Lizzo, Chris Brown among big BET Awards 2020 winners

The BET Awards 2020 aired on CBS

Last night (Sun, June 28th), BET honored an incredible and inspiring lineup of artists, entertainers, cultural icons and humanitarians across more than 20 categories at The BET Awards 2020. The show, hosted by actress and comedian Amanda Seales, aired live at 8 pm ET across ViacomCBS networks including BET, BET HER, and made its national broadcast premiere on CBS. 2020 marks both the 20th anniversary of the awards and BET’s 40th anniversary. This year’s show highlighted the absolute best in entertainment, social justice and culture with moving performances and appearances by some of the biggest names across television, film, and music; spreading an important message of hope and change.

The BET Awards, which has become synonymous with powerful artistry and social commentary, continues to spotlight and celebrate the artists and creators of tomorrow, making the ceremony one of the most news-provoking and talked-about broadcasts year after year.

This year’s awards used an array of innovative techniques, including stunning and dynamic artist-generated performances and packages, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the important and inspirational messages of Black Lives Matter and the urgent need for racial equality. The ceremony was an extraordinary celebration of black culture, love, joy, and pride, setting a new bar for awards shows produced during the ongoing pandemic.

Chuck D, Nas, Black Thought, Rapsody, Flavor Flav, Questlove, Jahi, YG opened the show with an amazing performance of their song “Fight the Power.”

Anderson .Paak and Jay Rock followed, delivering a powerful and emotional rendition of the newly released song “Lockdown.” The song, which debuted this past Juneteenth, paints a detailed picture of the recent Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the tragic killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Megan Thee Stallion performed her new single “Girls In the Hood” along with her hit song “Savage.” The remix of the song featuring Beyoncé became Megan’s highest-charting song, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Lil Wayne and Wayne Brady delivered emotional tributes to Kobe Bryant and Little Richard respectively. Brady sang renditions of Little Richard’s popular songs including “Lucille,” “Good Golly Miss Molly,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Tutti Frutti.”

DaBaby and Roddy Ricch brought the house down during their performance of hit song “Rockstar,” which spent two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was released as the second single of DaBaby’s third studio album Blame It On Baby.

R&B sweetheart Summer Walker and pop icon Usher sang their hearts out while performing multiple songs including “Session 32″ “Come Thru”/”You Make Me Wanna.”

Jonathan McReynolds and Kane Brown took everyone to church during their renditions of popular gospel songs “People” and “Worldwide Beautiful.”

Legendary gospel titans Kierra and Karen Clark Sheard of the iconic Clark Sisters delivered a power-packed rendition of the new song “Something Has to Break” from Kierra’s newly released sixth album “Kierra,” which debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums.

Introduced by former First Lady Michelle Obama, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter accepted the Humanitarian Award for her years of her philanthropic service. Her heartfelt speech urged viewers to continue to fight against systemic racism by voting.

  • BEST FEMALE R&B/POP ARTIST – Lizzo
  • BEST MALE R&B/POP ARTIST – Chris Brown
  • BEST GROUP – Migos
  • BEST COLLABORATION – Chris Brown ft. Drake – “No Guidance”
  • BEST MALE HIP HOP ARTIST – DaBaby
  • BEST FEMALE HIP HOP ARTIST – Megan Thee Stallion
  • VIDEO OF THE YEAR – DJ Khaled ft. Nipsey Hussle & John Legend – “Higher”
  • VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR – Tenyana “Spike Lee” Taylor
  • BEST NEW ARTIST – Roddy Ricch
  • DR. BOBBY JONES BEST GOSPEL/INSPIRATIONAL AWARD –  Kirk Franklin – “Just For Me”
  • BEST ACTRESS – Issa Rae
  • BEST ACTOR – Michael B. Jordan
  • YOUNGSTARS AWARD – Marsai Martin
  • BEST MOVIE – Queen & Slim
  • SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR – Simone Biles
  • SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR – Lebron James
  • ALBUM OF THE YEARPlease Excuse Me For Being Antisocial (Roddy Ricch)
  • BET HER AWARD – Beyonce ft. Blue Ivy Carter, Wizkid & Saint Jhn “Brown Skin Girl”
  • BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT – Burna Boy (Nigeria)
  • VIEWERS’ CHOICE: BEST NEW INTERNATIONAL ACT – Sha Sha (Zimbabwe)

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com