Megan Thee Stallion and DaBaby lead the nominations for the 2021 BET Awards, which will return live and in-person this year.
Last year, the BET Awards was one of the first major awards shows to take place after the start of the pandemic. Producers adapted the format to meet proper safety protocols, with Insecure actress Amanda Seales hosting the ceremony but without an in-person audience. It also featured a slew of performances, though not on a traditional stage, and they had the quality and feel of music videos versus a typical live performance. Meanwhile, winners like Beyoncé and Lizzo accepted their awards remotely and virtually.
This year, producers are planning a return to the live show format and are going to welcome back an in-person audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Starting Thursday, people who are vaccinated can register here for consideration to be part of the audience. BET producers said they will work closely with Los Angeles County to support community vaccination efforts and ensure adherence to COVID-19 protocols. (The news follows on the heels of the Billboard Music Awards staging its own live, in-person show, which was also held at the Microsoft Theater, on Sunday, with much of the ceremony taking place outside the venue.)
“We are back and excited to bring culture’s biggest night, the 2021 BET Awards, safely back to Los Angeles to celebrate this year’s incredible roster of nominees,” said Connie Orlando, executive vp specials, music programming and music strategy. “We broke ground as one of the first official award shows to move forward during the global pandemic, and we are ready to take our pioneer status to the next level with the return of an audience to celebrate the best and brightest creative minds in the entertainment industry.”
The nominees aim to honor “creative expression and Black excellence across music, television, film and sports” across 21 categories (the nominees for viewer’s choice award: best new international act will be unveiled at a later date). The nominations are selected by BET’s Voting Academy, which is composed of fans and a group of entertainment professionals in the fields of television, film, music, social media, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations and creative arts.
Megan Thee Stallion and DaBaby each landed seven noms. They are up for best female and best hip-hop artist, respectively, and both will compete for album of the year. The also will compete together and against each other in the best collaboration category, where Megan’s “Cry Baby” featuring DaBaby is nominated; Megan also earned a best collab nom with Cardi B for “WAP,” while DaBaby landed a total of four noms in the category (including for his own “Rockstar,” featuring Roddy Rich).
Meanwhile, Cardi B and Drake landed five noms apiece, while Anderson .Paak, Bruno Mars, Chloe X Halle, and Chris Brown have four nominations each. Fans can vote on the winners starting June 7.
The 2021 BET Awards will air Sunday, June 27, on BET at 8 p.m. ET/ PT. It also will air internationally on BET Africa, MTV Brazil, MTV UK and BET France and will be available to watch on My5 and Sky On-Demand in the U.K. Orlando will executive producer with Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment.
A complete list of nominees follows.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
AFTER HOURS – THE WEEKND
BLAME IT ON BABY – DABABY
GOOD NEWS – MEGAN THEE STALLION
HEAUX TALES – JAZMINE SULLIVAN
KING’S DISEASE – NAS
UNGODLY HOUR – CHLOE X HALLE
BEST COLLABORATION
CARDI B FT. MEGAN THEE STALLION – WAP
DABABY FT. RODDY RICCH – ROCKSTAR
DJ KHALED FT. DRAKE – POPSTAR
JACK HARLOW FT. DABABY, TORY LANEZ & LIL WAYNE – WHATS POPPIN (REMIX)
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. DABABY – CRY BABY
POP SMOKE FT. LIL BABY & DABABY – FOR THE NIGHT
BEST FEMALE R&B / POP ARTIST
BEYONCÉ
H.E.R.
JAZMINE SULLIVAN
JHENÉ AIKO
SUMMER WALKER
SZA
BEST MALE R&B / POP ARTIST
6LACK
ANDERSON .PAAK
CHRIS BROWN
GIVEON
TANK
THE WEEKND
BEST NEW ARTIST
COI LERAY
FLO MILLI
GIVEON
JACK HARLOW
LATTO
POOH SHIESTY
BEST GROUP
21 SAVAGE & METRO BOOMIN
CHLOE X HALLE
CHRIS BROWN & YOUNG THUG
CITY GIRLS
MIGOS
SILK SONIC
BEST FEMALE HIP HOP ARTIST
CARDI B
COI LERAY
DOJA CAT
MEGAN THEE STALLION
LATTO
SAWEETIE
BEST MALE HIP HOP ARTIST
DABABY
DRAKE
J. COLE
JACK HARLOW
LIL BABY
POP SMOKE
DR. BOBBY JONES BEST GOSPEL/INSPIRATIONAL AWARD
BEBE WINANS – IN JESUS NAME
CECE WINANS – NEVER LOST
H.E.R. – HOLD US TOGETHER
KIRK FRANKLIN – STRONG GOD
MARVIN SAPP – THANK YOU FOR IT ALL
TAMELA MANN – TOUCH FROM YOU
BET HER AWARD
ALICIA KEYS FT. KHALID – SO DONE
BRANDY FT. CHANCE THE RAPPER – BABY MAMA
BRI STEVES – ANTI QUEEN
CHLOE X HALLE – BABY GIRL
CIARA FT. ESTER DEAN – ROOTED
SZA – GOOD DAYS
BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT
AYA NAKAMURA (FRANCE)
BURNA BOY (NIGERIA)
DIAMOND PLATNUMZ (TANZANIA)
EMICIDA (BRAZIL)
HEADIE ONE (UK)
WIZKID (NIGERIA)
YOUNG T & BUGSEY (UK)
YOUSSOUPHA (FRANCE)
VIEWER’S CHOICE AWARD
CARDI B FT. MEGAN THEE STALLION – WAP
CHRIS BROWN & YOUNG THUG – GO CRAZY
DABABY FT. RODDY RICCH – ROCKSTAR
DJ KHALED FT. DRAKE – POPSTAR
DRAKE FT. LIL DURK – LAUGH NOW CRY LATER
LIL BABY – THE BIGGER PICTURE
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. BEYONCÉ – SAVAGE (REMIX)
SILK SONIC – LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
CARDI B – UP
CARDI B FT. MEGAN THEE STALLION – WAP
CHLOE X HALLE – DO IT
CHRIS BROWN & YOUNG THUG – GO CRAZY
DRAKE FT. LIL DURK – LAUGH NOW CRY LATER
SILK SONIC – LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN
VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
BENNY BOOM
BRUNO MARS AND FLORENT DÉCHARD
COLE BENNETT
COLIN TILLEY
DAVE MEYERS
HYPE WILLIAMS
BEST MOVIE
COMING 2 AMERICA
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI…
SOUL
THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY
BEST ACTRESS
ANDRA DAY
ANGELA BASSETT
ISSA RAE
JURNEE SMOLLETT
VIOLA DAVIS
ZENDAYA
BEST ACTOR
ALDIS HODGE
CHADWICK BOSEMAN
DAMSON IDRIS
DANIEL KALUUYA
EDDIE MURPHY
LAKEITH STANFIELD
YOUNGSTARS AWARD
ALEX R. HIBBERT
ETHAN HUTCHISON
LONNIE CHAVIS
MARSAI MARTIN
MICHAEL EPPS
STORM REID
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
A’JA WILSON
CANDACE PARKER
CLARESSA SHIELDS
NAOMI OSAKA
SERENA WILLIAMS
SKYLAR DIGGINS-SMITH
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
KYRIE IRVING
LEBRON JAMES
PATRICK MAHOMES
RUSSELL WESTBROOK
RUSSELL WILSON
STEPHEN CURRY
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