Usher, Victoria Monét and Tyla were just a few of the big winners at the 2024 BET Awards, which took place in Los Angeles tonight at the Peacock Theatre.
Taraji P. Henson hosted the four-hour show, which featured a parade of performances from Lauryn Hill, Will Smith, Megan Thee Stallion, Ice Spice, Childish Gambino, GloRilla and many, many more.
Of the standout moments of the night, the tribute to Usher in honor of his Lifetime Achievement Award victory was a centerpiece. Usher, who received an introduction from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, watched as a parade of artists paid tribute to his career.
Childish Gambino, who had just presented the award for album of the year to Killer Mike for “Michael,” set off the Usher tribute with a stripped-down rendition of “U Don’t Have to Call” and was joined by Keke Palmer, who took over mic duties for her own version of “U Make Me Wanna.” Summer Walker popped out for a verse from her Usher collaboration “Good Good,” while Coco Jones serenaded the man of the hour for “There Goes My Baby.” Marsha Ambrosius was up next for “Confessions,” while Chlöe handled “Good Kisser” and Tinashe performed “Nice & Slow.” Victoria Monét, who performed previously in the night, reemerged with Teyana Taylor for “Bad Girl,” referencing Beyoncé’s performance with Usher of the same song, while Latto closed out the medley with a take on Ludacris’ verse on “Yeah!”
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After the performance, L.A. Reid and Babyface, who signed Usher as co-founders of his label LaFace Records, presented the award to Usher. “Getting here has definitely not been easy, but it has been worth it,” he said. “This life achievement award, I don’t know man. Is it too early for me to receive it? Because I’m still running and gunning and still love this shit like I was eight years old.”
But things turned quickly strange for Usher, who admitted he didn’t write any words in preparation but loved to talk. He began cursing a bit, and about halfway through his substantial acceptance the broadcast cut out the majority of what he was saying. As he stood on stage and thanked those behind him, including Jermaine Dupri, it was dead air as he finished up the speech. What was confusing was that previous presenters and performers had cursed quite a lot, though they weren’t censored in the same way.
Lauryn Hill had a strong night with her closing performance, touring songs from various eras of her career. She began with the title track from her groundbreaking debut album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” as well as “Lost Ones,” and brought out her son YG Marley for “Survival” — with a verse from Ms. Hill — and the viral hit “Praise Jah in the Moonlight.” Her fellow Fugees member Wyclef Jean, who came out to perform with Hill at YG Marley’s Coachella sets earlier this year, ran through “Fu-Gee-La” to close it out.
Elsewhere, Megan Thee Stallion made her first appearance at the BET Awards in three years in opening the show, emerging from an egg in a reference to the album artwork for her freshly released third studio project “Megan.” The rapper ripped through the “Hiss,” flanked by four male backup dancers as plumes of flames shot up behind her, and as a substantial crew of dancers joined her, she performed “Boa” and “Where Them Girls At.”
Host Taraji P. Henson, dressed like Kendrick Lamar at his “The Pop Out” show, gave a show-opening rendition of the rapper’s hit “Not Like Us,” dapping up the track’s producer Mustard and delivering her own lyrics. “Y’all stop playing with me, I’m Taraji P. Henson, your host,” she said at the conclusion. “That’s how you pop out.”
Grammy-winning Victoria Monét ran it back to her breakthrough hit “On My Mama,” cutting it short after its iconic line “I’m so deep in my bag like a grandma with a peppermint” to transition into latest single “Alright.” Kaytranada, who produced the song, manned the decks as Monét changed outfits and delivered the show-stopping choreography from its video.
Other performances of the night included Sexy Redd for a medley of “U My Everything” and “Get It Sexyy,” while Tanner Adell and Doechii gave brief renditions of “Buckle Bunny” and “Rocket,” respectively. GloRilla descended from the ceiling in a parachute for “Yeah Glo!” and “TGIF” before bringing back out Megan Thee Stallion for their hit collab “Wanna be,” and Shaboozey enlisted J-Kwon to duet on “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”
Latto had her own star turn with “Big Mama,” while one of the breakout performances of the night came from Tyla, who tapped Skillibeng and Gunna for their collab “Jump.” Ice Spice previewed her upcoming album “Y2K” with a back-to-back rendition of “Phat Butt” and “Think U the Shit (Fart).”
Check out the complete list of winners below:
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
Beyoncé
Muni Long
Coco Jones
Doja Cat
H.E.R.
