Earlier today, in a brightly lit room overseeing the busy mid-Manhattan streets, the nominees for the 10th annual BET Awards were announced with the help of this year’s host Queen Latifah, the self-proclaimed ‘champion of Hip-Hop’ Diddy and his entourage of Dirty Money. Check out who was nominated for what after the jump…
{Words by That Grape Juice’s New York correspondent, James Dinh}
Jay-Z lead the forefront with five nominations including ‘Best Male Hip-Hop Artist’ and ‘Video of the Year’ where his clips with Alicia Keys (“Empire State of Mind”) and Rihanna & Kanye West (“Run This Town”) will go head to head. Other suspected contenders such as Beyoncé, Trey Songz and Alicia Keys grabbed four nominations. But its breakout artist Melanie Fiona who may be the evening’s shining star as the newbie snagged four nominations including ‘Best New Artist.’
The channel decided to spice up this year’s category line-up with the addition of two brand new categories: Best Movie and the YoungStars Award. This year’s ceremony will include performances by Diddy, Trey Songz, Nicki Minaj, Drake and more to come. And while a few of the nods left us with in the dust including Justin Bieber (‘Best New Artist’), Beyoncé f/ Lady Gaga – “Video Phone” (‘Video of the Year’) and Hype Williams (‘Video Director of the Year’), congrats to this year’s nominees!
The 10th annual BET Awards will air live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 27, at 8 p.m. To catch up on the latest news and updates about the show, check out the official BET Awards Twitter. http://twitter.com/betawards.
Best Female R&B Artist
Beyoncé
Mary J. Blige
Melanie Fiona
Alicia Keys
Rihanna
Best Male R&B Artist
Chris Brown
Raheem DeVaughn
Maxwell
Trey Songz
Usher
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist
Ester Dean
Lil’ Kim
Nicki Minaj
Rasheeda
Trina
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
B.o.B
Drake
Fabolous
Jay-Z
Ludacris
Best New Artist
Justin Bieber
Melanie Fiona
Nicki Minaj
Wale
Young Money
Best Gospel
The Anointed Pace Sisters
Kirk Franklin Presents Artists United For Haiti
Tamela Mann
Marvin Sapp
Vickie Winans
Best Group
Black Eyed Peas
Clipse
Diddy-Dirty Money
New Boyz
Young Money
Best Collaboration
Beyoncé f/ Lady Gaga – “Video Phone”
B.o.B f/ Bruno Mars – “Nothin’ on You”
Drake & Trey Songz – “Successful”
Drake featuring Wayne, Kanye West & Eminem – “Forever”
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Trey Songz f/ Fabolous – “Say Aah”
Video Director of the Year
Benny Boom
Gil Green
Anthony Mandler
Chris Robinson
Hype Williams
Video of the Year
Beyoncé f/ Lady Gaga – “Video Phone”
B.o.B f/ Bruno Mars – “Nothin’ on You”
Melanie Fiona – “It Kills Me”
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”
Viewer’s Choice
Beyoncé – “Sweet Dreams”
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Monica – “Everything to Me”
Rihanna f/ Young Jeezy – “Hard”
Trey Songz f/ Fabolous – “Say Aah”
Young Money (Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Nicki Minaj, Jae Millz, Drake, Tyga) f/ Lloyd – “Bedrock”
Best International Act
Kojo Antwi (Ghana)
Chipmunk (UK)
Dizzee Rascal (UK)
Estelle (UK)
Hip Hop Pantsula (HHP) (South Africa)
K’NAAN (Somalia)
M.I. (Nigeria)
P-Square (Nigeria)
Corinne Bailey Rae (UK)
Sade (UK)
Centric Award
Melanie Fiona
Maxwell
Chrisette Michele
Monica
Sade