Performances by Janet Jackson, Outkast & Usher Crank Up BET AWARDS '04 as Mo'Nique Hosts. Beyonce, Outkast, Usher and Lil Jon Lead Nominations as BET Invades the Kodak Theatre for Star-Studded Live Telecast Featuring Today's Brightest Stars. Humanitarian Honoree Danny Glover and Lifetime Achievement Recipients The Isley Brothers Headline Parade of Honorees
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., May 12 /PRNewswire/ - On Tuesday, June 29, a star power-infused "black-out" will descend upon Hollywood when BET takes control of the prestigious Kodak Theatre to honor some of Black entertainment's leading lights at BET AWARDS '04. At a press conference today in Hollywood, BET signaled that the countdown has begun for the celebrated network to blaze into Hollywood recognizing the best-of-the-best in music, sports and acting. R&B's hottest leading lady Beyonce, Dirty South luminaries Outkast and Lil Jon, R&B superstar Usher, and newcomer Kanye West top the 2004 list of BET AWARDS nominees, with Outkast nabbing a record-setting six nods for work from their double CD "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," including multiple nominations in the Viewer's Choice and Video of the Year categories for "Hey Ya!" and "The Way You Move."
Outkast also scored Best Collaboration and Best Group nominations. Beyonce was close behind with five nominations, including Best Actress and Best Female R&B Artist, and was nominated for her "Crazy In Love" Jay-Z duet scoring in Best Collaboration, Viewer's Choice and Video of the Year categories. Lil' John and Usher each netted four nominations, and Kanye West grabbed three. One of the Original Queens of Comedy also takes center stage as Mo'Nique, star of the UPN Network's The Parkers, reprises her role as the first-ever female host of the BET AWARDS telecast.
Some of the brightest stars in music, acting and sports are slated to appear and perform at BET's triumphant Hollywood return, joined by a veritable Hollywood "A-list" of nominees and presenters. Janet Jackson, Usher, Outkast and The Isley Brothers are among the artists expected to light up the stage with their high-wattage performances.
Danny Glover, Award-winning actor, executive producer and activist, and Rock & Roll Hall of Famers The Isley Brothers are the top honorees at the star-studded BET AWARDS '04 show. Glover, the Humanitarian Awardee and The Isley Brothers, the Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, will lead an all- star parade of performers, presenters and nominees.
BET has teamed again with Cossette Productions, famed producers of the Grammy Awards and the past three record-setting BET AWARDS shows, to handle production of the telecast. Last year's BET AWARDS telecast netted an overall 4.27 Nielsen rating with a whopping 30.0 rating among African Americans (5.5 million households), setting a new precedent as the most-watched entertainment special in BET's 24-year history. The BET AWARDS show has generated higher ratings with African-American viewers than any other awards telecast -- including the GRAMMY Awards (R), the Soul Train Awards, Vibe Awards, NAACP Image Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards, among others.
"Last year's BET Awards ceremony and telecast was a fantastic show with some once-in-a-lifetime moments," said Debra Lee, BET President and Chief Operating Officer. "In addition, we again outperformed all other, more well- established Awards shows in the ratings, which is a significant accomplishment. We've clearly delivered something that our viewers truly enjoy. Each year our production gets more exciting and this year will not disappoint."
BET kicks off its spectacular showcase with a special 106 & PARK: Live from the Red Carpet pre-show presentation hosted by AJ and Free from 6 - 8 p.m. ET/PT*, capturing the sizzling fashions and arrival excitement of Hollywood's glamour set. The scene then shifts inside to the Kodak Theatre for the highly-anticipated three-hour "live" awards telecast at its new time of 8 p.m. ET/PT* when BET salutes 16 categories across the music, sports and entertainment spectrum. As an early appetizer, viewers can get a sneak peak at BET AWARDS '04 and the featured honorees starting with I WANNA THANK MY MOMMA: BET AWARDS Nomination Special on Tuesday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET. BET will highlight the artists who are nominated and get predictions from the street on who will take home the hardware; a special award show edition of HOW I'M LIVING features a look at some of the homes of nominated artists and show participants; a special 106 & PARK Pre-Awards show on Monday, June 28 at 6 p.m. ET/PT. Then, go behind the scenes of the hottest awards show in the nation on June 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT as Access Granted: Behind The Scenes of the Awards Show gives viewers an insider's look at the ins-and-outs of putting together BET's biggest night of the year. A BET NIGHTLY NEWS Special: Live from BET AWARDS '04 wraps up the night with a post-show look at the festivities from 11:00 p.m. ET/PT*.
BET viewers have a unique opportunity to experience the action and excitement of the BET AWARDS up-close-and-personal this year by attending the ceremony. Beginning today, May 12, tickets go on sale through all Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.ticketmaster.com. BET AWARDS '04 ticket prices range from $75 - $500.