SZA
Tyla
Victoria Monét
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
Brent Faiyaz
Bryson Tiller
Burna Boy
Chris Brown
Drake
Fridayy
October London
Usher
Best Group
Y$, Ye, Ty Dolla $ign
2 Chainz & Lil Wayne
41
Blxst & Bino Rideaux
City Girls
Flo
Maverick City Music
Wanmor
Best Collaboration
Lil’ Durk ft. J.Cole – All My Life
Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar – America Has A Problem (Remix)
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice (with Aqua) – Barbie World
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – Bongos
Y$, Ye, Ty Dolla $ign ft. Rich the Kid, and Playboi Carti – Carnival
Lola Brooke ft. Latto & Yung Miami – Don’t Play With It (Remix)
Nicki Minaj ft. Lil Uzi Vert – Everybody
Usher, Summer Walker, & 21 Savage – Good Good
Drake ft. Sexyy Red & SZA – Rich Baby Daddy
Best Female Hip Hop Artist
Doja Cat
GloRilla
Cardi B
Ice Spice
Latto
Megan Thee Stallion
Nicki Minaj
Sexyy Red
Best Male Hip Hop Artist
21 Savage
Burna Boy
Drake
Future
Gunna
J. Cole
Kendrick Lamar
Lil Wayne
Video of the Year
Doja Cat – Agora Hills
Lil Durk ft. J.Cole – All My Life
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice (with Aqua) – Barbie World
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – Bongos
Drake ft. J.Cole – First Person Shooter
Usher, Summer Walker, & 21 Savage – Good Good
Victoria Monét – On My Mama
Drake ft. Sexyy Red & SZA – Rich Baby Daddy
Video Director of the Year
Benny Boom
Child.
Cole Bennett
Dave Meyers
Janelle Monae & Alan Ferguson
Offset
Tems
Tyler, The Creator
Best New Artist
41
4Batz
Ayra Starr
Bossman DLow
Fridayy
October London
Sexyy Red
Tyla
Album of the Year
Chris Brown – 11:11
Gunna – A Gift & A Curse
21 Savage – American Dream
Usher – Coming Home
Drake – For All The Dogs (Scary Hours Edition)
Victoria Monét – Jaguar II
Killer Mike – Michael
Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday 2
Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award
Shirley Caesar – All Of The Glory
Kirk Franklin – All Things
Halle Bailey – Angel
Cece Winans – Come Jesus Come
Erica Campbell – Do You Believe In Love?
Maverick City Music, Naomi Raine, & Chandler Moore – God Problems
Tems – Me & U
Kirk Franklin – Try Love
BET Her Award
Beyoncé – 16 Carriages
Nicki Minaj ft. Tasha Cobbs Leonard – Blessings
Ayra Starr – Commas
Flo ft. Missy Elliot – Fly Girl
Megan Thee Stallion – Hiss
Victoria Monét – On My Mama
SZA – Saturn
GloRilla – Yeah Glo!
Best Movie
American Fiction
Bob Marley: One Love
Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Book of Clarence
The Color Purple
The Equalizer 3
The Little Mermaid
Best Actor
Anthony Mackie
Colman Domingo
Damson Idris
Denzel Washington
Donald Glover
Idris Elba
Jeffrey Wright
Lakeith Stanfield
Best Actress
Angela Bassett
Ayo Edebiri
Coco Jones
Danielle Brooks
Fantasia
Halle Bailey
Issa Rae
Regina King
YoungStars Award
Akira Akbar
Blue Ivy Carter
Demi Singleton
Heiress Diana Harris
Jabria McCullum
Jalyn Hall
Leah Jeffries
Van Van
Sportswoman of the Year
A’Ja Wilson
Angel Reese
Coco Gauff
Flau’Jae Johnson
Juju Watkins
Naomi Osaka
Sha’Carri Richardson
Simone Biles
Sportsman of the Year
Anthony Edwards
Gervonta Davis
Jalen Brunson
Jalen Hurts
Kyrie Irving
LeBron James
Patrick Mahomes
Stephen Curry
Best International Act
Asake
Aya Nakamura
Ayra Starr
BK
Cleo Sol
Focalistic
Karol Conka
Raye
Tiakola
Tyla
Viewers’ Choice Best International Act
Bellah
Cristale
Duquesa
Holly G
Jungeli
Makhadzi
Oruam
Seyi Vibez
Tyler ICU
