Following his crocodile tear-stained “tribute” to Michael Jackson on last year’s BET Awards, the cable network has announced that singer/actor Chris Brown has received the most nominations for this year’s ceremony. Brown, whose career looked to be over after an assault on his then-girlfriend Rihanna, has completed an unexpected comeback this year. His fourth album, F.A.M.E., has already spawned five hit singles and was recently certified Gold for sales of over 500,000 copies. He’ll be vying for the Video of the Year and Viewer’s Choice awards for “Look at Me Now”, his hit collaboration with Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes. The song is also nominated for Best Collaboration (as is “Deuces”, his hit with Tyga and Kevin McCall). Nods for Best Male Vocalist and Best Male Actor (not gonna go there right now) complete his list of nominations.
The aforementioned Lil Wayne is next on the list of nominations, with five, while Kanye West, Drake, and…Rihanna (you can’t make this up, folks) have four nominations each. Considering BET’s viewership, I can’t say any of the nominations really surprise me (except maybe Beyonce’s inclusion in the Best Female R&B category when she hasn’t even released anything in the last year, really), although, as someone who loves and appreciates R&B and hip-hop, I know damn well that this ain’t the best of what either genre has to offer. I do respect their insistence on having a Best Female Rapper category even though I’m sure brain cells were popped trying to put together a list of candidates.
Full list of nominees is after the jump…
Female R&B Artist:
Beyonce Knowles
Marsha Ambrosius
Keri Hilson
Jennifer Hudson
Rihanna
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist:
B.o.B
Drake
Lil Wayne
Rick Ross
Kanye West
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist:
Nicki Minaj
Diamond
Cymphonique
LoLa Monroe
Best Male R&B Artist:
Chris Brown
Cee-Lo Green
Bruno Mars
Trey Songz
Usher
Best Group:
Diddy-Dirty Money
Cali Swag District
N.E.R.D
New Boyz
Travis Porter
Best Collaboration:
B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams – “Airplanes”
Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes – “Look at Me Now”
Chris Brown ft. Tyga and Kevin McCall – “Deuces”
Waka Flocka Flame ft. Roscoe Dash and Wale – “No Hands”
Rihanna ft. Drake – “What’s My Name?”
Kanye West ft. Rihanna – “All of the Lights”
Video of the Year:
Marsha Ambrosius – “Far Away”
B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams – “Airplanes”
Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes – “Look at Me Now”
Keri Hilson – “Pretty Girl Rock”
Willow Smith – “Whip My Hair”
Kanye West ft. Pusha T – “Runaway”
Video Director of the Year:
Benny Boom
Mr. Boomtown
Chris Robinson
Kanye West
Hype Williams
Best New Artist:
J. Cole
Bruno Mars
Miguel
Willow Smith
Wiz Khalifa
Best Gospel:
Byron Cage
Deitrick Haddon
Mary Mary
Karen Clark Sheard
BeBe and CeCe Winans
Best Actress:
Halle Berry
Taraji P. Henson
Regina King
Zoe Saldana
Kerry Washington
Best Actor:
Laz Alonso
Chris Brown
Don Cheadle
Idris Elba
Jamie Foxx
YoungStars Award:
Shenell Edmonds
Keke Palmer
Diggy Simmons
Jaden Smith
Willow Smith
Best Movie:
“Death at a Funeral (2010)”
“For Colored Girls”
“Takers”
“The Book of Eli”
Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married Too?”
Sportswoman of the Year:
Tamika Catchings
Candice Dupree
Maya Moore
Serena Williams
Venus Williams
Sportsman of the Year:
Carmelo Anthony
Kobe Bryant
LeBron James
Derrick Rose
Michael Vick
Viewer’s Choice Award:
Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes – “Look at Me Now”
Lil Wayne ft. Cory Gunz – “6 Foot 7 Foot”
Mindless Behavior – “My Girl”
Nicki Minaj ft. Drake – “Moment 4 Life”
Rihanna ft. Drake – “What’s My Name”
Trey Songz ft. Nicki Minaj – “Bottoms Up”
Centric Award:
Marsha Ambrosius
Eric Benet
Cee-Lo Green
R. Kelly
Kem
Best International Act: U.K.
VV Brown
Chipmunk
Laura Izibor
Skepta
Tinchy Stryder
Tinie Tempah
Best International Act: Africa
2Face Idibia (Nigeria)
D’Banj (Nigeria)
D-Black (Ghana)
Angelique Kidjo (Benin)
Fally Ipupa (Congo DR)
Teargas (South Africa)