The BET online audience also has several opportunities to get in on the Awards Show hype -- from May 10 - May 26, users can prove their status as a BET "fan-atic" by entering the BET Ultimate Fan Sweepstakes, sponsored by Reebok. One lucky grand prize winner and a guest will receive round trip air travel, four days and three nights hotel stay, $5,000 and two tickets to BET AWARDS '04 show. What's more, BET's Ultimate Fan will have the opportunity to be a co-presenter of the Viewer's Choice Award at the ceremony with AJ & Free, hosts of BET's ultra-popular video countdown show, 106 & PARK. To enter, viewers submit a photo to BET.com along with a personal statement discussing why they should be selected as the "Ultimate Fan." BET's online community will select the Grand Prize winner from 5 finalists between May 26 and June 2. Contest rules and details are also available at Bet.com.
In addition, BET viewers can also become "virtual" members of the BET Awards voting academy by logging onto www.bet.com to cast their votes for their favorite performer in the BET.com Viewer's Choice poll, which will take place in "real-time" during the course of the telecast. Viewers can tune in to the ceremony to see if their chosen performer won the Viewer's Choice award, and also check out other interactive features.
While keeping most of the production plans under wraps, Stephen Hill, BET's Senior Vice President of Music Programming and Talent, said the combination of high-caliber performances, the legendary stature of the special honorees and the teamwork of the BET production team with Cossette Productions should make for another sensational telecast. Additional announcements regarding more celebrity performers and presenters will be issued as part of an ongoing series of awards-related announcements leading up to the June 29 event and telecast.
"Each year we try to make the show more dynamic than the previous year," said Hill. "Last year Michael Jackson and James Brown wowed viewers with a surprise on-stage appearance. In keeping with this year's theme we're coming in '04 with something bigger, better and badder if you can believe that, and it's going to be huge."
Hill added, "Bringing Mo'Nique back is the perfect sequel. We are so pleased to have Mo'Nique running things again. Who knows what she will do, but who cares ... we know that she is going to bring it. This time she's got ammo that she's not even telling us about and we love that!"
Major sponsors for this year's BET AWARDS telecast include Reebok (RBK), General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Pepsi. To ensure ratings success, a multi-tiered marketing strategy has been developed to support the telecast, including print, television, radio and outdoor advertising, as well as a significant grassroots promotional campaign and special tie-ins to other Viacom-owned companies.
B ET will televise encore presentations of the BET AWARDS '04 on Tuesday, July 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
The following is a complete list of BET AWARDS '04 nominees:
Best Male R&B Artist Best Actor
Anthony Hamilton Mos Def
R. Kelly Laurence Fishburne
Ruben Studdard Samuel L. Jackson
Usher Bernie Mac
Luther Vandross Denzel Washington
Best Female R&B Artist Best Group
Beyonce Jagged Edge
Mary J. Blige Floetry
Janet G-Unit
Alicia Keys Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz
Monica Outkast
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist Best New Artist
50 Cent Chingy
Chingy Anthony Hamilton
Ludacris Ruben Studdard
Kanye West Kanye West
Jay-Z Pharrell Williams
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist Best Gospel Artist
Da Brat Yolanda Adams
Rah Digga Byron Cage
Missy Elliott Donnie McClurkin
Jackie-O Smokie Norful
M.C. Lyte Vickie Winans
Best Actress Best Collaboration
Halle Berry Beyonce f/Jay-Z - Crazy In Love
Vivica A. Fox Outkast f/Sleepy Brown - The Way You Move
Beyonce Knowles Pharrell f/Jay-Z - Frontin'
Sanaa Lathan Twista f/Kanye West & Jamie Foxx -
Gabrielle Union Slow Jamz
Usher f/Ludacris & Lil Jon - Yeah
Female Athlete of the Year Viewers' Choice
Laila Ali Beyonce - Crazy In Love
Cheryl Ford Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz
Lisa Leslie f/Yin Yang Twins - Get Low
Serena Williams R. Kelly - Step In The Name Of Love
Venus Williams Outkast - Hey Ya!
Outkast - The Way You Move
Usher f/Ludcris & Lil Jon - Yeah
Kanye West - All Falls Down
Male Athlete of the Year Video of the Year
Carmelo Anthony Alicia Keys - You Don't Know My Name
Barry Bonds Beyonce f/Jay-Z - Crazy In Love
Shaquille O'Neal Outkast - Hey Ya!
LeBron James Outkast f/Sleepy Brown - The Way You Move
Tiger Woods Usher f/Ludcris & Lil Jon - Yeah
About BET:
BET, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc., is the nation's leading television network providing quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs programming for the African-American audience. The BET Network reaches more than 78 million households according to Nielsen media research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET is a dominant consumer brand in the urban marketplace with a diverse group of branded businesses: BET.com, the Number 1. Internet portal for African- Americans; BET Digital Networks -- BET Jazz, BET Gospel and BET Hip-Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, specializing in a full range of event production services, including event management, venue selection, talent recruitment, sound, lighting and stage production; and BET Books, the nation's leading publisher of African-American themed romance novels under the Arabesque Books label, and publisher of new imprints Sepia and New Spirit.
