EVERYTHING BIG HAPPENED AT THE BET AWARDS ‘13
LOS ANGELES, CA – July 1, 2013 – Live from Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 30th, the BET AWARDS ‘13 kicked off with an electrifying performance by Chris Brown. Brown performed a medley of hits including his current single “Fine China” and a special performance of “Don’t They Know” with vocals from Aaliyah. Nicki Minaj made a surprise performance by flying onto the stage and joining Brown for an energizing performance of “Love More.” BET AWARDS ‘13 nominees Kendrick Lamar, Drake and Olympic medalist Gabrielle Douglas all took home two awards. This year marked Chris Brown’s fourth year in a row winning the Fandemonium Award.
“House of Lies” and “Iron Man” actor Don Cheadle presented the evening’s first award for Best Male R&B/Pop Artist to Miguel. Miguel played double duty as he performed his solo number “How Many Drinks” with Kendrick Lamar and joined Mariah Carey during her performance of #Beautiful featuring Young Jeezy.
Notable performances of the evening were Robin Thicke, who performed his new hit single “Blurred Lines” with Pharrell and T.I. Ciara and Nicki Minaj debuted their new single “I’m Out” on the BET Awards ‘13 stage. BET Networks surprised the audience with a Caribbean music tribute featuring reggae artists Beenie Man who performed his hit “Who Am I,” Dawn Penn’s club anthem “No, No, No” and reggae classic “Murder She Wrote” by Chaka Demus and Pliers. As if that wasn’t enough, Elephant Man jumped on stage for the finale singing “Pon Di River,” which had Nicki Minaj jumping out her seat to dance.
Best New Artist and Best Hip Hop Artist winner Kendrick Lamar hit the stage three times performing his songs “M.A.A.D City” and “B*tch Don’t Kill My Vibe” featuring Erykah Badu and “Problems” with A$AP Rocky and 2 Chainz.
One of the most unforgettable performances of the night began with Justin Timberlake presenting R&B legend Charlie Wilson with the Cadillac Lifetime Achievement Award. India.Arie opened the moving tribute to Wilson with “There Goes My Baby” while Jamie Foxx blessed the crowd with the favorite “Yearning For Your Love.” The legendary Stevie Wonder then took the stage and energized the audience with the funky “Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me).” Wilson joined Timberlake, Snoop Lion and Pharrell for 2003’s “Beautiful,” a hit that reintroduced Wilson to a new generation of fans along with knock-out renditions of “Signs,” “You Dropped A Bomb On Me” and “Girl You Knock Me Out,” bringing the crowd to its feet.
This year’s show brought out nine Oscar-nominated actors, including winners, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker and Stevie Wonder. Hollywood showed up for the BET Awards ‘13, including the cast members of the upcoming “The Best Man Holiday,” Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Sanaa Lathan, Terrence Howard, Regina Hall, Melissa De Sousa and Harold Perrineau. Forest Whitaker and Michael B. Jordan presented the award for Best Collaboration and spoke about their Sundance Film Festival winning, “Fruitvale Station.” Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Meagan Good and Gabrielle Union, stars of the highly anticipated “Think Like A Man 2” also hit the BET Awards ‘13 stage.
The moving In Memoriam tributes during the live BET Awards ‘13 broadcast included Kris Kross’ member Chris Kelly and blues singer Bobby “Blue” Bland.
The King of R&B, R. Kelly, surprised fans with a choir singing his hits acapella along the aisles of the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. He sang a medley of his songs including “I Wish,” “When a Woman’s Fed Up,” “Ignition (remix)” and more.
Q.U.E.E.N. of the night, Janelle Monáe closed the show with a hot performance of her hit single with sultry singer Erykah Badu for a black and white fantasy, accompanied by a snow-white poodle.
In addition to all of these spectacular moments, the full list of BET AWARDS ‘13 winners are:
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist – Rihanna
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist – Miguel
Best Group – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Best Collaboration – A$AP Rocky f/ Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar – Problems
Best Male Hip Hop Artist – Kendrick Lamar
Best Female Hip Hop Artist – Nicki Minaj
Video of the Year – Drake – Started From The Bottom
Video Director of the Year – Benny Boom
Best New Artist – Kendrick Lamar
Best Gospel Artist – Mary Mary
Best Actress – Kerry Washington
Best Actor – Jamie Foxx
YoungStars Award – Gabrielle Douglas
Best Movie – Think Like A Man
Subway Sportswoman of the Year – Gabrielle Douglas
Subway Sportsman of the Year – LeBron James
Coca-Cola Viewers Choice Award – Drake – Started From The Bottom
Centric Award – Tamar Braxton – Love and War
Best International Act: Africa – Ice Prince (Nigeria)
Best International Act: UK – Emeli Sandé
Photos: http://www.bet.com/shows/bet-awards/bet-awards-weekend.html
Credit: http://betpressroom.com/press/release/everything_big_happened_at_the_bet_awards_13
