Soul Train Awards ’12, hosted by the Original King of Comedy and “Soul Man” actor Cedric “The Entertainer,” is headed to Las Vegas for its annual night of music and honors. Featuring a Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to New Edition and soon-to-be-announced live performances from today’s music superstars, Soul Train Awards ’12 will premiere simultaneously on BET and Centric on Sunday, November 25th at 9pm*.
Every year, Soul Train Awards acknowledges the achievements of today’s most famed entertainers in multiple categories. This year, with two nominations, including Album of the Year, R. Kelly will be the most nominated artist in Soul Train Awards history. R&B superstar Usher is also making Soul Train Awards history with five nominations including nods for Song of the Year and Album of the Year; surpassing both Michael Jackson and Beyonce in total nominations in a lifetime.
International songstress Estelle leads women in nominations with three nods including Song of the Year for “Thank You” and Best Female Soul/R&B Artist. Rapper Nas also receives three nominations, including Album of the Year for “Life is Good.” Singers Trey Songz and John Legend, who received two nods each, will compete in the Song of the Year category with Estelle, Usher, Tyrese and Wale. The late Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse each received a posthumous nomination. Whitney Houston in the Best Gospel Inspirational Performance category for her collaboration with Jordin Sparks on “Celebrate” from the Sparkle soundtrack, and Amy Winehouse in the Best International Performance Category for “Our Day Will Come.”
The Soul Train Awards is a presentation of Centric and Sunseeker Media and directed by Manny Rodriguez. Paxton Baker, Tami Willis-Arasli, Derek Lewis, Centric; Bart Phillips, Sunseeker Media; and Soul Train Holdings’ Kenard Gibbs will all be the executive producers of the network telecast, along with Cedric Kyles and Eric Rhone.
Soul Train Awards ’12 will air on BET and Centric on Sunday, November 25 th at 9pm*. For more information, please visit www.centrictv.com. *All times ET/PT
Soul Train Awards ’12 – Nominees and Award Categories
Best New Artist
Elle Varner
Emeli Sande
J. Cole
Luke James
Robert Glasper
Centric Award
Daley
Esperanza Spalding
Gary Clark Jr.
Leah LaBelle
Santigold
Best Gospel/Inspirational Performance
BeBe Winans – America America
Fred Hammond – I Feel Good
Marvin Sapp – My Testimony
Mary Mary – Go Get It
Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks – Celebrate
Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year
2 Chainz feat. Drake – No Lie
Wale feat. Miguel – Lotus Flower Bomb
Nas – Daughters
Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz – Mercy
Young Jeezy feat. Ne-Yo – Leave You Alone
Best R&B/Soul Female Artist
Beyonce
Estelle
Keyshia Cole
Mary J. Blige
Melanie Fiona
Best R&B/Soul Male Artist
Miguel
Robin Thicke
Trey Songz
Tyrese
Usher
Album of the Year
The One – Eric Benet
Channel Orange – Frank Ocean
Life Is Good – Nas
Write Me Back – R. Kelly
Looking For Myself – Usher
Song of the Year
Estelle – Thank You
John Legend feat. Ludacris – Tonight (Best You Ever Had)
Trey Songz – Heart Attack
Tyrese – Stay
Usher – Climax
Wale feat. Miguel – Lotus Flower Bomb
The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award
Thank You – Estelle (Writers: Arden Altino, Akene “The Champ” Dunkley, Jerry Duplessis, Doug F. Edwards, Thomas D. Richardson, Aliaune Thiam)
Tonight (Best You Ever Had) – John Legend feat. Ludacris (Writers: Allen Arthur, Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges, Keith Justice, Miguel Pimentel “Miguel”, Clayton Reilly, John Stephens)
Daughters – Nas (Writers: Nasir Jones, Ernest D. Wilson, Patrick Adams, Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, Paul Leka)
Share My Love – R. Kelly (Writer: Robert Kelly)
Climax – Usher (Writers: Usher Raymond IV, Sean “Redd Stylez” Fenton, Thomas “Diplo” Pentz, Ariel Rechtshaid)
Best Dance Performance
Beyonce – Love On Top
Chris Brown -Turn Up The Music
Nicki Minaj – Starships
Rihanna – Where Have You Been
Usher – Scream
CentricTV.com awards:
CENTRICTV.com Best Caribbean Performance
Cover Drive – Bajan Style
Damien “Junior Gong” Marley – SuperHeavy
Jimmy Cliff – Rebirth
Matisyahu – Spark Seeker
Sean Paul – Tomahawk Technique
CENTRICTV.com Best International Performance
Amy Winehouse – Our Day Will Come
Daley feat. Marsha Ambrosius – Alone Together
Emeli Sande – Next To Me
Estelle – Thank You
Gotye feat. Kimbra – Somebody (That I Used To Know)
Rebecca Ferguson – Nothing’s Real But Love
CENTRICTV.com Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group
Chris Botti – Impressions
Kenny Garrett – Seeds From The Underground
Melody Gardot – The Absence
The Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio
Tony Bennett – Isn’t It Romantic
CENTRICTV.com Best Contemporary Jazz Artist/Group
Ben Tankard – Full Tank
Brian Culbertson – DREAMS
Cassandra Wilson – Another Country
Esperanza Spalding – Radio Music Society
Peter White – Here We Go