Actor Will Smith poses during a photo shoot to promote his latest film, "Bad Boys: Ride or Die", in Mexico City, Friday, May 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Megan Thee Stallion emerged from an egg – a metaphor for her a new musical rebirth. She opened the 2024 BET Awards Sunday night, launching into an energetic medley of her singles “Hiss” and “Boa” two days after the release of her third studio album, “Megan.”
“BET, Where my girls at?” she said, shouting out Victoria Monét and Coco Jones in the crowd before launching into “Where Them Girls At” – a track that’s been an immediate fan favorite since the release of “Megan.”
The show, airing live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, is being hosted by Oscar-nominated actor Taraji P. Henson for a third time. Her opening monologue was a performance, Henson rapping “It’s about us,” in a loose parody of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” The diss track became Lamar’s fourth No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 this year – and was released in the midst of his recently reignited, once-dormant feud with Drake.
“No beef in here tonight,” she joked, “Can we say plant-based?”
Other performers will include Lauryn Hill and her son YG Marley, Childish Gambino, Ice Spice, Tyla, Chlöe, Jones, Keke Palmer, Marsha Ambrosius, Summer Walker, GloRilla, Latto, Muni Long, Sexyy Red, Shaboozey, and Monét. Will Smith will perform a new song, though no details were announced. The Grammy and Oscar winner is still emerging from the infamous Oscars slap two years ago, with the successful launch of “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” helping boost his comeback. And country musician Tanner Adell will also perform on the BET Amplified stage.
The BET Awards began at 8 p.m. Eastern, and are airing live on BET and several other channels, including Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Pop, TV Land, Nickelodeon at Nite and VH1.
Drake leads the nominations, just like he did last year. Those include an album of the year nod for his eighth studio album, “For All the Dogs.” One of the awards he’s up for is the music video for “First Person Shooter,” his collaboration with J. Cole that may have been a catalyst for his recent beef with rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Nicki Minaj follows with six, including for album of the year for her highly anticipated “Pink Friday 2″ release. Two of her nominations were for her song with Ice Spice, “Barbie World,” part of the blockbuster “Barbie” soundtrack.
J. Cole, Sexyy Red, SZA and best new artist Grammy winner Victoria Monét tie with five nods; 21 Savage, Beyoncé, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Tyla and Usher boast four each.
Usher will take home the lifetime achievement award – one of the highest honors at the BET Awards, given to Busta Rhymes at last year’s ceremony and Sean “Diddy” Combs the year prior. The R&B superstar is an eight-time Grammy winner who recently ended a two-year Las Vegas residency, “Usher: My Way” at the Park MGM. In February, he released his first solo album in eight years, and in August is scheduled to kick off a 24-city U.S. tour titled “Past Present Future.”
Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl halftime performance drew acclaim and included guest appearances by such stars as Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon and Ludacris. His album “Confessions” has sold more than 10 million units in the U.S., ranking it among one of the best-selling music projects of all time. It launched No. 1 hits such as “Yeah!” with Ludacris and Lil Jon, “Burn” and “Confessions Part II.”
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For more coverage of this year’s BET Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/bet-awards
