BET Awards
| BET Awards | |
|---|---|
| Current: BET Awards 2014 | |
| File:2005 06 maresculp2.jpg BET Award Trophy | |
| Description | Outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry |
| Country |  USA |
| Presented by | Black Entertainment Television |
| First awarded | June 19, 2001 |
| Website | http://www.bet.com/shows/bet-awards.html  |
The BET Awards were established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year.
The awards are presented annually, and are broadcast live on BET. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a televised ceremony.
Trophy
The BET Award Trophy was inspired by three words - aspire, ascend, achieve. The BET Award Trophy was designed by artist/sculptor Carlos Mare139 Rodriguez. OutKast won the first BET award. In 2007, Society Awards, the New York firm who manufacturers the award, enhanced the quality of the trophy design using plated steel and black crystal.
Ratings
TV ratings (in millions):[citation needed]
- 2006: 6.9
- 2007: 6.3
- 2008: 5.8
- 2009: 10.6
- 2010: 7.4
- 2011: 7.7
- 2012: 7.4
- 2013: 7.8
- 2014: 7.9
Locations
The inaugural ceremony in 2001 was held at the Paris resort on the Las Vegas Strip. From 2002 to 2005, the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood hosted the awards. From 2006 to 2012, the awards have been held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The Awards moved to the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live in 2013.
Nomination process
There is a voting academy made up of about 500 people from the music industry, media, and bloggers. BET sends out ballots electronically and voters nominate in all the different categories who they think should be award nominees. These are collated by a group called “Yangaroo” that works on other awards shows as well, and they narrow it to the top five nominees, and send that list back out to the academy to vote on the winner.
Award categories
Hip Hop
Gospel
R&B
Group
New Artist
Collaboration
Music Video
Viewer's Choice
Centric Award
Acting
Movie
Sports
BET Lifetime Achievement Award & BET Humanitarian Award
The BET Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian Award recipients, along with the nominees for other categories are announced in a press conference. At the awards ceremony a mini-documentary is shown covering the honorees' life. The awards are given out separately.
The BET Lifetime Achievement Award is given a veteran artist or group who has made notable contributions to the music industry. The honoree is paid tribute to by current popular singers who perform the honoree's most recognized songs. The honoree will usually perform themselves after being paid tribute.
- Lifetime Achievement
- 2001: Whitney Houston
- 2002: Earth Wind & Fire
- 2003: James Brown
- 2004: The Isley Brothers
- 2005: Gladys Knight
- 2006: Chaka Khan
- 2007: Diana Ross
- 2008: Al Green
- 2009: The O'Jays
- 2010: Prince
- 2011: Patti Labelle
- 2012: Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly
- 2013: Charlie Wilson
- 2014: Lionel Richie
In 2002, at the second annual BET Awards, the category for the BET Award Humanitarian Award was created. The Humanitarian Award is given to a celebrity philanthropist who donates their time and money to a charitable cause.
- Humanitarian
- 2002: Muhammad Ali
- 2003: Earvin "Magic" Johnson
- 2004: Danny Glover
- 2005: Denzel and Pauletta Washington
- 2006: Harry Belafonte
- 2007: Don Cheadle
- 2008: Quincy Jones
- 2009: Alicia Keys and Wyclef Jean
- 2010: John Legend
- 2011: Steve Harvey
- 2012: Rev. Al Sharpton
- 2013: Dwyane Wade
- 2014: Myrlie Evers-Williams
BET most nominated and winning artists
Below are the current rankings for the most wins and most nominated artist (male & female):
Most wins (as of 2014)
| Rank | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Beyonce¹ | Chris Brown | Kanye West | Serena Williams | Nicki Minaj Jay-Z Drake (entertainer) OutKast Lil' Wayne |
| Total Wins | 16 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
Most nominations (as of 2014)
This is a list of multiple nominated performers, athletes & actors with 5 or more career nomiantions. Beyoncé is currently the most nominated performer with 46 nominations, solo and with Destiny's Child.
46 nominations
- Beyoncé 37 solo; 8 w/ Destiny's Child
42 nominations
- Jay-Z 30 solo; 5 w/ The Throne
32 nominations
- Drake 28 solo; 4 w/ Young Money
31 nominations
- Kanye West 26 solo; 5 w/ The Throne
27 nominations
- Lil' Wayne 23 solo; 4 w/ Young Money
26 nominations
18 nominations
17 nominations
15 nominations
- Alicia Keys
- Nicki Minaj 11 solo; 4 w/ Young Money
- T.I.
14 nominations
13 nominations
12 nominations
- Erica Campbell 1 solo; 11 w/ Mary Mary
- Pharrell Williams 10 solo; 2 w/ N.E.R.D.
11 nominations
- Big Boi 1 solo; 10 w/ Outkast
- LeBron James
- Mary Mary
- Snoop Dogg
10 nominations
9 nominations
- Common
- Denzel Washington
- Kelly Rowland 1 solo; 8 w/ Destiny's Child
- Kendrick Lamar
- Trey Songz
- Trina
8 nominations
- 2 Chainz
- 50 Cent
- Angela Bassett
- Busta Rhymes
- Destiny's Child
- Diddy 5 solo; 3 w/ Diddy-Dirty Money
- Marsha Ambrosius 4 solo; 4 w/ Floetry
- Miguel
- Omarion 2 solo; 6 w/ B2K
- Justin Timberlake
7 nominations
- Benny Boom
- Don Cheadle
- Erykah Badu
- Halle Berry
- Keyshia Cole
- Kirk Franklin
- Ne-Yo
- R. Kelly
- Tyga 4 solo; 3 w/ Young Money
- A$AP Rocky 6 solo; 1 w/ A$AP Mob
- Idris Elba
- Jennifer Hudson
- Hype Williams
6 nominations
- Aaliyah
- Anthony Hamilton
- B.o.B.
- B2K
- Benny Boom
- Cee-Lo Green 2 solo; 4 w/ Gnarls Barkley
- Keri Hilson
- Lil' Jon 3 solo; 3 w/ Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boyz
- Lil'Kim
- Musiq Soulchild
- Rick Ross
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Taraji P. Henson
- Yolanda Adams
5 nominations
Factoids
- Most Nominated Female: Beyonce Knowles w/ 46 nominations
- Most Nominated Male: Jay-Z w/ 42 nominations
- Most Nominations w/o a win: Trina (rapper) w/ 9 nominations
- Most Nominated duo or Group: Mary Mary w/ 11 nominations