Prince accepting the 2010 BET Lifetime Achievement Award. (Photo courtesy of BET)
By Elzena Rankins
LA Sentinel Intern
This years 10th annual BET Awards was a surprise for everyone, especially when Chris Brown performed his special tribute to Michael Jackson, although it may have been the best performance of the night, many are speculating that it was a big PR stunt, referring to Brown breaking down and crying as he sang the last song, “Man in the Mirror.”
There were other performances that fell in the OK category, from T.I to Young Jeezy, to Alicia Keys and many others. But it was Chris Brown who stole the show. Second best performance of the night was definitely hands down Diddy and his Dirty Money Crew, cant forget their crazy, sexy, cool swag dance moves along with their excellent stage presence that had the crowd going.
Queen Latifah was the host this year, keeping the crowd entertained with her array of different personalities.
Among the list of favorites, that surprisingly a lot of celebrities like; actor Boris Kodjoe, singer songwriter, Goapele and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa just to name a few, were dying to see performances from Prince and Nicki Minaj. Villaraigosa who was very happy to be in attendance said that he was also looking forward to all the revenue that the city will get from the BET Awards. Nicki Minaj took home Best New Artist and Best Female Hip Hop Artist and Prince took home the top award; the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Beyonce and Lady Gaga won video of the year, surprisingly they were no where to be found, along with Rihanna and Jay Z who also won a award with their collaborations with Young Jeezy and Alicia Keys. However; the most surprisingly and controversial nominated artist, were the newcomers Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez who were also no where to be found. They did not win an award. Justin Bieber lost Best New artist to Nicki Minaj and Selena Gomez lost to Keke Palmer for the Youngstars award.
Lets not forget Drake who did his thing, along with Tyrese’s performance as he paid tribute to Teddy Pendergrass, and El DeBarge’s performance as he made a great comeback. Among those performers were also Alicia Keys and Trey Songz as they paid Tribute to Prince. Usher, Kanye West, Eminem, Rick Ross, T.I, and Ludacris also performed amongst many others.
Many were in attendance at the 2010 BET awards, familiar faces, new faces and old faces!
The unforgettable Dru Hill was in attendance, when asked what took them so long to finally come back as a group, they replied saying, “We had to do what we had to do and we had to grow up a little bit, but we here and we here to stay.” They have a new album that will drop Independence Day. Old time Rapper, Lil Zane was also in attendance, he will be dropping a new single called “Must be nice.” Raheem DeVaughn was in attendance, along with Lloyd, Black Eyed Peas and many others. Kid N Play was also there, they are currently on tour promoting the anniversary of House Party and rising Star Gabby Wilson, a new artist of Alicia Keys.
There is no doubt that this years BET Awards was a great show and a big surprise at every angle. BET always find a way to highlight the best of the best, and everyone who got an award this year deserved it. However in comparison to the past two BET awards, I would have to say this is my least favorite, when it comes down to the actual performances. Without the performances from Beyonce, Jay Z and Rihanna, especially Beyonce, the show lacked that WOW factor. However, like I said earlier, much respect goes to Chris Brown, P. Diddy and his Dirty Money crew for their performances. Lets keep our fingers crossed and see what happens next year at the 2011 BET Awards!
