The BET Awards 2013 was the place to be on Sunday, June 30th, whether at home planted in front of your TV set or in person at the live show at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Now we media people were in our spots snapping pictures and grabbing celebs for a quick interview when we could catch them as they breezed past us on the red carpet outside the building. There were some good performances, but my favorite was the tribute to Cadillac Lifetime Achievement recipient, Charlie Wilson, aka everybody’s favorite “Uncle Charlie.” It featured Justin Timberlake, Jamie Foxx, Pharrell and Snoop Dogg singing a string of hits made famous by Wilson as the lead singer of the GAP Band and as a solo artist. I had to “throw my hands up in the air and wave ‘em like I just didn’t care” when Wilson, Pharrell and Timberlake did their dance to the GAP Band’s “Outstanding” and Wilson showed the young ones that he still had the moves.
My favorite category is Gospel so I could not wait to see who won. The Best Gospel Artist Award went to Mary Mary. The duo’s father just and they were not able to make it to the show. Our prayers are with the family. However, I did get my shout on when the anointed Tamela Mann sang her hit, “Take Me To The King.” I mean sister had the crowd on its feet! Gospel superstar Kirk Franklin, who wrote the hit for Mann, accompanied her on piano.
Now, I must give my props to the show and it’s producers. The live show stole the night for the second consecutive year in a row as cable’s #1 award show among adults 18-49, drawing 7.6 million total viewers. It accounted for 51% of all social chatter across all of cable, dominating Twitter with nearly ten million tweets. BET.com broke an all-time single day record, drawing in more visitors than ever before in the history of the website. With an average 4.7 million households tuning in, BET Awards 2013 has earned the distinction of being the #2 BET telecast of all time, only behind the BET Awards 09 Michael Jackson tribute.
I want to personally thank BET West Coast Publicity Exec Zabrina Horton for making things go smooth for me and my crew. A shout out also to our photographer, Tony Katai for fighting the crowd and Los Angeles traffic to get some really good shots.
If you missed the live show, have no fear, the BET Awards 2013 encore times are Tuesday, July 2, 6:30 pm – 10 pm, Saturday, July 6, 8 pm – 11:30 pm and Thursday, July 11, 7:30 pm – 11 pm. All times are Eastern and Pacific. On the international scene, the show will premiere Tuesday, July 2nd at 8 pm BST on BET’s international network in the UK and Africa, reaching more than 13 million households in 50+ countries.
BET Awards 2013 Winner’s List
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
Source: BET.com
BET Red Carpet Photos by Tony Katai
L to R 1) Harold Perrineau (Zero Dark Thirty, The Best Man Holiday), 2) Debra Lee, President and CEO Black Entertainment Television Holdings 3) R&B singer Robin Thicke
Left to Right (below) 1) Hip Hop artist and BET Award winner – Kendrick Lamar 2) Brandy Norwood (The Game) 3) Columbus Short (Scandal)
