BET is bringing the “Soul Train Awards” back to Las Vegas. The channel is set to announce on Thursday that the annual event’s 2022 edition will tape on Sunday, November 13, in Sin City. The awards show aims to recognize the year’s top soul, R&B, and hip hop.
“Soul Train Awards” nominees, selected by a voting academy of music industry insiders, performers, and presenters, will be announced at a later date. BET also said it will adhere to local COVID-19 protocols in cooperation with Las Vegas county officials.
Last year’s “Soul Train Awards” were held in New York, at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre, co-hosted by Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold returned as co-hosts. Ashanti was given the “Lady of Soul” award, Maxwell was presented with the “Legend” award and Ciara and Russell Wilson and Marley Dias received the “Souls of Justice” award.
BET most recently aired the BET Hip Hop Awards on September 30, combined with “Rap City ’22” and “DJ Cassidy’s Pass the Mic: BET Hip Hop Awards Edition,” which performed solidly for the cabler. Simulcast live across BET, BET Her, MTV2 and VH1, the 2022 edition of the BET Hip Hop Awards averaged 2 million viewers, including 1.7 million on BET. The show’s linear ratings included a 0.72 in adults 18-49 across the networks, up 3% year to year. On BET, the telecast averaged a 0.6 rating in the demo, up 21%. The BET Hip Hop Awards was the No. 1 program for the night in broadcast and cable among Black viewers in adults 18-49.
The network said the BET Hip Hop Awards garnered more than 244 million viewers across BET digital platforms, up 181% year to year and according to Talkwalker’s social content ratings, is the “No. 1 most social primetime program across all of TV” this fall, excluding sports and wrestling.
As for the Soul Train Awards, BET’s Connie Orlando, EVP, specials, music programming & music strategy will oversee the show and executive produce for the network with Jamal Noisette, VP, specials & music programming. Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment, is EP of the Soul Train Awards 2022 along with Jesse Collins Entertainment’s Jeannae Rouzan–Clay and Dionne Harmon.
“We look forward to bringing the renowned ‘Soul Train Awards’ back to Las Vegas and uniting generations of music lovers around the world,” Orlando said in a statement. “We are working on a show filled with surprises and soulful moments that you don’t want to miss.”