*It’s that time of year when the best of the best come together in one place, with fans and celebrities alike, watching and waiting with baited breath, when finally, the trophy goes to the victors. That’s right, the “BET Awards” are just around the corner on June 24, airing at 8pm ET.
BET Network’s Stephen Hill chatted with EUR’s Lee Bailey about this year's awards show, once again keeping the surprises under wraps, though. One big detail is that Usher will be starting things off come show time.
“We’ve really got some strong nominations and that’s good for a really strong show,” he added. “Usher’s opening with a production number that you’ll just have to see to believe. Usher always brings incredible performances and we’re expecting that.”
Also hitting up the BET Awards stage will be performances by Mary J. Blige, Lil’ Wayne, Nelly, Janet Jackson, and Mariah Carey. Could Nick Cannon be in the house, too?
“I couldn’t tell you, but we certainly invite all couples. It’s a couple-skate,” Hill joked. “I’m not expecting for Mariah and Nick to perform together, but we’re always looking for surprises on the BET Awards, and that might be one.”
No secrets were revealed by the tight-lipped network exec, but Hill did mention that while the host has not been confirmed, the channel is not trying to make it a surprise.
“That one’s not a surprise. We’re just ironing out some details. We expect to make the announcement by the end of next week.”
It was revealed that legendary R&B Icon Al Green will receive BET’s Lifetime Achievement Award. And when asked about the process of selecting the Lifetime Award recipient, Hill explained that the choice is internal at the network.
“That was one name that everybody could agree on,” Hill said of this year’s honoree. “Everybody loves Al Green. Al Green is a pioneer of sensual soul singing and also a staple in gospel as well.”
Hill also explained that to-date, the network has not considered giving the Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously. He said that one of the reasons why they have the award is to give people their due while they are alive.
“We always talk about how people only get their recognition and respect after they're dead,” he said. “When the Isleys won the award, something Ron Isley was almost crying about was that [they] didn’t think they would get this kind of recognition while [they] were alive. The Lifetime Achievement is specifically to let somebody get that recognition and enjoy it while their alive.”
Additionally, BET’s Humanitarian Award will be presented to producer/arranger/composer Quincy Jones.
One thing you can expect at the BET Awards is the unexpected. The Network has already switched it up just a little bit. This year, the network announced the 2008 nominations out of New York City on the set of “106th & Park,” as opposed to delivering the good news from the left coast. The awards show itself will be televised live from Los Angeles, however.
This year, leading the pack in nominations is T-Pain, with five. Interestingly, as Hill explained, the majority of T-Pain’s noms are from his collaboration work rather than his own record.
“He’s not nominated for any of his stuff,” Hill said. “He’s nominated in the 'featuring' categories. Four of his nominations come in the best collaborations category. All as a special guest features as opposed to a T-Pain record: Flo Rida, featuring T-Pain; Kanye West, featuring T-Pain; Chris Brown, featuring T-Pain. He’s all over and extremely popular. He’s a phenomenal collaborator.”
T-Pain is followed by Kanye West and Keyshia Cole with three nominations, and Mary J. Blige, Flo Rida and Alicia Keys scored two each.
The 8th annual BET Awards airs June 24 at 8p ET on the network. For more details, hit up www.bet.com.
