Some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B will be in Los Angeles on tonight for the 2010 BET Awards. Rap icon Jay-Z will look to be this year’s big winner, as he enters the ceremony with five nominations. “Hov” will compete against B.o.B., Drake, Fabolous and Ludacris for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist, while his collaboration with Alicia Keys on “Empire State of Mind” is up for Viewer’s Choice, Best Collaboration and Video of the Year. Jay-Z’s hit single “Run This Town” is also nominated for Video of the Year. Following Jay-Z in nominations this year are Alicia Keys, Trey Songz, Melanie Fiona, and Jay’s wife Beyonce with four nominations each. Canadian emcee Drake is also poised for a big night. Along with his Best Male Hip-Hop Artist nomination, “Drizzy” is also nominated twice in the Best Collaboration category for his songs “Successful” and “Forever.”
Music legend Prince will also be featured during tonights ceremony. The singer will be this year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Prince will join a list of previous winners that includes artists like Whitney Houston, James Brown, the Isley Brothers and Diana Ross. This year’s BET Awards will also feature several big name performances. Hip-hop star Kanye West will be making his first major awards show appearance since last year’s MTV Video Music Awards when he famously interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech. Other artists scheduled to perform on Sunday include Eminem, Usher, Drake, Diddy, Ludacris, T.I., Alicia Keys and Nicki Minaj.
The 2010 BET Awards will be hosted by Hollywood and hip-hop star Queen Latifah. The ceremony will be held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and air live Sunday, June 27th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Here are the nominees for the 2010 BET Awards:
BEST MALE R&B ARTIST:
Chris Brown
Raheem DeVaughn
Maxwell
Trey Songz
Usher
BEST FEMALE R&B ARTIST
Beyonce
Mary J. Blige
Melanie Fiona
Alicia Keys
Rihanna
BEST MALE HIP-HOP ARTIST
B.o.B.
Drake
Fabolous
Jay-Z
Ludacris
BEST FEMALE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Ester Dean
Lil Kim
Nicki Minaj
Rasheeda
Trina
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
Vicki Winans
BEST GROUP
Black Eyed Peas
Clipse
Diddy-Dirty Money
New Boyz
Young Money
BEST COLLABORATION
Beyonce & Lady GaGa — “Video Phone”
B.o.B. & Bruno Mars — “Nothin’ On You”
Drake & Trey Songz — “Successful”
Drake, Lil Wayne, Kanye West & Eminem — “Forever”
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys — “Empire State of Mind”
Trey Songz & Fabolous — “Say Aah”
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Beyonce & Lady GaGa — “Video Phone”
B.o.B. & 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”
VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Benny Boom
Gil Green
Anthony Mandler
Chris Robinson
Hype Williams
BEST ACTRESS
Taraji P. Henson
Regina King
Mo’Nique
Zoe Saldana
Gabourey Sidibe
BEST ACTOR
Quinton Aaron
Don Cheadle
Idris Elba
Jamie Foxx
Denzel Washington
BEST MOVIE
“Avatar”
“Law Abiding Citizen”
Michael Jackson’s “This Is It”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
“The Blindside”
YOUNGSTARS AWARD
Selena Gomez
Lil JJ
Keke Palmer
Willow Smith
Tyler James Williams
SUBWAY SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Carmelo Anthony
Usain Bolt
Kobe Bryant
LeBron James
Tiger Woods
SUBWAY SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
Tamika Catchings
Vanessa James
Candace Parker
Serena Williams
Venus Williams
VIEWER’S CHOICE
Beyonce — “Sweet Dreams”
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys — “Empire State of Mind”
Monica — “Everything To Me”
Rihanna & Young Jeezy — “Hard”
Trey Songz & Fabolous — “Say Aah”
Young Money & Lloyd — “BedRock”
BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT
Kojo Antwi
Chipmunk
Dizzee Rascal
Estelle
Hip-Hop Pantsula
K’Naan
M.I.
P-Square
Corinne Bailey Rae
Sade
CENTRIC AWARD
Melanie Fiona
Maxwell
Chrisette Michele
Monica
Sade
