The BET Awards, hosted by Hip-Hop legend and actress Queen Latifah, celebrated their 10th Anniversary and the stars came out in full effect to celebrate the anniversary.
The BET Awards didn’t hold back in celebration of their 10th Anniversary, bringing out a who’s who in mainstream entertainment with a surprise appearances from a host of stars from music.
Kanye West opened the show with his new single “Power” sitting atop a makeshift mountain cap with a snowcapped mountain scene behind him. It marked his return to the spotlight ahead soon to be released fifth studio album Good Ass Job.
Alicia Keys, who received the Artist of the Decade Award, gave a thrilling performance with a medley of some of her greatest. Keys brought Gospel artist Kim Burrell on-stage to help her which drove the already standing and screaming audience into a fit. Monica also had a great duet partner and surprised the crowd when none other than Deniece Williams stepped onto the stage.
El DeBarge gave an believable nostalgic performance of some of his his biggest hits which included “All This Love” and “Rhythm of the Night.” The later saw him racing into the hyped crowd that stood on their feet to dance along with DeBarge.
John Legend was celebrated with the Humanitarian Award for his extensive charitable works in the U.S., Africa and other parts of the world. Legend said that “Service was something my parents instilled in us”, and called on the star studded crowd to put their money and efforts towards helping their communities to reach higher and be greater.
In an unexpected performance in honor of Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson introduced Chris Brown, whose performance was nothing less than spectacular. During “Man in the Mirror” Brown got choked up and had trouble getting through the words of the song. Surely it was partially due to the loss of his idol as well as a moment for him to self-reflect about the man in his own mirror.
Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Kim Burrell, and Donnie McClurkin were just a few of the Gospel greats who came together to sing a tribute song dedicated to Haiti.
Another great moment was Prince being honored with Lifetime Achievement Award. Trey Songz serenaded the Purple One by singing “Purple Rain”. Janelle Monáe, who Prince made a surprise appearance at one of her concerts just a few months prior, sang and even more frantic version of “Let’s Go Crazy” even showing her attempt at the camel walk dance.
The classically trained rising Jazz star Esperanza Spalding turned the heat up so high with her steamy redention “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” that she seemed to make the song her own. She was so great that Prince who was moving and dancing in his seat closed his eyes for a moment and sat back just to take it all in.
Alicia Keys returned to the stage to honor Prince by singing “Adore” which seemed to get Prince a bit emotional. The Legend Patti LaBelle followed up where Songz had left off, giving her flashy take on “Purple Rain” even getting into her trademark Patti mode and kicking her shoes off.
