners star Miles Caton joined Grammy winner Lucky Daye and Grammy-nominated crooner Luke James for a soulful Quincy Jones tribute. Shortly after, Andra Day delivered a haunting rendition of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” to honor the late Roberta Flack. Near the ceremony’s close, rising country star Brittney Spencer took to the stage for a show-stopping cover of the late Angie Stone‘s “No More Rain (In This Cloud).”
Both performers at Monday night’s show (June 9), Lil Wayne and Amerie made headlines for non-awards-related news. Weezy, who recently dropped a remix of “Banned From NO” with Nicki Minaj, dominated the weekend’s music conversation with his new Tha Carter VI album, which was largely met with a tepid reception from fans and critics alike. Amerie also faced a bit of the Internet’s wrath thanks to her spotty NPR Tiny Desk “1 Thing” performance, which she quickly came back from via two performances of her signature hit during BET Week.
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Cynthia Erivo’s big solo swing to Sammy Virji and Skepta’s eclectic new collaboration. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
The Living Legends Foundation celebrated its 32nd anniversary by bringing its annual awards gala to Atlanta for the first time Friday (Oct. 3). And among the honorees on hand were Grammy-winning songwriting/production duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Otis Redding Foundation vp/executive director Karla Redding-Andrews (representing her mother, Zelma Redding), […]
50 Cent wasted no time trolling Diddy following Combs’ 50-month prison sentence on prostitution charges on Friday (Oct. 3). The G-Unit mogul posted a portrait of Combs from the courtroom during his sentencing hearing, which found Diddy tearing up using a tissue to pad his eyes. Related Diddy Sentenced to […]
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