The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001, by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annually, are broadcast live on BET. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by artists; some of the awards with a higher profile are presented in a televised ceremony.
Trophy The award trophy, inspired by three words (aspire, ascend, achieve), was designed by artist/sculptor Carlos "Mare139" Rodriguez. Outkast won the first award trophy during the first ceremony in 2001. In 2007, Society Awards, the New York firm who manufactures the award, enhanced the quality of the trophy design using plated steel and black crystal.
List of ceremonies The inaugural ceremony was held at the Paris Las Vegas resort on the Las Vegas Strip in 2001. From 2002 to 2005, the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood hosted the awards. From 2006 to 2012, the ceremonies were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Since 2013, the ceremony has been held at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live (previously Nokia Theatre and Microsoft Theater).
# Date Venue Host city Host 1st June 19, 2001 Paris Las Vegas Las Vegas Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer 2nd June 25, 2002 Kodak Theatre Los Angeles 3rd June 24, 2003 Mo'Nique 4th June 29, 2004 5th June 28, 2005 Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith 6th June 27, 2006 Shrine Auditorium Damon Wayans 7th June 26, 2007 Mo'Nique 8th June 24, 2008 D. L. Hughley 9th June 28, 2009 Jamie Foxx 10th June 27, 2010 Queen Latifah 11th June 26, 2011 Kevin Hart 12th July 1, 2012 Samuel L. Jackson 13th June 30, 2013Nokia Theatre/Microsoft Theater Chris Tucker 14th June 29, 2014 Chris Rock 15th June 28, 2015 Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross 16th June 26, 2016 17th June 25, 2017 Leslie Jones 18th June 24, 2018 Jamie Foxx 19th June 23, 2019 Regina Hall 20th June 28, 2020 Virtual show Amanda Seales 21st June 27, 2021 Microsoft Theater/Peacock Theater Los Angeles Taraji P. Henson 22nd June 26, 2022 23rd June 25, 2023 24th June 30, 2024 Taraji P. Henson25thJune 9, 2025Kevin Hart26thJune 28, 2026Druski
Ratings Year Day Date BET Cumulative Household rating 18–49 rating Viewers(in millions) 18–49 rating Viewers(in millions) 2001 Tuesday June 19 4.3 5.20 No simulcast 2002 June 25 4.0 4.40 2003 June 24 4.3 5.50 2004 June 29 3.4 5.60 2005 June 28 3.7 6.58 2006 June 27 4.9 6.60 2007 June 26 3.4 6.39 2008 June 24 3.2 5.85 2009 Sunday June 28 10.65 2010 June 27 7.40 2011 June 26 3.3 7.71 2012 July 1 3.2 7.42 2013 June 30 3.4 7.77 2014 June 29 3.1 7.50 7.90 2015 June 28 2.6 6.27 6.50 2016 June 26 1.9 4.50 4.3 7.20 2017 June 25 1.5 3.83 3.5 5.80 2018 June 24 1.2 2.87 1.8 4.30 2019 June 23 1.4 1.0 2.43 1.5 3.79 2020 June 28 1.6 1.0 3.7 2021 June 27 1.7 2.4
Nomination process The nomination process is provided by a voting academy consisting of about 500 people from the music industry, involving the media, and bloggers. BET sends ballots electronically and voters nominate deserving works and artists in all categories who they think should be nominated. Nominations and voting ballots are collated by Yangaroo, Inc., a leading digital distribution firm that works on many other televised award ceremonies, including those of BET's sister networks under parent company Paramount Skydance. The top nominees are determined in each category, and the winners are selected via the academy members' voting process.
Award categories Current awards
Music Album of the Year Video of the Year Viewer's Choice Award Best Group Best Collaboration Best Female Hip-Hop Artist Best Male Hip-Hop Artist Best Female R&B/Pop Artist Best Male R&B/Pop Artist Best New Artist Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award BET Her Award Best International Act Best New International Act
Film Best Movie Best Actress Best Actor Sports Sportswoman of the Year Sportsman of the Year Miscellaneous Video Director of the Year YoungStars Award Fashion Vanguard Award Pulse Award
Defunct awards Best Actor & Actress of the Year Best Gospel Artist J Cool Like That Award J Award Centric Award Best International Act: Africa Best International Act: UK FANdemonium Award International Viewers' Choice Award Best International Act: Europe
Special awards The BET Lifetime Achievement, Humanitarian, Ultimate Icon, Living Legend Icon and Icon of the Year Award recipients, along with the nominees for other categories, are announced in a press release. At the awards ceremony, a mini-documentary is shown covering the honorees' career. The awards are presented separately.
