LOS ANGELES — On Monday, the list of BET Award nominations were announced. Rapper Nicki Minaj, who was shut out at the Billboard Music Awards just the other day, lead ultra-popular awards show with six nominations. Embattled yet talented R&B singer Chris Brown also lead the pack with six nominations each.
Coming in at a close second were the Queen Bey, Beyonce, and Young Money boss Lil Wayne with four nominations each. The show airs on BET on June 28.
BET is expecting big things again this year. Last year’s BET Awards, “BET Awards 14,” was cable’s #1 award show, pulling in a staggering 7.9 million viewers and beating out pop culture’s heavyweight awards shows, including the MTV Awards, the Golden Globes, Billboard Music Awards, and People’s Choice Awards.
Moreover, BET Awards 14 dominated Twitter with 11 million tweets. Up one million tweets from the previous year, it was the most tweeted about “BET Awards” ever, again outperforming the “Billboard Music Awards,” “Golden Globes,” “ People’s Choice Awards,” “Game 5 of the NBA Finals” and the “World Cup USA vs. Portugal.”
BET Awards 14 is the second-highest awards in its history, coming in second to BET Awards ’09 which aired just a few days after the death of Michael Jackson.
Here is the list of the BET Awards 15 nominees:
BEST FEMALE R&B/POP ARTIST
BEYONCÉ
CIARA
JANELLE MONÁE
JHENÉ AIKO
K. MICHELLE
RIHANNA
BEST MALE R&B/POP ARTIST
AUGUST ALSINA
CHRIS BROWN
JOHN LEGEND
THE WEEKND
TREY SONGZ
USHER
BEST GROUP
A$AP MOB
JODECI
MIGOS
RAE SREMMURD
RICH GANG
YOUNG MONEY
BEST COLLABORATION
AUGUST ALSINA F/ NICKI MINAJ – NO LOVE (REMIX)
BIG SEAN F/ E-40 – IDFWU
CHRIS BROWN F/ LIL WAYNE & TYGA – LOYAL
CHRIS BROWN F/ USHER & RICK ROSS – NEW FLAME
COMMON & JOHN LEGEND – GLORY (FROM THE MOTION PICTURE “SELMA”)
MARK RONSON F/ BRUNO MARS – UPTOWN FUNK
BEST FEMALE HIP HOP ARTIST
AZEALIA BANKS
DEJ LOAF
IGGY AZALEA
NICKI MINAJ
TINK
TRINA
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
BEYONCÉ – 7/11
BIG SEAN F/ E-40 – IDFWU
CHRIS BROWN F/ LIL WAYNE & TYGA – LOYAL
CHRIS BROWN F/ USHER & RICK ROSS – NEW FLAME
COMMON & JOHN LEGEND – GLORY (FROM THE MOTION PICTURE “SELMA”)
NICKI MINAJ – ANACONDA
VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
BENNY BOOM
BEYONCÉ, ED BURKE & TODD TOURSO
CHRIS ROBINSON
FATIMA ROBINSON
HYPE WILLIAMS
BEST NEW ARTIST
BOBBY SHMURDA
DEJ LOAF
FETTY WAP
RAE SREMMURD
SAM SMITH
TINASHE
BEST GOSPEL ARTIST
DEITRICK HADDON
ERICA CAMPBELL
FRED HAMMOND
LECRAE
MALI MUSIC
MICHELLE WILLIAMS
BEST ACTRESS
GABRIELLE UNION
KERRY WASHINGTON
TARAJI P. HENSON
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS
VIOLA DAVIS
BEST ACTOR
ANTHONY ANDERSON
IDRIS ELBA
JUSSIE SMOLLETT
KEVIN HART
TERRENCE HOWARD
YOUNGSTARS AWARD
JACOB LATIMORE
JADEN SMITH
MO’NE DAVIS
QUVENZHANÉ WALLIS
ZENDAYA
BEST MOVIE
ANNIE
BEYOND THE LIGHTS
SELMA
THINK LIKE A MAN TOO
TOP FIVE
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
BRITTNEY GRINER
CANDACE PARKER
SERENA WILLIAMS
SKYLAR DIGGINS
VENUS WILLIAMS
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
CHRIS PAUL
FLOYD MAYWEATHER, JR.
LEBRON JAMES
MARSHAWN LYNCH
STEPHEN CURRY
COCA-COLA VIEWERS’ CHOICE AWARD
BEYONCÉ – 7/11
DEJ LOAF – TRY ME
KENDRICK LAMAR – i
NICKI MINAJ F/ DRAKE, LIL WAYNE & CHRIS BROWN – ONLY
RAE SREMMURD F/ NICKI MINAJ & YOUNG THUG – THROW SUM MO
THE WEEKND – EARNED IT (FROM THE “FIFTY SHADES OF GREY” SOUNDTRACK)
CENTRIC AWARD
AVERY SUNSHINE – CALL MY NAME
JAZMINE SULLIVAN F/ MEEK MILL – DUMB
MARK RONSON F/ BRUNO MARS – UPTOWN FUNK
SAM SMITH F/ MARY J. BLIGE – STAY WITH ME
THE WEEKND – EARNED IT (FROM THE “FIFTY SHADES OF GREY” SOUNDTRACK)
BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT: AFRICA
AKA (SOUTH AFRICA)
FALLY IPUPA (DR CONGO)
SARKODIE (GHANA)
SAUTI SOL (KENYA)
STONEBWOY (GHANA)
THE SOIL (SOUTH AFRICA)
WIZKID (NIGERIA)
YEMI ALADE (NIGERIA)
BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT: UK
FKA TWIGS
FUSE ODG
LETHAL BIZZLE
LITTLE SIMZ
MNEK
STORMZY