What to Expect from the 2022 BET Awards: “This Is Our Black Super Bowl”

At last year’s BET Awards, Taraji P. Hanson, who performed on the nightly show, honored Hollywood’s cult black women with a mix of costumes and hairstyles that paid homage to her personal inspirations, including Tina Turner, Diana Ross and Esther Jones. This year, Henson returns as host, and while the details of his appearance and the expected show will remain a surprise, he plans to hold the same celebration front and center at Black Artistic Excellence.

hanson says the hollywood reporter That the BET Awards has been their “pride of our achievements as black people, a safe place for us to celebrate one another, to achieve the brilliance we wouldn’t necessarily have received on any other stage.” The actor says that this year he is approaching a live show and preparing for a live theater performance.

“I approach everything as new characters: what can I bring out differently? What should we talk about this year? How can we lift people’s spirits at a time when everything seems so dark and gray and dark? When people sit down and those curtains open, they want to forget, they want to have a completely cathartic experience. As a host, that’s my job. To open the show and keep all the energy.”

Every June, the Black Entertainment Network maintains its mission to host the Black Excellence BET Awards, now in its 22nd year. The show entertains, captures and empowers black audiences through the power of art and creates many moments for audiences to present content and enjoy the diverse dynamism of the culture.

“As with a creative show, our goal is always to make it bigger, better, stronger, faster than last year. This is the biggest night in culture and we are constantly giving away timeless cultural moments,” said Connie Orlando, CEO of specials, music programming, music strategy and news at BET. THR. “One of the things the BET Awards does that no show can do is that we don’t just celebrate culture on culture’s biggest night, we create culture because those moments live in the show’s past and are built into the fabric of who we are. . .” .

This is the second year in a row that the BET Awards are presented by Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actor, writer, director, producer and philanthropist Taraji P. Hanson. It’s a choice Orlando says he made effortlessly: “He’s very much loved. It’s part of our culture… [and] Last year he kicked her out of the park. I think three minutes into last year’s show, we said, “Are you going to come back and do this for us again?” “

Obviously, the answer was yes.

Amidst the night’s many moments, Hanson says he’s “excited for Lizzie’s show…especially if she plays the flute” and is happy to present the year his HBCU colleagues called the album “great”.

Music mogul Sean ‘Big’ Combs received this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award (“our most coveted award,” Orlando says), honoring people he considers giants in the BET industry. On Combs Day, Orlando says, “He was a decisive leader. He has shaped the culture throughout his extensive career. He inspired not just his generation, but younger and older generations as well. We are honored to honor him and really shine a light on his influence and legacy. ”

According to Orlando, this year’s show has “many surprises and moments that are going to surprise and amaze people.” Artists of the night will include Babyface, Chance The Rapper, Chlöe, Doechii, Ella Mai, Fireboy DML, GIVĒON, Jack Harlow, Joey Bada $$, Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin, Latto, Lizzo, Muni Long and Roddy Ricch and more. . . Live June 26 on BET at 8pm ET/PT from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, home viewers will see every moment and form emotions in real-time, no doubt encouraging fans to actively participate in the events. .

“The audience is one of our artists, the energy they bring just makes the show better, makes the audience better,” Orlando said. “It’s important for us and it’s important for us to experience that.”

When the nominations were announced earlier this month, 23-year-old rapper Lil Nas X publicly responded to his absence from the list as a sister song. He posted a video where Lip Sync shows an unreleased snippet of his song “Late To The Party” with a chorus: “F*** YOU BET.” This was followed by a series of deleted tweets from a rock rapper pointing out homophobia as a possible cause behind “people’s own” illness. (In contrast, Jack Harlow, with rapper Lil Nas X on the 2021 single “Industry Baby”, was nominated for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist.)

“We love Lil Nas X უნდა Of course he can come to the show if he wants to,” Orlando said. “He was nominated for Best New Artist of 2020. We were perhaps the first to show him in 2019 with Billy Ray Cyrus and he performed last year. Unfortunately, this year he was not nominated by the Voting Academy, which is a respected group. [500] entertainment professionals. “No one from BET is a member of this voting academy or is voting.”

Harlow’s nomination and the lack of one for Lil Nas X have led many to question BET’s role in celebrating black artists and not everyone who participates in and is inspired by black art such as hip-hop music. When asked if Harlow was a candidate for a white Louisville rapper, Orlando said, “We celebrate culture. We celebrate what’s hot, what’s happening now. And I think nominations are always an expression of that.”

This approach also helps BET’s creative team keep the annual show relevant to a new audience and share it on modern social media platforms, according to Orlando. “This is going to be a TikTok thing, [or including] “IG Reels influencers, the goal is always to get to know the world where he is,” he said.

One strategy the network has to keep the program up to date is to rename old, familiar items. This year’s enhanced scene was once known as “Music Matters”, an initiative that valued up-and-coming artists and continues to this day. “People like J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj were all Music Matters artists,” Orlando said. “It just came to our attention then. People who are normally at this point become 10 to 9 times better. This year, artists GoGo Morrow and OGI will reveal a scene that promises to be the last step towards superstarism.

Even though the Sunday Show is the main event, BET Weekend in Los Angeles, celebrated with fiestas and other programs such as BET House, a three-day event that features live performances, comedy shows, live podcasts, panels and an impressive The angels. Goya Studios until June 25th – has its own certificate and legacy. “It’s our black Super Bowl. This is a family reunion. That’s his energy,” Orlando said. “This is a time to get together, connect with friends and family, and have an amazing friendship weekend.”