Lifetime Achievement The BET Lifetime Achievement Award is given a veteran artist or group who has made notable contributions to the music industry. The honoree is paid tribute by singers who perform the honoree's most recognized songs. The honoree would usually perform themselves after being paid tribute. 2001: Whitney Houston 2002: Earth Wind & Fire 2003: James Brown 2004: The Isley Brothers 2005: Gladys Knight 2006: Chaka Khan 2007: Diana Ross 2008: Al Green 2009: The O'Jays 2010: Prince 2011: Patti LaBelle 2012: Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly 2013: Charlie Wilson 2014: Lionel Richie 2015: Smokey Robinson 2016: Samuel L. Jackson 2017: New Edition 2018: Anita Baker 2019: Mary J. Blige 2021: Queen Latifah 2022: Sean Combs 2023: Busta Rhymes 2024: Usher
Humanitarian In 2002, the BET Award Humanitarian Award was created. The Humanitarian Award is given to a celebrity philanthropist who donates their time and money to a charitable cause. 2002: Muhammad Ali 2003: Earvin "Magic" Johnson 2004: Danny Glover 2005: Denzel Washington and Pauletta Washington 2006: Harry Belafonte 2007: Don Cheadle 2008: Quincy Jones 2009: Alicia Keys and Wyclef Jean 2010: John Legend 2011: Steve Harvey 2012: Al Sharpton 2013: Dwyane Wade 2014: Myrlie Evers-Williams 2015: Tom Joyner 2016: Jesse Williams 2017: Chance the Rapper 2018: Naomi Wadler, Mamoudou Gassama, Justin Blackman, Shaun King, Anthony Borges and James Shaw Jr. 2019: Nipsey Hussle 2020: Beyoncé
Ultimate Icon In 2015, the Ultimate Icon Award was created. It is given to a veteran artist whose career is considered iconic by the public for their notable contributions in the music, dance and music video fields. 2015: Janet Jackson 2018: Debra L. Lee 2019: Tyler Perry 2025: Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg and Kirk Franklin 2026: Sylvia Rhone
Living Legend Icon 2026: Lauryn Hill
Icon of the Year 2026: Teyana Taylor
Most nominated and winning artists Below are the current rankings for the most wins and most nominated artist:
Most wins (as of 2024) Rank 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Artist Beyoncé Kendrick Lamar Chris Brown Drake Serena Williams Total wins 36 (with Destiny's Child and The Carters) 29 21 15 13
Most nominations (as of 2025)
The following lists multiple nominated performers, athletes and actors with five or more career nominations. Beyoncé is currently the most nominated performer with 102 nominations, solo and with Destiny's Child.
102 nominations (as of 2025) Beyoncé (73 solo; 8 with Destiny's Child)
65 nominations Chris Brown
51 nominations Drake (46 solo; 5 with Young Money)
37 nominations Nicki Minaj (33 solo; 4 with Young Money)
35 nominations Jay Z (30 solo; 5 with Watch The Throne)
33 nominations Lil Wayne (28 solo; 5 with Young Money)
31 nominations Kanye West (26 solo; 5 with Watch The Throne)
23 nominations Rihanna
21 nominations Kendrick Lamar
19 nominations Usher
18 nominations Missy Elliott
17 nominations Serena Williams The Weeknd
16 nominations Bruno Mars Venus Williams
15 nominations Alicia Keys T.I.
14 nominations Jamie Foxx Ludacris Mary J. Blige
13 nominations Erica Campbell (2 solo; 11 with Mary Mary) H.E.R. SZA
12 nominations Common Pharrell Williams (10 solo; 2 with N.E.R.D.)
11 nominations Big Boi (1 solo; 10 with Outkast) Ciara LeBron James Mary Mary Snoop Dogg
10 nominations Kobe Bryant T-Pain Outkast Trina Trey Songz Tyga (6 solo; 4 with Young Money)
9 nominations Denzel Washington Doja Cat Jazmine Sullivan Kelly Rowland (1 solo; 8 with Destiny's Child) Michelle Williams (1 solo; 8 with Destiny's Child) Taraji P. Henson
8 nominations 2 Chainz 50 Cent Angela Bassett ASAP Rocky (6 solo; 2 with ASAP Mob) Benny Boom Big Sean Busta Rhymes Chloe x Halle Destiny's Child Diddy (5 solo; 3 with Diddy – Dirty Money) Hype Williams Idris Elba John Legend Marsha Ambrosius (4 solo; 4 with Floetry) Miguel Omarion (2 solo; 6 with B2K) Justin Timberlake Rick Ross
7 nominations Don Cheadle Erykah Badu Halle Berry Jennifer Hudson Keyshia Cole Kirk Franklin Mariah Carey Ne-Yo R. Kelly
6 nominations Aaliyah Anthony Hamilton August Alsina B.o.B B2K Benny Boom CeeLo Green (2 solo; 4 with Gnarls Barkley) Keri Hilson Lil Jon (3 solo; 3 with Lil' Jon and the Eastside Boyz) Lil' Kim Musiq Soulchild Samuel L. Jackson Wale Yolanda Adams
5 nominations Bow Wow Carmelo Anthony Donnie McClurkin Eminem Eve Fantasia Gabrielle Union Jhené Aiko Jill Scott Keke Palmer Melanie Fiona Mindless Behavior Nelly Pusha T (3 solo; 2 with The Clipse) Regina King Solange Knowles Willow Smith
See also BET Hip Hop Awards
References
External links BET Awards website