BET Awards Return Sunday With Performances From Lauryn Hill, Childish Gambino, Will Smith And More

The BET Awards return on Sunday night. The evening will be performance-packed and begin with a blazing set by Megan Thee Stallion, two days after the release of her third studio album.

Taraji P. Henson, an Oscar-nominated performer, will host the performance for the third time at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre.

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BET Awards Return Sunday With Performances From Lauryn Hill, Childish Gambino, Will Smith And More

Lauryn Hill and her son YG Marley, Childish Gambino, Ice Spice, Tyla, Chlöe, Coco Jones, Keke Palmer, Marsha Ambrosius, Summer Walker, GloRilla, Latto, Muni Long, Sexyy Red, Shaboozey, and Victoria Monét will also perform. Will Smith will perform a new song, but no specifics have been disclosed. The Grammy and Oscar winner is still recovering from the iconic Oscars slap two years ago, with the successful release of “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” bolstering his recovery. Tanner Adell, a country musician, will also perform on the BET Amplified stage.

The BET Awards will be broadcast live on BET starting at 8 p.m. Eastern from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. They will also air simultaneously on Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Pop, TV Land, Nickelodeon at Nite, and VH1.

Drake leads the nominations, exactly as he did last year. These include an album of the year nomination for his eighth studio album, “For All the Dogs.”

BET Awards | AP News Image

BET Awards Return Sunday With Performances From Lauryn Hill, Childish Gambino, Will Smith And More

One of the accolades he’s up for is the music video for “First Person Shooter,” his collaboration with J. Cole, which may have sparked his recent feud with rapper Kendrick Lamar.

Nicki Minaj follows with six, including album of the year for her much-anticipated “Pink Friday 2” release. Two of her nominations were for her song “Barbie World,” which appeared on the hit “Barbie” soundtrack, which she sang with Ice Spice.

J. Cole, Sexyy Red, SZA, and best new artist Grammy winner Victoria Monét all have five nominations, while 21 Savage, Beyoncé, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Tyla, and Usher each have four.

Usher will receive the BET Awards’ Lifetime Achievement award, previously granted to Busta Rhymes last year and Sean “Diddy” Combs the year before.

The R&B sensation is an eight-time Grammy winner who recently completed a two-year residency at the Park MGM, “Usher: My Way”. In February, he released his first solo album in eight years, and in August, he will embark on a 24-city U.S. tour dubbed “Past Present Future.”

BET Awards | AP News Image

BET Awards Return Sunday With Performances From Lauryn Hill, Childish Gambino, Will Smith And More

Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl halftime show received critical acclaim and featured guest appearances from Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, and Ludacris. His album “Confessions” sold over 10 million units in the United States, making it one of the best-selling music projects ever. It produced No. 1 songs like “Yeah!” with Ludacris and Lil Jon, “Burn,” and “Confessions Part II.”

Presenters include Andra Day, Colman Domingo, DC Young Fly, Devale Ellis, Jay Ellis, Jessica Betts, Ms. Pat, Niecy Nash-Betts, and Saucy Santana.

SOURCE – (AP)___