Stars: 5/5
The BET Awards was the most relevant and the most entertaining show of 2020.
With the fight for equality and the Black Lives Matter Movement still going strong, it’s as important as ever to celebrate Black artists and Black culture. This is why BET chose to still go on with the show and use the special 40-year anniversary of BET and 20-year anniversary of the BET Awards to do something special.
The award show brought a short break from the stressful media Black people consume and gave a little time of enjoyment and pride.
Host Amanda Seales, presenters and performers did just that while highlighting important Black successes and groups to aid. Even many of the commercials were focused on Black businesses and Black experiences.
The show opened with Keedron Bryant with a part of his song “I Just Wanna Live” continuing with a special performance of “Fight The Power” with multiple artists including YG and Nas.
We saw fan favorites win awards like Megan Thee Stallion winning Best Female Hip Hop Artist and Lizzo winning Best Female R&B/Pop Artist. Of course, Queen B herself, Beyoncé, was 2020’s Humanitarian Award winner with Michelle Obama presenting the award.
Some of my favorite performances were Chloe X Halle’s “Forgive Me” and “Do It,” Roddy Ricch’s performance of “High Fashion” and “The Box” and Megan Thee Stallion’s full production of her hits “Boys in the Hood” and the “Savage Remix.”
I really enjoyed the performances dedicated to the Black lives we’ve lost including Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and many more.
John Legend performed “Never Break” from his new album, Jennifer Hudson performed “Young, Gifted and Black” as a preview for her upcoming role as Aretha Franklin in this year’s anticipated movie “Respect,” and Alicia Keys stunned the audience with her performance of “Perfect Way To Die.”
There were more touching tributes, with Wayne Brady honoring Little Richard and Lil Wayne honoring Kobe Bryant.
Roddy Ricch and DaBaby gave a moving performing of the “ROCKSTAR BLM REMIX” with powerful graphics and a message from young Zianna Oliphant, a little girl known for giving an emotional speech at a Charlotte City Council Meeting in 2016 after the death of Keith Lamont Scott.
I wasn’t sure how the performances were going to go with the show being remote, but the artists provided high quality videos with variety.
A lot of fans on Twitter expressed wanting BET to stick to some of the virtual format in the future, and I have to say I agree. This was the best BET Awards in a long time and the creativity in the performances made them even better.
This is a time to celebrate, embrace and acknowledge Black excellence and as always, the BET Awards served as a great platform to do so.
Catch highlights from the show and the artists performances on the BET website here.